Highlights on Isaac's Tea Trail Walk
NEW - NEW - NEW - NEW - NEW - NEW
2012 Look out for the :-
- new trail guide
- trail information leaflet
- choice of shorter tea trail walks
- heritage displays in Allenheads, Allendale, and Nenthead
- new trail signs
- trail improvements in East Allen
The funding is being made available through the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union.
To be contacted when the new guide and leaflet are available, please forward your details to Allenheads Trust Ltd, Heritage Centre, Allenheads, Northumberland NE47 9HN or by email to rogerdmorris@gmail.com
Riverside Erosion to footpath Nent Valley June 2010
Cumbria County Council have placed signs from Nenthall bridge and other crosssings down to the road bridge below Blagill. "This right of way is subject to river bank erosion. No through route is possible". The wording is misleading as the Right of Way is not closed. For trail walkers there is a practicable option of a detour above the Nent Valley to Alston. (Be alert to speeding road traffic, where visibility is restricted with a sharp bend and junction.)
i At the footpath sign opposite Nenthall Hall, next to Nenthall Bridge, retrace your footsteps back over the bridge just before the Nenthall War Memorial and turn sharp left at the junction up the minor road and keep left at next junction and follow the road along.
ii Continue on your left past one footpath sign, then another footpath sign to Lovelady Shield and continue on about 600 yards to the one to West Cocklake and follow this down to the farm at West Foreshield and a short section of road to Blagill. You can either take a path to Corby Gates down to Gossipgate or follow the trail down to Blagill Bridge and the trail route by the waterfalls to Gossipgate into Alston.
Well! Isaac would have been pleased!
A plaque at Isaac's Well, has been unveiled in Allendale Market Place, by former County and Parish Councillor Nora Handcock. The distinctive well head is named after Isaac Holden, Victorian philanthropist and tea seller, and is located on Isaac's Tea Trail. Isaac raised the funds to build the well and water has flowed since 1849, providing safe, clean water supply, at a time when cholera and typhoid were rife.
What do you think of the trail ?
Feedback is always helpful and is the main way improvements are made.
Rosemary Carthy from Scotland comments, "......a wonderful walk ....all types of terrain and landscape ......a "real" gem of a walk that could appeal to many different groups -especially wildflowers/natural history/local history/industrial archaeology....The accommodation along the route was first class and very individual which only added to the trip. We also stayed at Ninebanks (YHA) and will certainly come again". August 2009
Congratulations to Will Horsley of Northumberland Fell Runners, who covered the trail in 7 hours and 44 mins. on 25th September, 2011. Will is the first person known to have ran the trail with the fastest recorded time. Writing afterwards he noted, "It was a fantastic day. When I got home I had a large mug of tea and thanked Isaac for choosing such a beautiful place to ply his trade." You can follow his run on the Northumberland Fell Runners website www.northumberlandfellrunners.co.uk at the entry for 25th September, 2011.
What the papers say ?
100 holiday ideas for 2010 Travel The Independent on Sunday,
"Isaac's Tea Trail remains one of the last great undiscovered wilderness treks in England".
Mark Rowe.
The Guardian -Travel also featured the trail under "Wander and wonder historical walks" as "Northumbria Tea Trail". "Thought you had to go to Sri Lanka to walk a tea trail? Not so......" Gemma Bowes. A reminder, there are excellent tea shops at Allenheads, Allendale and Alston.
A Walk On The Wild Side
"Beautiful or bleak, depending on your perspective, there is no denying the grandeur of the North Pennines ....I chose as my introduction to this wild and sometimes windswept countryside a section of the unlikely-named Isaac's Tea Trail. The trail climbs upwardsto the broad sweep of Carrshield Moor. The views from here seem endless....." Peter Beal Press Association featured in the Yorkshire Post, Shropshire Star, Whitehaven News and in business and several professional magazines.
Tynedale Visitor 2011
The Tynedale Visitor is free with the Hexham Courant and will feature the Isaac's Tea Trail walk. Get your copy from the Hexham Courant office in Beaumont Street or from the Hexham TIC, Wentworth Park and other visitor networks.
Isaac goes global
Also worth noting Isaac's Tea Trail has been recommended under an entry for the North Pennines in a new book "501 Must Visit Wild Places". Check it out.
SING ALONG TO..............
Award winning folk singer Mike Weston has composed a tribute song "The Ballad of Isaac Holden." You can listen to his recording at www.myspace.com/hotasphaltmike
"ISAAC'S STRANGE GIFT"
Isaac's Strange Gift gives more details about Isaac Holden's life. Described by Mike Amos in the Northern Echo, as "a charming little book". The booklet includes the tract written by Isaac of how he raised funds for a hearse in the West Allen. Other than the unusual choice of subject, such a personal account from the mid 1800s, written by a man without schooling, or status is rare. In his day Isaac embodied values now rediscovered in notions such as The Big Society.
There's also additional information of more fascinating places (some off the beaten track) to visit near Isaac's Tea Trail. Copies are available from Allenheads Trust Ltd, Trust Office, Heritage Centre, Allenheads, NE47 9HN, in Allendale, Cogito in Hexham, The Book Case in Chester le Street and The Blue Bell bookshop in Penrith and The Village Bookshop in Middleton in Teesdale. Also in public libraries and through Amazon ref. ISBN 978 0 95660122 0 3. Proceeds support Allenheads Trust Ltd.
Bird watching
Interesting historic reference to a Stone Curlew or Norfolk Plover, near Whitfield in the late 1920s. Have there been any sightings in recent years? Reports of a Great Grey Shrike nesting successfully on Alston Moor in 2009. Also reports of Corncrake heard near Catton in 2008 and 2009. A pair of kites seen over the East and West Allen in 2008 are no longer present . After record numbers of Red Grouse below Killhope in 2008 the numbers plummeted in 2009 but have since recovered. Also a setback in the numbers of Black Grouse. Barn Owls around Alston Moor badly effected by last winter's big freeze though news of at least one nesting pair around Kirkhaugh also at Dryburn in the West Allen. December 2010 Waxwings feeding above the Allen Gorge near Staward.
Discover more about Isaac Holden and his trail
Isaac a travelling tea seller and fund raiser became a legend from the mid-1800s. You can see why the trail celebrates his name, in Allendale, at Isaac’s Well, The Wesleyan Trinity Chapel, The Primitive Methodist chapel (the library), Savings bank (The Gift Shop), and his memorial in St. Cuthbert’s churchyard. Also look out for the old hearse house, about 20 yards further on from the turning for St. Mark's church at Ninebanks in the West Allen Valley.
Other places with Holden associations are the ancestral home at Nenthead (Greenends) and Castle Nook farm (Whitley Castle), three miles from Alston. Ann Telfer, the future Mrs. Holden was a servant on the farm. Isaac and Ann were married at Kirkhaugh church, on the trail beyond the footbridge on the opposite side of the South Tyne River. The Bavarian design is a surprise in a North Pennine setting, and the lofty interior makes Kirkhaugh a church with a difference and well worth a visit.
Isaac grew up at Mohope in the West Allen valley between Alston and Allendale. When only eight years old, he worked on the washing floor of the lead mine and at about 13 years of age, as a lead miner at the Hartleycleugh lead mine. He was no ordinary fund raiser; as he went to exceptional lengths to secure funds. The record of how he managed to raise money for the hearse has survived and throws light on other aspects of his life.
You can follow Isaac's example by fund raising for a charity of your choice.
The trail is grounded in the fascinating heritage of lead mining of the North Country dales. The villages are separated by wild mountains and look as well as feel different:Allendale and Alston, the community hubs of Allenheads and Nenthead and the hamlets of Kirkhaugh andNinebanks. You'll discover your own favourites.
On the trail of ancestors
Upto about twenty years ago, ruins dotted the landscape and some can can still be seen above Coalcleugh. Over a hundred years after the collapse of lead mining the population migrated to centres of industry all over the North East, Cumbria and the Durham and Northumberland coal fields, and as well as overseas to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The people took with them their few possessions, and through their surnames a connection with the places they had left. It may be that you are descended of North Pennines stock. Many names are of families, who have lived in and around the mountains of the north. There are exceptions, such as Cornish descendants, who brought with them their mining expertise the Trathans,Trealors and Indians. Vipond is a name that goes back to the Norman conquest. Other names have Saxon or Norse origins. The Holden claim to be of Viking blood needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Holden/Haldon/Howdon and other variants of this name have lived around Alston Moor for over 300 hundred years. Philipson is numerous around Allendale. Peart,Emerson,Fairless,Proud,He(a)therington,Featherstone,Fairless,Proud and Graham in Weardale. Vipond and Varty in Alston. Names listed below have all lived along Isaac's Tea Trail and many still do.
Archer, Armstrong, Bell, Blacklock, Coulson, Coulthard, Clementson, Dixon, Dodd, Edgar, Emerson, Elliott, Ellison, Graham, Featherstone, Fairless, Hodgson, Henderson, Hetherington, Hutchinson, Jackson, Keenleyside, Lee, Liddle, Maughan, Millican, Milburn, Martin, Morpeth, Nixon, Nattrass, Philipson, Proud, Peart, Ritson, Ridley, Stobbs, Stout, Snaith, Shields, Tate, Thompson, Tailford, Varty, Vipond, Ward, Whitfield, Walton and Wallace.
Wildlife and Environment
Black Grouse are found roosting in tree cover in the cleughs and ghylls on the higher ground. Barn owls can be seen at dusk and short eared owls by day. Golden plovers, lapwings, curlews, oyster catchers, redshanks and other waders make the uplands their home. Kestrels and buzzards hover and glide on the crests of the fells. Autumn freshets bring salmon and sea trout leaping the weir below Allendale. Rabbits are everywhere; deer, hares, stoats and weasels, usually make an appearance. While "Ratty" the water vole is in decline in the rest of the country, he's doing well in the water meadows of the River Nent and in the East Allen. Around Alston and in the Allen Valleys, keep your eyes open for red squirrels. Volunteer groups are doing their best to keep the greys out. You can report sightings of grey squirrels to 01434-38224 or 07518 038979 for the Alston area. In spring and summertime the hay meadows are flower rich. The mountain pansies, mikwort, harebells, grass of parnassus, meadow cranesbill and countless others, follow a seasonal succession and bring their own colours' to the trail.
Scenery and Landscape
The Black Way to Coalcleugh falls under the shadow of Killhope Law (673m) Durham’s highest fell, close to where Northumberland, Durham and Cumberland meet. There's grandstand views to Cross Fell (893m) and on your return to Allendale, near Clargillhead, The Cheviot (815m) is on the horizon to the far north. If you find the going tough, there's always someone worse off trudging up Cross Fell or The Cheviot on the The Pennine Way.
The North Pennines is a landscape shaped by centuries of lead mining; valuable silver was also smelted from the lead ore. The passage of time has healed the worst of the man-made scars. For over approximately half of the trail’s length, there are interconnected tunnels known as levels. Over long sections, these are stone lined and sections can be admired safely on tours at the Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre and at Killhope Lead Mining Centre. Another feature are the small reservoirs often hidden from view or drained dry. These were filled from water races etched into the fell sides. These fed giant water wheels for the hydraulic power to William Armstrong's engines that pumped water from the mines and machinery for processing ore. Look out for pieces of purple fluorspar, a mineral closely associated with lead around the old mine workings. This is often similar in colour to when the surrounding purple heather is in bloom and at its most sparkling after rainfall or with morning dew.
Spirituality and Faith
In a busy world, walking is a gentle way to find peace. It is also a pleasant way to keep healthy in both body and mind.
Each of the four main sections begins and ends, near a church.
(1) St. Cuthbert's, Allendale
(2) St. John's, Nenthead
(3) St. Augustine's, Alston
(4)Church of the Holy Paraclete at Kirkhaugh
(5) St. Mark's, Ninebanks.
They hold regular services and are an enduring link to the life and times of Isaac Holden. The churches and the numerous chapels, were for generations at the heart of community life, when lead and silver mining provided a livelihood across this wild North Pennine country.
The churches and the historic chapels, from the the simplest to the ornate are a regular reminder of a spiritual dimension to the trail. The popular Allendale New Year's Eve tar barl ceremony, may go back to the 1800s when some old tar barrrels were set alight and carried head high to illuminate the way to a watch night service. Though no one knows for certain the precise origins of this event. It provides festive of enjoyment to Allendonians and visitors.
Chester Armstrong, a native of Nenthead like countless others left the area to find employment of the Northumberland coalfield. He wrote looking back on his early life. "The present generations know little of the spiritual fervour which constituted the body and soul of Non-confromity, or of the true place it has occupied in our social history. We owe to our forefathers a debt."
Between Ninebanks and Allendale is Keenley Chapel built in 1750 and one of the earliest and still holds a monthly service. Up the East Allen Valley, look out for the Old Pry Hill Chapel, near the farm of this name. The earliest Primitive Methodist chapel is at Appletree Shield Chapel -1829 (now a picturesque ruin) at Mohope. Well worth a short detour of half a mile.
The Ritson family made a major contribution to Primitive Methodist (P.M.) worship in the West Allen and the world beyond. Primitive Methodism was evangelical and passionately supported in the mining communities. Great store was placed on revivalist meetings and conversions that followed. The Ritsons were joiners and carpenters and worshipped in the chapels they actually built. Joseph Ritson's (Snr.) youngest son became Rev. Joseph Ritson (1842 -1932), a prolific writer and editor of Methodist publications. He trained for the ministry from the age of 14 and in 1913, was elected President of the P.M. Conference in Derby. He retained a lifelong attachment to the Allendales.
Over in Weardale, in County Durham, High House Chapel is the oldest purpose built chapel in continuous use since 1760. Services are held every Sunday morning at 11.00 am. A visit to The Weardale Museum, (next door to the chapel) is recommended and is open between Easter and the end of September. Inside is a cornucopia of domestic, social and working life of Upper Weardale drawn from the late Victorian period.
Returning to Isaac's Tea Trail, the chapels and other places, are listed below. There's almost one chapel for every mile of the trail, some have disappeared or even been relocated for other uses. Before dedicated chapels, services were held in peoples' homes, the mine workshops, barns and out in the open as well as at annual camp meetings.
Allendale to Nenthead - Allendale "heckler's or flax-comber's shop, Allendale Trinity, 1760 (W) - still in use, Allendale, Dawson Place, 1835 (PM) -library, Pry Hill, 1861, (W), Swinhope, 1845 (PM), Coalcleugh - mine workshop, also Shield Ridge, 1854 (W).
Nenthead to Alston - Latimer's barn at the foot of Dykeheads Road (PM), Nenthead (W), Nenthead (PM), Nenthead (PM), Nentsbury, Hayring, 1829 (PM), Nentsbury, 1868 (PM), Nentsbury (W), Blaygill (PM).
Alston to Ninebanks - Alston (W), Alston(PM), Kirkhaugh (W),1873.
Ninebanks to Allendale - Mohope,1858 (W), Appletree Shield, 1829 (PM), Hesleywell, 1827 (W), Allotment House (1830-40s), Corry Hill, 1844 (PM), High House, 1829 (W), Keenley Cross Roads, (1848) (PM), and Keenley, 1750 (W).
W=Wesleyan, PM=Primitive Methodist
Main source: Methodism in the Allen Dales by Evelyn M. Charlton 1998.
Further reading: The Travelling Preacher John Wesley in the North - East of England 1742 -1790 Geoffrey Milburn ISBN 1 85852 236 6 Revised edition 2003 (Essential reading, a highly readable account, see Ch. IX John Wesley in the Dales). John Wesley said of Newcastle "Lovely place, lovely people" and was made welocme on his visits to the Allendale area.
Cooperative Societies
You wont' find them listed as visitor attractions within the glossy folds of the tourism mags. After crossing the moors, you may be in need of some retail therapy, then check out the Co-operative stores. These are the retail counterparts of the chapels and have been at the forefront of the Fair Trade movement. The Allendale Co-op won a national award for service and Alston Co-op has long opening hours. Both are a good source of local supplies. Until about thirty years ago there were even societies at Nenthead and Whitfield with a branch at Ninebanks.
Bastle Houses (and Peel towers)
Is the name given to the defensive farmsteads, within raiding distance of either side of the Anglo- Scottish Border. The bastles are found in this part of the North Pennines where the stealing/shifting of livestock, blackmail and bloodshed by feuding Reiver families was an every day story of Border folk. There is no better place to study bastles than along the trail. For the dedicated bastle spotter, the massive stone blocks above the entrances (often walled in) are a stunning feature. The term "bastle" is not widely understood and their existence deserves to better known.
Allendale to Nenthead - Rowantree Stob* and Knockburn
Nenthead to Alston - Blagill Bastle and High Lovelady Shield
Alston to Ninebanks - Whitlow i,ii,iii (nr. Whitley Castle), Dyke House, Underbank, Clarghyll Hall and White Lea (within sight)
Ninebanks to Allendale - Furnace House, Monk i,ii,iii,iv
The bastles are private dwellings, integrated within farm buildings or sometimes a ruin and need to be viewed with respect to owners' privacy,farm work and safety. * (Rowantree Stob, Natural England has funded essential repair work, to prevent further deterioration to the building. This is a "must see" place. Rowantree Stob is unusual with walls thinner than most bastles. Carved in into a door way are the letters "TR" which are probably the initials of a relation of Margaret Rowele, who is recorded as a tenant in 1608.
FAQ about Isaac Holden
Q. How did he travel between places?
A. He walked with the tea carried on his back or over his shoulder, only the wealthy could afford horses and there were very few of this class. Donkeys (cuddys) appear more common on the new Turnpike roads. Pedlars had to pay a licence to sell specified goods, such as cuttlery and a fixed rate for a beast of burden. This was considered unfair, as the charge for a cuddy was the same as a horse. One resentful traveller carried his small cuddy around the toll house, to show that it was no bigger than a dog and should be charged the same rate. Early in the nineteenth century there was a weekly postal service and a pony carried the mail from Hexham. Some better off farmers kept galloways and used them with the local hunts.
Q. How could the poor lead miners afford tea?
A. There were reductions in import duty in the first half of the 19th century, which reduced the purchase price. New tea plantations in India and Ceylon helped meet the increased consumption. Even the poorest could now afford the occasional cup. Tea was also the mainstay at Methodist social gatherings and drank elsewhere as a non alcoholic alternative to beer. Lead miners were not all poor and tea was supplied to the work house.
Q. How could Isaac make a living, when now there are so few houses?
A. Several properties have gone or are reduced to piles of stones. At Coalcleugh, there was a village of almost 200, where now there are only 2-3 occupied houses. The West Allen had a mid 19th century population of about two thousand, which has dropped to a few hundred.
Q. Did he visit all the places on the trail?
A. Yes. Holden had an extensive family network and kinsfolk were among his customers. He also knew many folk from his day's as a lead miner and was well known in Methodist circles. The railway from Alston and Haydon Bridge made visits to Carlisle, Newcastle and the coast.
Q. How was the tea delivered and packaged?
A. Commercial practices evolved over this period. Isaac brought tea to folks doors in much the same way as the Rington's van still do. Tea was available from wholesale outlets in Newcastle. It seems likely the tea was weighed and packaged in the Holden's shop and then delivered by Isaac around Allendale and beyond. Safety and reliability became increasingly important with public concern for the adulteration of tea with iron filings and other substances (there was also widespread abuse to other beverages and food stuffs). This gave impetus to packaging and branding, which provided some assurance in product reliability. Isaac's Strange Gift provides more details about tea selling in the North Pennines and the importance of doorstep deliveries to the dispersed communities. The coal trade from Newcastle Upon Tyne from the beginning of the 18th century particularly with London meant collier ships returned to the North East with supplies of tea and coffee. These found their way inland through smelting and the lead trade from the Tyne, as far as Alston, Allendale and before other places in Britain.
