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Lars Dahlberg

By Lars Dahlberg
in Talk of the Town

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Lars Dahlberg

Lars Dahlberg

Posted
Posted

Hi all!

 

We are a couple from Sweden that's going to be road tripping thru parts of Scotland (landing by plane in Edinburgh and going down to London) and England. We have a lovely ten-year-old Bedlington Terrier that we will have to leave at home unfortunately but the history of the breed and your town is presenting us with too good of a story not to come and pass through your lovely town.

We are wondering if there's anything we simply can't miss and if there are any traces left of the coal mines or anything related to the history of the dogs and the people?

We will probably come through on the 8th of August. We will take a detour on our way to the Lake District via the coastline from Edinburgh, so it's not a trip for rushing but for adventure and sights!

Hopefully someone will have some good tips for us!

Sincerely / Lars and Jennifer (and Nova the Bedlington terrier!)

 

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  • Like 3
Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)

Posted
Posted

Good morning @Lars Dahlberg ,Jennifer & Nova. Hopefully the members will be able to give your suggestions of where best to spend any time in the area. I would hope someone could come up with some ideas but I don't believe there is any official 'Information Center' where you could visit and find out the History of Bedlington and the Bedlington Terrier. I hope I am wrong and someone will give you better info.

I think what you might get is a few comments from the members of this site based on what info has been handed down to them eg :- The Bedlington terrier originally hails from the North-East of England in a town called Rothbury on the Scottish/English borders of Northumberland. In fact, the breed is still sometimes known as the Rothbury Terrier - see http://www.dog-breeds-expert.com/Bedlington-Terrier.html

One online site to visit about local mining is  http://www.experiencewoodhorn.com/ . Woodhorn is approximately 7 miles from Bedlington and  is a former 19th-century coal mine now a museum and heritage centre for art and local historic relics.

Address: QEII Country Park, Ashington NE63 9YF

I'm trying hard not to just simply type - there's  not a lot to see or find out! 

If you were interested in attempting to understand the 'pitmatic' dialect then read some of the stories on this site by @HIGH PIT WILMA. HPW (or Bill). HPW worked in the Bedlington mine in the 60s but ended up in one of the last mines in the area, Bates Colliery (approximately 5 miles outside Bedlington) and created a 'blog' (for the want of a better word) on the Flickr community web site and shared his photos and stories on that site. He has since arranged for his photos and stories to be added to this site and they can be found in the Gallery > Places Gallery >  Bates Pit by High Pit Wilma

Link to his album is 

 

 

Andy Millne

Andy Millne

Posted
Posted

A brief intro to Bedlington heritage and a walking tour can be found in the leaflet in the following post which inevitably covers a small bit of terrier history too.

 

  • Like 1
Canny lass

Canny lass

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Lars Dahlberg said:

We are a couple from Sweden that's going to be road tripping thru parts of Scotland (landing by plane in Edinburgh and going down to London) and England. We have a lovely ten-year-old Bedlington Terrier that we will have to leave at home unfortunately but the history of the breed and your town is presenting us with too good of a story not to come and pass through your lovely town.

We are wondering if there's anything we simply can't miss and if there are any traces left of the coal mines or anything related to the history of the dogs and the people?

We will probably come through on the 8th of August. We will take a detour on our way to the Lake District via the coastline from Edinburgh, so it's not a trip for rushing but for adventure and sights!

Hi Lars och Jennifer

Så trevlig att ni vill besöka mitt hemland! Jag har bott 30 år i ditt. Det finns mycket att se och uppleva i England och tro mig när jag säger att det  inte bara är grått och regnigt. Nu tar jag resten på engelska så att resten av gänget kan komma med kommentarer. 

A lot depends on how much time you have at your disposal and what your interests are. Like Sweden, the UK has a rich and varied landscape. It's easy for a swede to think that England is synonymous with 'London' and 'dirty' industrial towns but this couldn't be further from the truth. Certainly, England has its fair share of leftovers from the industrial revolution - and these give an interesting insight in themselves - but it also has a great deal of rural history. It surprises many to know that at the height of the industrial revolution, England probably had the best (meaning most sensibly) dressed and fed working class population in Europe. This was largely thanks to the wool industry and its copious bi-product - meat (mutton).

I've taken guests from Sweden to England on several occasions and always try to balance the industrial/urban side of England with the rural side and most are more than pleasantly surprised to find that England has vast areas of devastatingly beautiful countryside..

If you're starting out from Edinburgh head south towards Bedlington following the coast road. Look out for and make a stop at: Holy Island (Lindisfarne), Bamburgh and Craster (you must eat at least one kipper!) before heading inland towards Alnwick. Continue south towards Morpeth and Bedlington. The advice given by Andy above, regarding the heritage leaflet is well worth noting. Have it on your phone/ tablet or print it out before you leave home. It is, unfortunately, only available at the local council office during opening times. 

You can't visit Bedlington without looking into the history of our mines and the men who worked them. These men were the backbone of the industrial revolution in England. Without them, and the coal they produced, there would not have been much of a revolution. Steam power may have powered many innovations but it was sheer human muscle power that provided the raw material for the steam. I agree with Eggy, http://www.experiencewoodhorn.com/  is a good place to start.  While in the Bedlington area I would also recommend a day out to Beamish Open Air Museum near Stanley, County Durham http://www.beamish.org.uk/ to see how miners and their families lived and worked during the period of the industrial revolution and the war years. Very interesting. Also interesting, for you Lars, is that wherever you go in the Bedlington Area - indeed all over the north east - you are walking on ground that is being held up by wood from Scandinavian forests. Britain's mining industry was one of the biggest importers of timber (for pit-props to hold up the roof in the mines) from Scandinavia.

While in the North East, and not far from Bedlington we have Hadrians Wall http://hadrianswallcountry.co.uk/ and from there it's a nice journey over the moors to Carlisle or Penrith and the lake district. As you approach Cumbria (the lake district) another point of interest for a swede is to start looking at the place names. In this area the Scandivians influence is very much in evidence. Look for names ending in by (swedish 'by'), thorpe (swedish 'torp') and toft (swedish 'tomt'). These all came to Britain with your forefathers - the vikings.

From Penrith, I always think a nice round trip in the lake district starts at Penrith and heads west towards Keswick and Cockermouth before turning southwards to Buttermere, Ambleside and Windermere but it's very individual. It might be worth noting that it is packed with tourists in August so you'd be wise to book accommodation in advance. It's a beautiful area, in many ways like Sweden from a point of view of nature. However, if you want to see, what I think of as the 'real' England you should start your journey south taking a route through the peak district of the Pennines - the backbone of England. There's some fantastic walking on the Pennine Way (sometimes referred to as England's longest footpath http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way) and (http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting).

I hope this is of some help and if you want to know  about some of my other 'typically English' places  which I usually show visiting swedes then please feel free to ask. There's  loads to see and do between the Lake District and London.

 

 

 

 

  • Like 4
pilgrim

pilgrim

Posted
Posted

Canny Lass    - (oh -- damn - it went all wrong ..will try again) - I can see a prob if they travelling from Edinburgh to the lakes and want to visit holy island !!! but if they want to, the Lindisfarne at Beal is not bad for an overnight and I live only 10 mins away and am more than happy to act as a native guide - thus avoiding the tourist silliness - I know the island very well and also the cheviots. can you speak to them and tell them to get in touch if they want to call down this way. I am more than happy to show them some of the local sites.

 

Canny lass

Canny lass

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, pilgrim said:

Canny Lass    - (oh -- damn - it went all wrong ..will try again) - I can see a prob if they travelling from Edinburgh to the lakes and want to visit holy island !!! but if they want to, the Lindisfarne at Beal is not bad for an overnight and I live only 10 mins away and am more than happy to act as a native guide - thus avoiding the tourist silliness - I know the island very well and also the cheviots. can you speak to them and tell them to get in touch if they want to call down this way. I am more than happy to show them some of the local sites.

 

I understood that they were visiting Bedlington as well - because of the dog connection - or is my brain playing tricks on me?

pilgrim

pilgrim

Posted
Posted

oh and mention - Alnwick Castle and gardens - its full to bursting over the summer and full of tat at this time of year - I can prob arrange a visit to chillingham castle - which is much more quiet and almost en route -- also beamish might be worth dropping into as a stop on way  the lakes  - I think you have my e-mail address and I have no prbs if they want to contact me directly

 

j

Canny lass

Canny lass

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, pilgrim said:

ye def getting senile like me lol - 

Well! There I was thinking I should be taking more water with my whisky.

I don't have your e-mail but you can message it to me or you'll find my e-mail on my profile if you prefer that route.

 

Edited by Canny lass
HIGH PIT WILMA

HIGH PIT WILMA

Posted
Posted

Hi Lars,Jennifer,AND Nova!!

Sorry I am not able to offer practical hands-on  guidance,due to my personal commitments at home,but thanks to the hard work done by Eggy,in bringing my Bates Pit Photo's to this site from FLICKR,[the photo-sharing site],I hope you might gain a wealth of information,and enjoyment,reading a few of the many and varied comments,under each photo.[mind,get a strong cup of coffee before you start,cos I write like I talk.........!![non-stop some folks say!....but I just like to paint as good a picture as possible with words,as to how we lived and worked 1000 feet underground and many miles out under the north sea.....heading your way in some roadways!!]

Hope you both enjoy your stay in Beautiful Northumbria,as well as the rest of our lovely country!

Noo...! ...waat's Swedish for .."Waatcheor Marra's!"

....or!..."Waatchwatyadaeing Marra!"

Bill.

  • Like 1
HIGH PIT WILMA

HIGH PIT WILMA

Posted
Posted

Aahh!! I forgot to say what a gorgeous little friend Nova is! They are so lovable natured,but fierce as hell when they say go!!Well, they wouldn't be Terriers if they were wimps!

Give him a big hug and a gud scratch behind the ears from Me and LBJ![ "Little Black Jess"...my poorly Labrador x ...]

HIGH PIT WILMA

HIGH PIT WILMA

Posted
Posted

Heh heh ! Canny Lass,aa musta had a brain-storm......!![have a got a brain?!]

Naa,ye see,ivry bugga else in this  country nivvor change tha twang,ti help other folks ti unnastand thim,like a Cockney,or a Scotsman,for instance,but we were browt up wi manners,an' larn't ti  hae pity on poor listeners from utha fields.....so WE TRY!...ti taak "polite",but gennly end up mekk'n an ass  o' wase'lls.....if ye knaa wat a mean....like....!,and aav tuk notice in me travels roond wor countries in the UK,[cos aav nivvor ivvor been abroad....except ti the Isle of Skye.........in the days wen ye had ti get on a wee boat!!],and we're the only ones who dae that,cos if we didn't,knae bugga wud knaa wat thi hell we were taaking aboot![ Cussing is hoyed in fo' dramatic effect!!]

Hoo dae ye say "Hello" in Sweden,Lass?

A can tell Lars and Jennifer ti say "Bora Da ",when they get ti Wales!!!

Nite nite!

Canny lass

Canny lass

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

Noo...! ...waat's Swedish for .."Waatcheor Marra's!"

Hur mår du?

9 hours ago, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

Hoo dae ye say "Hello" in Sweden,Lass?

Hej. Pronounced as 'hay' (the way the queen would say it). Usually followed by the above 'hur mår du'.

  • Like 1
  • 3 weeks later...
Lars Dahlberg

Lars Dahlberg

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Oh, lovely people! I'm so sad I've been quiet for so long! Been thinking long and hard about how to say thank you for such warm, overwhelming and welcoming response.

Thank you all for your tips, we have noted down every one of them and will try to do as much as we can find time to do! I will update you with some pictures and tales when we get back!

Just wanted to tell you guys that I haven't thrown away all your hard work and kind words!

Hej! is the correct response. You can also say Hallå! (Hello!). Hej! is close to Hi! 

Once again, thanks for everything! I'll recap after we get home the fifteenth. 

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