2011, our launch year and looking to the future...

It was in June 2011 that the idea for Your Northumberland Guide appeared in my mind. At the beginning of the year I bought a Cottage in rural Northumberland as an investment for our future, a pension of sorts. Through setting up the Cottage I realised that there simply wasn't the information available online that I wanted to point prospective guests to. A detailed guide to the area, things to do, where to go and visit, the best places to eat and drink and all the local knowledge that I (and my family and friends) have built up over the years. I started putting all this information down on paper (of the digital kind) and before long I had quite a comprehensive guide to the immediate area surrounding the Cottage. From here the idea of Your Northumberland Guide was born, a free resource for anyone living or visiting the area, a way to promote all the things I love about the County and a way to share information.

It's been a long slog since then, writing each area guide page by page in what little spare time I could grab. Undoubtedly there is still a huge amount of work to be done before the whole County is covered to the depth that I am determined that it will be covered. The site has grown organically with many businesses contacting me and the level of support and the feeling of 'need' for such a site has just been huge. I've been overwhelmed by the response and how quickly the site has grown from being a simple idea to a site visited by thousands each month and a social network fast approaching 4,000 wonderful people. All in such a short space of time as well, since writing the first words in early July the sheer size of the task in hand has become extremely apparent!

Looking forward I will continue to work hard on the site through 2012 and develop the huge number of ideas I have to move things forward. New features and guides coming early in 2012 include:

• A completely revamped 'Events and What's On' Section
• A monthly newsletter covering the major events in the coming month (including cost effective advertising opportunities for local businesses)
• Complete area guides for all the County's main Towns and Villages
• Develop fully the 'Things To Do' section of the site
• Continue to promote and push Northumberland as an amazing place to live and visit

Lastly I would really like to thank everyone who has contacted me and got involved with the site so far, I always welcome feedback and ideas so please do get in touch if there's something you'd like to be included! It's been quite the unexpected journey so far, here's to 2012 continuing this exciting trend and to building new contacts and making new friends in this great County.

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year!

Andrew
Your Northumberland Guide Creator

National Trust Experiences on Auction

From Tuesday 21st November the National Trust will be auctioning off some fantastic experiences in Northumberland to raise money for the Trust. If you're looking for a unique Christmas present then they don't get much better than this! On auction in Northumberland there is the opportunity to experience:

Farne Islands seabird spectacular
Experience the sights, sounds and smells of one of the greatest seabird colonies in Europe in an exclusive boat-chauffeured view of life on the Farne Islands. See nesting seabirds at your feet, and come within an arm's reach of Puffins, Arctic Terns and Eiders, before a traditional fish and chip supper.

Farne Islands Grey Seal colony
Over 1,300 Grey Seal pups are born on the Farne Islands during autumn, making it England’s largest breeding population. This tour of the colonies will take in the drama of some normally off-limits islands, seeing the trials and tribulations faced by pups with their attentive mothers close at hand.

Host a Georgian evening at Seaton Delaval Hall
Dressed in full Georgian clothing, start with a Champagne reception for eight guests at Seaton Delaval Hall before an authentic Delaval menu for dinner. After you bid your guests farewell, retire to the Bird Bedroom for a once in a lifetime overnight stay.

Cragside
From the top of the tower to the depths of the wine cellar, get into Cragside's nooks and crannies. With an expert to bring the story to life you can wander at your leisure: open drawers, go right into each room, see spectacular views and take a seat as Lord Armstrong’s guests would have done.

Hadrian's Wall
Stay for two nights in one of our newly refurbished cottages along Hadrian's Wall.You’ll have an escorted tour of the Wall with one of our expert staff, followed by an evening of wildlife watching with one of our rangers.

Visit the National Trust website for more information and links to the individual auctions on ebay. Will you be placing a bid?

Olympic Torch Route Revealed

The Olympic Torch will pass through Northumberland between 14th & 16th June 2012 including all of our major Towns and a large number of our smaller Villages throughout the County.

Day 27 - 14 June 2012: Edinburgh to Alnwick
Edinburgh, Duddingston, Musselburgh, Dalkeith, Lasswade, Loanhead, Bilston, Milton, Bridge, Penicuik, Eddleston, Peebles, Innerleithen, Walkerburn, Selkirk, Galashiels, Earlston, Gordon, Greenlaw, Duns, Chirnside, Foulden, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Bamburgh, Alnwick

Day 28 - 15 June 2012: Alnwick to Newcastle upon Tyne
Alnwick, Hipsburn, Warkworth, Amble, Ashington, Newbiggin-By-The-Sea, Ashington, Choppington, Morpeth, Hartford, Bedlington, Blyth, Whitley Bay, Cullercoats, Tynemouth, North Shields, Howdon, Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne

Day 29 - 16 June 2012: Gateshead to Durham
Gateshead, South Shields, Whitburn, Sunderland, Low Fell and Chowdene, Blaydon, Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Hexham, Riding Mill, Consett, Moorside, Castleside, Tow Law, Esh, Langley Park, Durham

A full breakdown of the route is available here.

Sunday Lunch Campaign Update!

A huge thank you to everyone that has nominated so far in our Campaign to find the best Sunday Lunch in Northumberland. Up until now over 100 places have received at least one nomination by a member of the public and some places are well over the thirty mark! There are a few leading contenders for the shortlist at the moment where people speak so passionately about why they have nominated them.

The nomination process will run until Sunday 30th October. After that we will spend a lot of time reading each and every nomination and decide on a shortlist of places for us to visit. We will not only take into account the sheer number of nominations, but also what people say about each place. Do they source their food locally? Is the service excellent? What about the location? We're looking for the places that really go the extra mile to make a meal wonderful and it's going to be an incredibly tough job deciding. During November we will visit and enjoy a Sunday Lunch at each of the shortlisted places, I'll be blogging about each one and then announcing the winner towards the end of November!

There's still plenty of time to nominate, so make you sure you do (and pass it on to your friends! The more nominations we receive the better).

Once too often? Causeway Rescue Episode 361

Yet another couple have become stranded on the crossing to Holy Island as the tide rose and overcame their car. A man and a woman were rescued from one of the refuge boxes by Seahouses Lifeboat and were brought to shore. It's yet another case of people thinking that the warning signs and published safe crossing times simply don't apply to them.

It costs the Lifeboat (which is a registered charity and publicly funded) thousands of pounds each time someone ignores the warnings and gets stranded. A meeting was held in August to discuss ways in which this kind of incidents can be stopped, but as of yet there doesn't appear to be a plan that everyone can agree upon. One thing is for sure, there needs to be some kind of solution found, be it barriers (which the local residents of the island vehemently oppose) or some kind of light warning system. I have to admit that I don't necessarily understand fully the argument against installing some kind of barrier system. From what I understand the local opposition is based around the need for emergency service access at 'risk times' before the causeway is completely flooded and for those residents who understand the tides more fully than visitors. While I agree this could be an issue, with today's technology the emergency services could surely have an over-ride system like the retractable bollards that Fire Engines can activate - a similar system clearly already exists. As for the residents who think that they understand the tide and can take risks, I would argue that they should be discouraged from doing this at all! I fail to see why the Seahouses Lifeboat station should bare the financial brunt for at best people's ignorance or arrogance against the power of the tide, and at worst their plain stupidity.

The Seahouses Lifeboat are constantly fund raising and are currently looking for volunteer all weather and inshore Lifeboat crew. I wonder how many of the rescued show their gratitude by helping to raise funds to cover the cost of their rescue?

Visit the Seahouses Lifeboat Website for more information about the incredible work they do on a daily basis. You can read the BBC news article about the incident here.

Festival marred by Car Accident

A bizarre and very serious accident has happened in Alnwick Marketplace today during the International Music Festival. Usually a place of enjoyment, traditional music and dance, this afternoon the marketplace was turned into a nightmare when a car ploughed through the square, hitting several pedestrians and stalls. The vehicle apparently hit four stalls and came to halt when it hit the fifth. One person has been confirmed as airlifted to hospital and several people have been wounded by the accident. Witnesses said the car was being driven by an elderly lady.

I honestly have no idea how this kind of accident could have happened, the marketplace was full of stalls and there shouldn't have been cars in there anyway. Thank goodness the weather was bad, otherwise a lot more people could have been hurt. I think in future there needs to be barriers in place to make the Square completely pedestrianised during these festivals. Good to see the Northumbrian spirit in action though, cafe and shop owners were seen to be looking after the shocked and wounded with drinks and food.

Read more about it at the Northumberland Gazette Website