Summer Walk, Rimside Gibbet & Turnpike - Tuesday 20th August 2019.

   

On Tuesday 20th August 2019, Morpeth Camera Clubs Summer Programme came to a close with a walk in the
Northumberland countryside to a place not previously visited as a club. Parking at New Moor House on the A697,
members joined a section of the Morpeth to Breamish turnpike that was created in 1752. A gentle climb up the
old drovers road led us to a small wood that stands on the edge of Rimside Moor, a bleak expanse of heathery
upland with a lonely and atmospheric feel. Nearby we passed the site of the former Moorhouse Inn, that was
once a stopping point for drovers and travellers. It had a reputation of being an evil place with tales of ghosts,
highwaymen, witches and murderers, a place "not recommended to be during the hours of darkness".

   

Leaving the remains of the coaching house, we crossed the Rimside Burn and continued in a south easterly direction
across the moor. A warm sunny evening gave excellent views over Greystone Knowe to the east and Wellhope Knowe
to the west and the blooming heather added a purple/pink carpet to the landscape. Leaving the turnpike we took a
slight detour to climb Lamb Hill where members regrouped and had a short break. This was to be our halfway mark
and the elevated viewpoint was an excellent spot to capture images of the area before we re-joined the track.

   

Retracing our route back to the woodland we explored the plantation of Scots pine and beech trees that was reputedly
the meeting place for smugglers of illicit spirits, before heading to the wooden gibbet that stands to the west of the old
wood. Although it is believed there once was a gibbet in the area, this structure was erected in 2010 by local poet Peter
Athey to celebrate his poem The Hungry Gallows Tree and he captures the feel of the moor with his grisly tale. One of
the aims of the walk was to see and photograph the gibbet and it was interesting to see how the members approached
the subject to find their own composition. As the sun set, the group rejoined the drovers road for the short downhill
stretch to our finish point. This was a different kind of venue to our usual Tuesday evening visits but all agreed that
we had ended the season on a high note with an enjoyable and interesting short walk.

   

Davy Bolam.