Roughly equidistant between the cities of Carlisle and Newcastle, and in the heart of Hadrian’s Wall country, sits the pretty little village of Bardon Mill. The nearest towns (in size descending order) are Hexham, Haltwhistle, and Corbridge. As you approach the village by the main road, you’ll see signs which say “smoke,” which could be a little bit concerning, but actually it’s just the working pottery and it depends which way the wind is blowing (and whether they’re firing that day) as to whether the smoke is coming across the road. The little village is often overlooked because it is just off the A69 thoroughfare between two major cities in the North, but it is well worth a stop over (maybe for lunch?) if your journey allows it.
The village boasts a popular local pub The Bowes Hotel (named after the Bowes-Lyon family that were resident in the area from the 18th-20th century), as well as a community store and tearoom just across the road from the pub, if your mood is more scone than Sunday lunch. The village also has a large working pottery (Errington Reay) that has been going since 1878, where today you can go and watch the potters at work, or take part in workshop to learn a little bit about the art yourself. This is the only commercial pottery in the UK that is currently licensed to produce salt glaze pottery, which produces a slightly “orange-peel” like texture to the pots, as a coating of sodium silicate is formed when the pots are fired in the kiln. It did fall out of fashion due to concerns about the air pollution produced during the process, which is why Errington Reay only fires on certain days, at specific times, and in small windows, to keep the smoke at a minimum.
The location of the village means that it is only two miles away from The Sill, the hub of Northumberland National Park; two miles from Allen Banks (which used to be the grounds of Ridley Hall, see below) and Staward Gorge; two miles from Vindolanda; and only three miles from the wall itself. No matter what you’re in the mood to do in this beautiful part of the world, then Bardon Mill is a great place to do it from. This village truly is in the heart of Hadrian’s Wall country, so is a great hub and base to plan a day’s activities – come for breakfast in the tearoom, and set out from there!
Other historical landmarks include the beautiful Georgian Ridley Hall, about a mile away, and was once the northern residence of the Bowes-Lyon family (i.e. the late Queen’s Mother). Now however, it is actually the boarding wing of a nearby prep school (fancy!), and is used for weddings and functions on the weekends and school holidays when the students are not in residence. Sadly it is not open to the public (although they do host an annual Burns Night community Ceilidh, which seems like an excellent opportunity to get inside!), but you can admire the hall itself from a distance from the numerous walking paths and the roads nearby.
The village is connected to both Carlisle and Newcastle, as well as the nearby towns and villages, by an active trainline and bus services, so it’s very easy to get to from either of those larger cities. Centred around its community and celebrating its stunning location, Bardon Mill remains connected and welcoming to visitors, year round.
The thing about being vintage… it never goes out of fashion.
Before we truly begin, I think it’s probably important to understand exactly what vintage clothing is. It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot these days, whether correctly or not. By “dictionary” definition, vintage clothing is a piece that is more than twenty years old, but less than a hundred years old. Anything older than a hundred years would be considered an antique as, by its very nature, is likely to be a lot rarer. As such, what classes as vintage moves… it breathes… it’s not static, and as each year passes more items will be added to the vintage category whilst much older items fall off the other end into the realms of antique.
I love vintage clothing, and delight in spending an hour or two rummaging through a good vintage shop to see what treasures I can find. There are three major reasons why I am so excited by vintage clothing:
Style – When you find a really cool vintage piece that appeals to your sense of style, you can be relatively sure that, the next time you go out, you’re not going to see five other people wearing the same thing. It helps you build a unique look that is all your own, and also aids in building image confidence. It’s very easy to become comfortable living in generic clothing (and if that’s your bag, there’s nothing wrong with it), but it is amazing what a difference a few unique pieces can make in transforming your wardrobe. I have a vintage suede jacket, and I always feel a little more confident when I put it on because it’s a little bit different, it’s comfortable, it’s well-made, and it goes with a lot of things I already own.
Lance Reis for Unsplash
Durability – There’s no arguing with it; clothes were better made in the past (although as the vintage window creeps into the late 00s and 10s, vintage collectors are going to have to start being more savvy about how items were manufactured), compared to clothes that are made today and churned out by fast fashion giants (shudder). If you know anything about how clothes are made and compare a pair of jeans from the 90s to ones made today, the difference in fabric density, the stitching on the zipper, the hemming etc. etc. will be obvious to see. Some would argue that this general decline in quality is to help keep prices low, and perhaps that is true, but that leads directly to the next point…
Environment – Vintage clothing is better for the environment. Obviously. By not making new clothing and recycling old, you’re not using new carbon to create anything, you’re keeping fabric out of the waste pipeline, and you’re saving clothing from landfill. This is so important to me – we have so much wonderful clothing out there, available to us, and it’s just waiting to be discovered and loved again…
Of course, that is where Gayle Foster and her shop Vintage At The Tower in Corbridge comes in. I sat down with Gayle a couple of weeks ago to ask her some questions about owning a small business, sustainability, vintage clothing, and why it should be the future of fashion, as well as its past.
How long have you been at Vintage At The Tower, and what was it that inspired you to open a Vintage shop? Vintage at the Tower was first established in 2013 as a pop-up shop by myself and two other vintage sellers, as we sought to share the costs of running the shop together. By 2022 the other two dealers had moved on from the shop, and I decided to take over the shop solo.
What exactly can someone find at Vintage At The Tower? You have clothing and jewellery, but there are other treasures to find as well…? Yes, we sell all sorts of clothing and jewellery that I personally source. I specialise and focus on natural fabrics, but also on promoting and preserving British Brands such as Liberty, Barbour, Jaeger, Burberry… and many others! These clothing brands are to be found alongside gorgeous vintage costume jewellery, handbags, and accessories.
We have got a wide range of jewellery; both costume and antique jewellery, handmade with care and consideration, and selected for their style and uniqueness. They go well with any outfit, even your everyday, to elevate and add some style or whimsy, depending on your taste and what you can find! They also make great gifts, because they’re so unique. People aren’t going to have seen it anywhere else, and it means that you can find something that really speaks to an individual for a gift.
They’re thoughtful, stunning and personal, the sort of thing that says, “I saw this and just knew it was made just for you.”
My ethos is to elevate the every day, so I also stock a range of vintage homewares includes crystal glass, tableware, and kitchen paraphernalia. Plates and glasses don’t need to be boring, any more than a pair of trousers does. I want to enhance people’s every day lives by providing individual, stylish, and sustainable items that they will be able to use for many years to come.
Bryony: I am a huge fan of this ethos because, in my mind, life is meant to be lived. It’s meant to be fun and beautiful, cosy, and charming, and whatever other adjective you want to put on it. Wear the perfume just because, light the nice candles, put the fancy skirt on just to pop to the shops… why not?! I think if we consciously try to bring joy into our every day, rather than worrying that we perhaps shouldn’t do that, we would probably have a much more fun experience when simply going about our lives.
Where does your stock come from? (Or is that a trade secret?!) The stock for Vintage At The Tower is found in a wide variety of places, from fairs to markets, to selected online sellers, as well as other dealers who have items that appeal to my style. Here in the shop we also repair and restore old clothing and jewellery, and everything that comes in is cleaned, polished, and restored to a high quality, to ensure that it gets the new lease of life that it deserves. Sometimes all an item needs is some new buttons, or the lining of a jacket repairing, before it can be worn for many years to come!
I source a lot of my beautiful costume jewellery from Butler and Wilson, and have built up quite the range and collection over the years. I’ve also got some antique pieces of jewellery that are tiny works of art in their own right – made in the early 20th century, and of exquisite detail.
Bryony: I especially love the range of clip-on earrings to be found in the shop. As someone who can’t wear “regular” earrings, no matter what metal I’ve tried, it was amazing to find a shop with such a wide range of beautiful clip-ons to peruse. I think I’ve got at least six pairs!
What drew you to vintage in the first place, and what is your favourite era for vintage clothing? Are you a 70s officiando? Or is the current Y2K clothing movement floating your boat? I have always had an interest in vintage and pre-loved items, which probably began when I was young – dressing up in my grandma’s gorgeous clothes, and delving into her jewellery box. She was one of the major influences for me becoming a fashion student in the 1980s! My favourite decades for vintage clothing have got to be the Hollywood glamour of the late 40s and early 50s, when things like the Dior “New Look” came into it’s own, and stars like Hedy Lemarr and Audrey Hepburn were shining.
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Is any of the stock not vintage? If so, where does it come from? Do you try and use local suppliers and artisans? We produce our own range of handknitted accessories made from pure alpaca wool, that are knitted by a team of local ladies. I also make a point of upcycling and reusing old fabrics to make new items, such as lampshades, or customised denim jackets. It’s really important to me to do this, as it keeps old textiles out of the waste stream and out of landfill.
Bryony: Shockingly, each year, we Brits throw away 300,000 tonnes of clothing into landfill. If it doesn’t end up in landfill, it is also burned, another option which is terrible for the environment. This is a cost-cutting approach to disposing of clothes, at the expense of releasing toxic fumes to our environment on a mass scale.
Why is vintage clothing important to you? What do you wish the general public knew about sustainability when purchasing clothing? I have always been passionate about recycling and reusing as a way to protect the environment, and I see vintage as a great opportunity to achieve this. It has never been more important to be sustainable in our habits, and with enough clothing currently on this planet to clothe the next six generations, encouraging people to buy preloved and vintage clothing is essential.
You’ve worked to make the shop more sustainable; how have you gone about that? What changes have been made, and what changes would you like to make in the future? The Green Growth Programme, run by Small Business Britain, that I completed last year, was very interesting for me, even though I run a very sustainable business already, I have been able to implement even more changes to make things better. This has included switching energy supplier, changing up our packaging to be more sustainable, and being more aware of how we recycle the minimal waste that is created in store. I have also implemented a sustainability strategy to ensure that every area of the business is sustainable, and caring for a community and planet. Future plans for the shop involve installing solar panels, which is being looked into at the moment.
Something very interesting that we have started recently is our rental service on handbags, designer fashion, and Butler and Wilson statement jewellery. This works really well for our customers who want unique pieces for special events like prom, a wedding, or an anniversary event, and then it can come back and be used and loved by someone else. It’s a brilliant way of making sure that items go back into circulation and the environmental footprint is further reduced!
The European Union recently passed a law that companies can no longer destroy unsold clothing. Is this something you would like to see replicated in the UK? What sort of a difference do you think that it would make? The recent law change in the EU is a huge leap forward towards a more sustainable fashion industry, and I hope our government takes notice of the changes and acts accordingly. Next to the oil and gas industry, the fashion industry is the second highest polluter on the planet. One piece of vintage clothing purchased has seventy times less the environmental impact compared to a new piece of clothing. I want to encourage everyone to think about where their clothes are coming from, how and by whom they are made, and then seriously consider preloved when deciding where to purchase.
As you can tell, Vintage is very important to Gayle, and I can’t wait to see how she further develops Vintage At The Tower, it’s offering, and the sustainability of the shop. I know that I will be back, again and again, to see what’s new and find my newest piece!
“O whisky, you are my heart’s delight, In your embrace, I shall take flight.” – Dylan Thomas
When people think whisky, they tend to think Scotland… or Kentucky. They don’t usually think Lancaster. But buckle up, because one company is sure that that’s all about to change… with a mission dedicated to the pursuit of flavour, and developing a beautiful whisky for the burgeoning English Whisky scene.
I start this article with the disclaimer that I gave up chemistry when I was sixteen, so when I went along to Lancaster Brewery and Lancaster Spirits Company and met with Chris Pateman, one of the distillers and the commercial marketing manager. I said he would need to explain the process to me starting with the basics, and we could work our way up in complexity from there!
As such, I was given a crash course in how to make whisky and how the Lancaster Spirits Company came into being. The Company was dreamt up in 2019 as, among other things, the Brewery had four fermentation vessels of ten thousand litres and only two were being used, the company decided they wanted to expand and use the other two to make spirits, whilst being in full control of the process “from grain to glass,” with everything being done under one roof. Stay with me here as I take you to chemistry class to learn (abbreviated version) how to make whisky…
The start of the whisky journey (bar the malting of the barley), and one of the most important parts, is making sure that the brewing process is executed impeccably, so that the base of the spirit is of the highest possible quality. One of the key ways the brewery ensures this, is a lot of the process is by employing traditional processes, often done by hand. Apparently, when making the mash (the base product of beer/whisky etc.), most breweries will use a lauter in a mash tun to keep the mix of barley and water consistent – Lancaster Brewery doesn’t do that. Instead, the brewer mashes by hand, using an extremely long spade and turns the mixture himself (that would be a good forearm workout, wouldn’t it?!), which takes twenty to thirty minutes each time. This mixture is then left to macerate, which creates the wort, a sweet sugary liquid, ready for fermenting into alcohol.
Lancaster Brewery prides itself on two key qualities; taste and tradition. Taste comes before all else, as without that, there is no product and no reputation to build on. One of the ways that the brewery ensures the quality of the taste, is by using live yeast. Live yeast has fallen out of favour with many breweries, in lieu of something called “distillers yeast” (creative name, I know), because it has a higher yield than traditional live yeast, converting all the fermentable sugars into alcohol in just 48 hours, as opposed to traditional live brewer’s yeast which takes 96+ hours. The crux is the taste. By using the live yeast, the brewer is able to extract unique flavours and create a complex wash that is fruity and full of flavour. I was also keen on the fact that the waste product from this process is then used as animal feed, which a local farmer comes and picks up once or week or so.
Trying to keep their environmental impact to a minimum, the brewery has their own water borehole on site (apparently when they were drilling, the pressure in the chamber below was so high that upon hitting the chamber, water shot about 40m in the air!), the stills are steam powered from the hot water processes, and the brewery hall is solar powered.
Anyway, back to making whisky! The wash is then distilled twice, initially in a wash still, which strips away the low alcohols and keeps the high alcohols for the second distillation. The two-thousand litres of wash that comes from the brewery is distilled in the first instance into seven hundred litres at 35%; the second distilling, the spirit run brings the spirit from so called low wines into high percentage spirit ready for filling into casks. I tasted a very small amount of this new-make spirit mixture (on the tip of my finger), being told at this point the spirit is at 70% alcohol – definitely not at the fainthearted!
The spirit is then stored into barrels. When I first arrived on site, I naively assumed that a barrel was a barrel was a barrel. Apparently not. When making whisky, the barrel that the spirit is stored in effects the final taste in the bottle. Once it was explained, it made perfect sense, but it’s not something that I had even thought about before then. The Lancaster Spirit Company uses a variety of barrels to diversify the flavours that come out after maturation; from sherry barrels, to single use bourbon barrels from the US, to port barrels, so there are plenty of different tones and tastes for the blender to use when bottling the spirit.
The spirit is bottled by single cask, following the maturation process, and the first whisky will be available at the beginning of 2027, when the first spirit run from 2024 has been matured for the requisite three years to be labelled whisky.
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The really exciting thing for whisky lovers is that this is just the beginning, and there is an opportunity to get involved with the process. By contacting Lancaster Spirit Company, avid whisky lovers can purchase their own barrel and become part of the ‘Cask Collective,’ (which some folks have already done – I spotted barrels labelled “the weasel clan” and “S Taylor”). The whisky inside, of course, becomes yours, and it’s up to you what you do with it – whether you bottle it at three years, five years, seven years, etc. whether you bottle the whole barrel, or only part of it; or you could sell it back to Lancaster Spirit Company at the end of the day. The global whisky market has been steadily growing over the past few years (after a rapid rise and settle during/immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic), and whisky is clearly an investment for those interested in that sort of thing. Owning a barrel at Lancaster Spirits Company could be just the ticket, and as detailed above, the options as to what you do with it are numerous!
There is a huge amount of potential here for Lancaster Spirit Company as the market for English Whisky continues to grow. There is now an English Whisky Guild, of which there are plenty of members (and growing), with the aim to protect and promote English Whisky. This is all relatively new and English Whisky is just beginning it’s exciting journey onto the world stage; I for one am excited to watch (and taste) and see how it unfolds from here!
If you’re one of the millions of people (40m+ at the time of writing) who has watched Bridgerton Season Four in the last few weeks, and fallen for deeply for the whole whimsy (and not altogether accurate) Regency vibe of the show, you might be looking for places to visit that match that vibe, and where you can imagine yourself as a star of the show. Here’s just a selection of places around the North that you can visit and pretend that you’re Violet about take tea (*wink*); that you’re Eloise with her nose in a book and scorning suitors; or that you’re one of the new season debutantes, looking to fall head-over-heels in love with an eligible suitor… just make sure you stay with your chaperone and don’t become the subject of this season’s scandal!
Castle Howard, Yorkshire
Castle Howard
Castle Howard doesn’t just match Bridgerton vibes, it is Bridgerton vibes, as the location was used in Season One as a stand in for “Clyveden House” – the country residence of the Duke and Duchess of Hastings, played by Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dyvenor. The temple of the four winds in the grounds was used for a notably spicy scene in the pouring rain, whilst the library, the archbishop’s bedroom (pictured below), Turquoise Room, and Long Gallery were used for other scenes as the Duke and Duchess settle into married life.
In one interview I’ve seen with Regé he makes a joke about how – when filming spicier scenes – there is what is known as a “closed set,” where those only essential for the scene to be filmed are allowed to be present. Essential cast and crew… and Fiona. Fiona being the luckless (or lucky?) house warden who had been assigned to make sure that the furniture was properly cared for, and things didn’t get out of hand. In the interview Regé laughs as he recalls how this poor embarrassed woman is stood there, looking out for this incredible eighteenth century bed, whilst he was romping about in his birthday suit! That would have been a rather strange day at the office!
The house itself is a Baroque architectural masterpiece that took nearly a hundred years to complete. One can immediately imagine themselves as a Duke or Duchess, sweeping through the magnificently conserved hallways and receiving rooms, whilst planning the next ball that is to take place; one that will also show off the best of the collection, and centre the most stunning pieces. The collection itself at Castle Howard is incredible, with artists such as Canaletto, Titian, Thomas Gainsborough, Pannini, and Reynolds represented (along with many others).
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Howick Hall, Northumberland
Rear aspect of Howick Hall
I visited Howick Hall and Gardens last year, and it’s an absolutely delightful location to sink into the Bridgerton mindset; reading books in the garden by the pond, and drinking cups of Earl Grey tea (the house was the former residence of Lord John Grey, for whom the blend was made specifically). I think Eloise would be extremely happy at Howick, away from the pressures of the Ton, and where she might be able to focus on her writing, or plotting how to avoid the marriage mart for yet another season. On the other hand, Hyacinth would feel that this was too far from the action!
Whilst Howick is undoubtedly smaller than some of the more sprawling Baroque and Georgian palaces on this list, it is also very imaginably as one of the character’s country retreats; a place where they could find some peace and quiet after the madness of the social season. If not Eloise, I could imagine Sophie and Benedict finding much happiness at a place like Howick and, knowing Benedict, he would probably refer to it as “his cottage.”
Address: Howick Hall & Gardens, Northumberland, NE66 3LB Ticket Information
LEvens Hall, Cumbria
Whilst Levens Hall is actually late Elizabethan, and therefore far predates the time of Bridgerton, you could very easily imagine this Hall, and it’s magnificent topiary gardens, as a country house of a very old family of the ton, where they invite select friends and acquaintances to admire the beauty of the setting.
The topiary gardens would be the centrepiece of a ball, with lights illuminating the pathways, and music leading guests to different aspects and viewpoints within the gardens – whilst always being wary of a unchaperoned debutante accidentally finding herself alone with a gentleman – how scandalous that would be!
Photo Credit – Olivia Brabbs and the Harewood House Trust
Harewood House is one of the most gorgeous 18th Century houses in the country, and we’re lucky enough to have it here in the North. We can wander with wonder around the incredible halls, view the paintings by British and International masters, and imagine what it would be like to actually be in an episode of Bridgerton.
Photo Credit – Tom Archer and the Harewood House Trust
This is the gallery at Harewood House. Couldn’t you just imagine what it would be like to host a ball in this magnificent room? This room was one of the last to be finished in the 1790s (coincidentally closest to the Regency period of all the rooms at Harewood House). The room was furnished by Thomas Chippendale and Thomas Chippendale Junior, the much sought after furniture masters of eighteenth century England.
“The room’s magnificent ceiling is today considered one of Robert Adam’s masterpieces, and is decorated with 16 paintings by the Italian interior painter Biagio Rebecca. They depict a pantheon of Roman gods and the four seasons.” – Harewood House Trust
After hearing about it for many months, I finally made my way down to Grow Kitchen in Morecambe, found nestled just off the Central Marine Way and behind the old Queen’s Head pub (which is now up for auction, by the way). Grow Kitchen styles itself as “Morecambe’s newest brunch spot,” and also using local producers and suppliers wherever possible.
So, as I am always interested in places that are committed to sustainability and promoting the local economy, I headed down with my mum to try it out. I was interested to see their speciality “hash brown” dishes on the menu, all with different ingredients and flavours. I decided to try the traditional hash brown dish, and was surprised to see that it wasn’t like what I usually understand as hash browns – they weren’t chopped up bits of potato and onion, and then fried in oil (or cooked from frozen!). It was more like roast potatoes “hashed” with other ingredients. The one I had was loaded with leeks, egg, homemade salsa, spices and herbs. There were others that also included bacon, halloumi, or tofu. I thought the new take on the dish was very interesting, and tasty to boot!
One thing I was glad to see as well, on the reverse side of the menu, was some insight into the local suppliers that Grow Kitchen uses for their ingredients. Whilst it wasn’t all that detailed, it was clear that they make an effort, wherever possible, to source from businesses local to the area. It’s one of the things I think is really important, and try to support wherever possible. As a bookworm, I was also happy to see that there was a book drop-and-swap on the window, allowing people to pick up books for free, and exchange them for others that they no longer need. Definitely a spot to try out and with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options, there is something for everyone to try!
The rugged beauty of North Yorkshire took a firmly starring role in the latest adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, released Feb 13th this year, and the parts of the county are expecting to see a related tourism uptick, as visitors come to see the filming locations and to get a bit of that Cathy/Heathcliff vibe so wonderfully provided by the moody moors and dales highlighted in the film. The film was directed by Emerald Fennell (previously Saltburn, Promising Young Woman), and stars Jacob Elordie (Saltburn, Priscilla, Frankenstein, Euphoria), Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street, Barbie), Martin Clunes, Hong Chau, and many others.
The film crew relocated to the county in the early months of 2025 to do the location shooting, utilising several picturesque backdrops for various scenes, and also taking over Simonstone Hall Hotel near Hawes as a base for the cast and crew. The owner of the hotel, Jake Dinsdale, has noted that they have already seen an uptick in international visitors wanting to come and get a little taste of Wuthering Heights world.
Simonstone Hall Hotel, Hawes from their “Press Images” album
“Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights.” – Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
Whilst the original Brontë novel, and the subsequent Brontë country is centered on West Yorkshire; specifically an area near Bradford, and the village of Haworth where the Brontë sisters lived, it was North Yorkshire that predominantly shone in the latest film adaptation. The Yorkshire Dales National Park was utilised a lot for outside locations, when stars Robbie (Cathy) and Elordie (Heathcliff) ventured into the wilds for the more atmospheric shots, complete with moody mist and fine drizzle.
Jamie Davies on Unsplash
Picturesque Swaledale was used for key scenes in the movie, especially utilising the area around Langthwaite and the Old Gang Smelt Mill (now a ruin). The rugged industrial buildings, falling into desolation against the rugged and remote background, provided the ultimate mood setting for the action to take place against. Other locations used were the village of Low Row, Booze Moor, and Langthwaite.
The Yorkshire Dales NP Senior Historic Advisor, Sarah Whiteley, consulted on the film and was on location for the days of shooting within the park. One thing she clarifies, however, is that whilst these locations are accessible, they are remote, on private land (with footpaths across) and in some of the higher moorland areas of the park. Therefore visitors should ensure that they are properly prepared for adverse weather conditions and properly equipped with walking gear before attempting to visit the locations. The landscapes and ruins are also of historical significance and should be treated with the respect deserved. As the saying goes “take only pictures, leave only footprints,” and ensure that these locations can be enjoyed by visitors for generations to come.
“Yorkshire traffic jam” Illiya Vjestica on Unsplash
Now, the director of this adaptation (Emerald Fennell) has been quick to point out that this film is not meant to be a faithful retelling of the Emily Brontë classic, and many book aficionados have been making lists of things that don’t match up between the one and the other. Fennell has said that the film is more about conveying the feeling and memory she got when she read Wuthering Heights for the first time as a teenager, hence the reason she chose to put the title “Wuthering Heights” in inverted commas. It’s meant to be a version, a different take, a slant. It was never meant to be a remake of what has come before. What we can all agree on, however, is her excellent choice in having Yorkshire take centre stage for some of the film’s pivotal moments, with the dramatic backdrops of the Dales adding beauty and emotion into the fabric of the film.
Even if it isn’t the newest “Wuthering Heights” film that convinces you to head back to North Yorkshire (and to be honest, do we really need convincing?), the rugged beauty of the North Yorkshire Dales National Park is always waiting, whichever season you choose, with magnificent scenery and places to visit throughout the year.
Opposite the wonderful Roman Army Museum on Hadrian’s Wall, an exciting new project is in the offing. The ‘Walltown Wider Horizons Project’ aims to transform the seventeen hectare site of a former quarry and countryside park, found just outside of Haltwhistle, into a lively yet sympathetic tourist attraction for visitors to the area.
Key aims of the project are strengthen the connection of the local and visiting population with the incredible landscape, and to raise awareness of issues that are facing Northumberland National Park alongside the wildlife and communities that call it home. The project aims to make the park fully accessible to people of all needs, abilities, and ages, and is being delivered – in this stage at least – by Glenkemp Landscape Architects, the architects who were responsible for the building of The Sill.
Jonny Gios on Unsplash
I visited during the very first stages of the consultation of the project when it was occurring at The Sill a couple of weeks ago. This consultation aimed to capture the community and visitors thoughts and comments about the beginning of the project, and what they would like to see as outcomes of the project. Visitors were invited to put stickers on things they would like to see, as well as leave voice notes and memos about what the National Park meant to them when they were visiting. The artist, Charlie Whinney, who was behind the ‘Coming Home’ installation and exhibition following the illegal felling of the tree at Sycamore Gap, is also involved in the project.
For my part, I chose that I would like to see areas that are truly wild and have a deep connection with nature; places where it feels totally natural and away from the buzz of it all, such as forest bathing, bird hides, and places to observe the dark skies at night. But that is just what I would like from such a project, and I know that that is not what would suit everybody – some people will inevitably want a much more family-friendly attraction, with elements that will keep children amused when visiting. I hope that they can come to a decent mix, satisfying both elements (and more!) without jeopardising the satisfaction of either.
Either way, this is a project that is just at it’s very beginning, and I imagine it will be many years before it comes to complete fruition. I look forward to following along with the progress of the project and seeing how it goes!
Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone @ Alnwick Castle, Northumberland
The most well known one of this list, and one on which Alnwick Castle has cemented itself firmly into global consciousness. The outside of Alnwick Castle Bailey and the lawns is the location for the famous “flying lesson” scene in the first Harry Potter movie when Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) discovers his talents on a broomstick, and the hapless Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) loses control of his broom and comes back to earth with a bump. The scene also included favourite characters such as Hermione (Emma Watson), Ron (Rupert Grint), Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), Professor McGonagall (the late, great, Maggie Smith) and Madam Hooch (Zoe Wannamaker).
If you want to experience some of the magic for yourself, you can take broomstick lessons at Alnwick Castle, where you’ll learn how to hold your broom, accelerate, brake, and turn around corners. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, the flying charm has been removed from visitor’s brooms.
This isn’t the only time that Alnwick Castle was used in the first two movies. The grounds around the Castle were used for exterior shots (notably when Harry and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow in the second film), and the Lion Gate was used an entrance/exit for Hogwarts Students on their way to and from the grounds and the path down to Hagrid’s Hut.
The Witcher @ Fountains Abbey, N. yorks
The Abbey was a major filming location for Season Two of the Netflix show, The Witcher. According to the abbey website, more than 250 crew members moved in for two months(!) in order to film the scenes for the high fantasy show. The nave was used for a dramatic night ritual scene, followed by a horseback rescue; a scene which involved a lot of fire. Many safety precautions and tricky filming tactics were needed, both to protect the cast and crew, but also to protect the UNESCO world heritage site. On a calmer side, the Georgian water gardens were used as palace grounds for members of the court to walk and scheme along the way.
Game of Thrones @ Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland
Game of Thrones didn’t just use Hadrian’s Wall as a filming location because it fit the books, the location was in fact the inspiration for what appeared in the books. George R. R. Martin writes about a land divided by a wall of ice, guarded by a hardy and dwindling band of sworn soldiers. “Civilisation” (or so they think) is found south of the wall, whilst North of the Wall is full of untold dangers and wild people beyond the law. Sound familiar?
Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
As such, it was a total no-brainer when it came to using Hadrian’s Wall as the location for The North in Game of Thrones, and the location where the viewer is first introduced to Eddard Stark (Sean Bean), Robb Stark (Richard Madden), and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) in Episode one of Season One.
Game of Thrones was one of those TV Shows that made me wonder how one gets into location scouting for a production company or film shoot. Seems like a wonderful job to me…
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Peaky Blinders @ Ashton Memorial, Lancashire
My home town was all abuzz when we learned that Peaky Blinders, the TV show sensation predominately filmed at the Black Country Museum, was coming to film in one of the most famous buildings in Lancaster.
The production moved in for a week or so, and used the iconic Ashton Memorial as the location for an evening soiree that quickly descends into chaos due to the presence of Oswald Mosley’s fascist Black Shirts.
The exteriors of both Carlisle Castle and Bamburgh Castle were used as locations for the notorious Wentworth Prison in Season One of the historical fantasy Outlander. Both of these castles provided the backdrop for Black Jack Randall’s lair in the Scottish Highlands, from which he terrorises the surrounding area and nurses his obsession of Jamie Fraser.
Regardless of the fact that neither of these castles ever had major prisons in them (outside of the dank dungeons favoured by medieval lords who liked shoving hapless people in them from time to time), they both certainly provide a foreboding and intimidating backdrop for the show.
Gayle Foster, the owner of Vintage by the Tower in Corbridge, has been invited to the House of Lords as part of Small Business Britain. Gail has been dedicated to increasing the sustainability of her business, whilst also learning more about the environmental impact of running a small business, by taking additional classes.
As any regular readers of mine know, I’m really interested in sustainability, particularly when it comes to clothing, so it’s really exciting to find more business owners dedicated to increasing their sustainability. I love vintage clothing, and preloved clothing, because you can find items that are going to last and last and last, rather than be just thrown away after a few wears, or when a minor repair is needed.
Anyway, congratulations to Gail for the recognition of her hard work, and I hope she has a great time down in London!
Perhaps the most famous literary export from Northumberland, L.J. Ross currently lives and writes out of the market town of Hexham, and the DCI Ryan Series (beginning with Holy Island) is her most well known series. There are twenty-two currently in the series and more are planned for later in 2026. All the novels have titles of local places or historical sites; Sycamore Gap, Penshaw, Cragside etc.
I notice there is also a book entitled Reivers, and it just says “coming soon” – I wonder whether that’s going to be about Border Reivers/Jacobites etc. If it is, that’s right up my street! I love historical fiction and would devour that in an instant.
2. Guns In The North, P. F. Chisholm (ROBERT CAREY MYSTERIES)
Okay, so this one is a bit of a cheat. This book is set in Northumberland and Cumbria. When Robert Carey, grandson of Mary Boleyn and therefore a cousin to Queen Elizabeth I, embarrasses himself at court, he is sent to the edge of England to work in a job no-one really wants, and regain the favour of his cousin and Queen. Stationed in Carlisle, in what he assumes are the culture-less and lawless border regions (only one of those is partially true!) Carey soon becomes embroiled in a murder mystery that quickly blossoms into a plot around clan and family loyalties, and even treason against the crown itself.
Guns In the North is the name of the first compendium that was released, containing the first three novels; A Famine of Horses, A Season of Knives, and A Surfeit of Guns.
It’s honestly one of my favourite trilogies I’ve read, and I devoured this first compendium in the space of less than a week. As it stands, there are currently nine or ten books in the series, and it is unfinished… hopefully we’ll get the ending soon!
3. The Crow Trap, Ann Cleeves (VERA STANHOPE SERIES)
Played by the indomitable Brenda Blethyn in the ITV Adaptation of the well known novels, the Vera series puts the rough-edged detective up against the wilds of Northumberland as she seeks to solve crimes. There are eleven novels in the Vera series, with other short stories and novellas available as well. Ann has said the latest novel will be the last in the Vera series, with Brenda Blethyn also retiring from playing the titular character on television. Despite updates to the series coming to a close, the legacy of Vera will live on for many new readers to explore and enjoy for years to come!
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4. Vindolanda, Adrian Goldsworthy
Set in AD 98, twenty years before Hadrian begins to build his wall, and Vindolanda is on the edge of the empire, in a constant struggle to maintain control against the native tribes of Britain. It falls to Flavius Ferox, a Briton and Roman centurion, to attempt to keep the peace.
Adrian Goldsworthy is a Roman historian, working at various universities after graduating from the University of Oxford, before turning to writing and publishing full time. He has written several books, both fiction and nonfiction, about Roman Britain.
Vindolanda from above
5. The Secrets of the Rose, Nicola Cornick
Another historical fiction novel (of sorts), this one is set in the Coastal town of Bamburgh, where a present day author is writing the story of Grace Darling, but instead finds herself drawn to the story of another local woman, Dorothy Forster, who’s story emerges at the time of the first Jacobite Rebellion in 1715. Dorothy is caught up in the drama of the rebellion when she learns her two brothers are involved, and her family might be the holders of a talisman the Rose, which both sides believe could be the key to winning the conflict.
