Morpeth
Morpeth town centre.
Cherry blossom over the River Wansbeck.
The River Wansbeck flows through the centre of the town and provides riverside walks linked to the attractive Carlisle Park. There is also a leisure centre and swimming pool and a good range of shops, restaurants and hotels.
The clock tower in the town centre is very unusual, being a rare example of a free standing bell tower not connected to any other building, such as church. It still sounds the night curfew at 8 o'clock every evening. The divisions on the clock are also unusual in that there are only four divisions between the hour numbers rather than five as on most clocks and watches. This was because when the clock was first built it only had one hand (the hour hand) and four divisions were thought to be more useful in indicating the quarter and half hours.
If you're interested in music and local heritage you might like to visit the Chantry Bagpipe Museum. Northumberland is the only county with its own musical instrument, the Northumbrian pipes. This museum follows the development of bagpipes around the world using a unique sound system with personal headphones.
The Museum sells a wide range of music for the Northumbrian pipes and also an excellent range of CDs and cassettes.
It is also the venue for some important bagpipe events including the Northumbrian Pipers' Society annual competitions which are a key feature of the Northumberland Traditional Music Festival. The museum also adjoins the Northumbria Craft Centre.
Another Northumbrian tradition, cheese making, can be found at Make Me Rich Farm in nearby Blagdon. Observe the cheese being made by traditional methods and then relax and enjoy free samples in the coffee shop. The Whitehouse Farm Centre is ideal for an educational family outing. Learn about how a farm works and see guinea pigs, rabbits, chicks, ducks and exotic animals plus pedal tractors, go karts, crafts and cafe.
Sport is popular in the town too - Morpeth Town F.C., Morpeth RUFC, the cricket, hockey and tennis club and the golf club all play competitively. The Morpeth Harriers cater for those wishing to compete in athletics. The town also offers opportunities to play sport on a non-competitive basis through facilities such as Carlisle Park, the common and the leisure centre.
Article adapted from the Wikipedia online encyclopedia and Northumberland County Council website.
How to get to Morpeth:
By road: Morpeth is conveniently located just off the main A1 road. It is about 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne.
By rail: The nearest station is Morpeth. The station is on the main east coast railway line and is served frequently by trains from London and Newcastle upon Tyne in the south. Less frequent services run from Edinburgh in the north.
By bus: Arriva Northumbria services 501, 505 and 518 (525 on Sundays and Bank Holidays) run from Newcastle upon Tyne to Morpeth.
Map of area: CLICK HERE
