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Good to hear everyone is safe. Isolation in Bedlington feels safe and easier than living in a city.

I grew up in the Nicholas Garrow now called The old manor house on clifton Lane lived there from the age of 5 to 22. All I will say is plenty of ghosts left behind.

Hello all, my first post. I read with interest about the Ha'penny woods. Having lived in Bedlington station all my life except for a years folly into Newbiggin I think I have something to add. I remember that Fergusons, the transport company had something to do with the Ha'penny woods, probably owned it at sometime. There was a Ferguson daughter whose name may have begun with an 'E' who either died young or inherited the woods, probably the former, and the woods were handed to the people of the community as a free amenity by her relatives. The woods still retained the Ha'penny woods title. I did seek and find the plaque which I did read when I was a lot younger but sadly weather has taken it's toll and cannot be read. I cannot remember what was inscribed on the plaque. I don't remember anything about a fox and a horse rider but that doesn't mean it's not correct, most likely is. Something I noticed when reaching the second half of the path before the barbed wire fence was what appears to me to be slag from the iron works as a surface of the path. This got me thinking, why is it there. The rock faces in that area appeared to have been worked at sometime so was the slag laid so the iron works could transport the limestone rock for the iron making process or as blocks to reinforce the banks upstream of the dam and water wheel that supplied power to the iron works. If I'm correct it wouldn't have been a single path because rock is heavy so was probably transported by cart on a much wider track rather than on the back of horses or mules. I will take a magnet to confirm it is slag on my next walk on the path. I think Doyles shop closed at the end of the 60's or early 70's. I used it 1,000's of times being brought up in Tomlea Ave. I remember a 3 or large 2 story house at the start of the free woods at the furnace bank end. I believe a family called Blackburn lived in one of the houses and were the last occupants before it was demolished. Something else that has me thinking. Which way were the completed steam engines moved from the works. I suppose they could have travelled towards the Kitty Brewster or beyond to flatter ground and joined the rail network in the Bates pit area. The furnace bridge is an arch but is flat on the top so the engines could be wheeled/dragged across it with teams of horses. Then there would be the problem of getting them up to the bank top. I doubt horses could pull them up but perhaps a stationary steam engine could pull them up but where would they go from there. There was a rail track from the iron works that ran along the edge of the river towards the black bridge. This track was paid for by the Iron Works and connected with the Barrington pit track that brought coal to the riverside for transfer onto barges. The iron works then had coal delivered directly to the works. I'm not sure if the trains went along that track because it was probably not a standard gauge track and was used to carry tubs of coal. The trains could have been loaded onto a barge though that would be risky and where would they be off loaded. I'm a bit puzzled. There is a stone block wall next to the furnace bridge which was probably reinforcing the land behind it and was used to tie up barges bringing supplies to the Iron Works or taking some of the other goods produced at the Iron Works. The Iron works also produced 100,000's of stamped nails that were transported all over the UK and the world. Further info on the Barrington Pit track. It originally ran only to Granery point staithes through Binnes farm. This could have been limiting for getting the coal away via ships because they will have needed a full tide or very close to it to get docked and then cast off so would have had a turn around time of 12hrs from high tide to high tide. There could be full coal trucks or tubs waiting to discharge their loads when the next ships were able to dock so inefficient. A branch line was brought to the area west of the black bridge where barges were tied up and then filled. They would also have to wait for a full tide but the coal wasn't waiting to be loaded because several barges could be docked at the same time. The stone block wall can be viewed from the south bank of the river. Also an arched underpass can be viewed in the same area. This is not very high which is why I don't think the steam engines left that way. Jammy

if I remember rightly we had to walk along to a purpose built block where you had your own toilet

I lived at 15a moorside I would be about 4 years old I can remember mr tylers chippie and a school.

https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/coronavirus/Northumberland-Communities-Together.aspx

For those who may still be confused, this may - or may not - help. personally, I think it's more relevant to social isolation than social distancing:

Aye, I've only got 6,000 bog rolls left.

Home quarantine, days 6-10: Keeping the home-fires burning in 2022. There are two more behind me. #Winning at social isolation!

Just that I used to cut the grass there as a teenager. My dad was head gardener at Hepscott Park and we used to travel all over the county looking after the gardens at different homes.