Tourist information for the Ford and Etal estate in north Northumberland suggests that the best way to get there is by car. But that's not the most environmentally friendly way to get there, which is to enjoy the scenery over the hedgerows by country bus.
Take advantage of vehicles which are travelling anyway and support the local economy. The regionwide DaySaver for £6.80 makes this excursion inexpensive as it is long! I made a trip from Co. Durham on 22 June to Lord Joicey’s beautiful estate and enjoyed lunch with the man himself in the only thatched pub in Northumberland: the Black Bull in Etal, which is managed by the Cheviot Brewery. They offer glamping and alpaca walking elsewhere on the estate.
On enquiring about the buildings on the estate, Lord Joicey tells me there two Grade I buildings, four Grade II*, 42 Grade II, 14 scheduled monuments and one registered battlefield. The latter is the Flodden field where on 9th September 1513, fifteen thousand English and Scots soldiers died in the space of three hours.
It’s a long way to the twin villages of Ford and Etal, so I elected to travel northbound by train using an Advance Purchase single by LNER from Newcastle to Berwick which whizzed me north in just 42 minutes, for the 64 miles. I therefore arrived at Ford at 1123. Outside Berwick station the stop is visible for the Borders Buses 267 which plies between Berwick (outside the Castle Hotel) and Wooler. The ticket I had bought in County Durham earlier was happily accepted by the the driver of the 267. He or she will be your friend for the day moving between Ford, Etal, Heatherslaw and the turn for the road to Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre. The latter protects rare breeds, not only horses but also pigs, geese and ducks, including fine Clydesdales. This summer a new Clydesdale foal is an additional attraction.
There’s a corn mill and galleries to visit at Heatherslaw, mid way between the two villages. The 15 inch gauge Heatherslaw Light Railway runs from alongside the River Till (walks available) to Etal where its Castle is a fine ruin in the care of English Heritage. I walked around the buildings which might be found on a jigsaw puzzle and found the church of St Mary the Virgin designed by noted Gothic revival architect William Butterfield at the height of his powers in 1859.
Back at Ford I visited the Lady Waterford Hall, once a village school. The legacy of Louisa Anne, The Marchioness of Waterford, is the beautiful village of Ford that we see today. It was rare for a lady of high birth to care about working people in the area, but Louisa was no regular lady!
Having inherited the Ford estate from her late husband, she was quick to work in creating housing for her tenants and a schoolroom for children in 1860. As well as a humanitarian, Louisa Anne was a talented painter from a young age and we can see her finest works in the Lady Waterford Hall.
The journey back was by bus using well-connected journeys using the 267 into Wooler, the Glen Valley Tours 473 from Wooler to Alnwick picking up the Arriva express X15 which is semi-fast to Morpeth and then fast into Newcastle, connecting into my local bus home, arriving 2106 with time for an evening meal in Newcastle. Hardly any carbon emissions and an enjoyable day out.
www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/attractions
bustimes.org not only has all bus timetables but shows the location of your bus when waiting for it.
alexnelson@nationalrail.com, www.nationalrail.com