Exploring Maelmin Heritage Trail

 

Last Friday I shared some photos from our visit to Ad Gefrin and on that same day, we also visited another site about 4 miles away, Maelmin in Millfield. This is another area that was home to a Royal Township dating to the Anglo-Saxon times, although, unlike Gefrin, Maelmin has some reconstructions of a henge and a dark-age house! Maelmin has a full heritage trail complete with many information boards along the way and some really cool views and perspectives. 

These photos were taken on Saturday the 3rd of July and just like Gefrin (which seems to be a little less known) Maelmin was just as quiet when we arrived. Here there is a proper car park and thankfully we had it to ourselves. We enjoyed a good 40-minute wander, reading and photographing while getting some fresh air.

I have no idea if we did the trail in the correct order, it's doubtful, but we first headed toward the Henge reconstruction. There were many Henges throughout the Till Valley, however, this one was based on the 4000-year-old Milfield North Henge whose original location was in the nearby field. Just like stone circles and the like, henges like these were ceremonial monuments. People would come here to worship and even bury their dead. There is a lot more information that can be read from the photos of the signs below if you are interested. 

From there we moved toward the Dark Ages Hut reconstruction. Sadly, some absolute imbeciles had stopped by to cause a nice amount of damage which sucks, but it is still a beautiful reconstruction.
This is a reconstruction of similar houses that were found a couple miles down the road at Tarmac Cheviot Quarry during archaeological excavations. The small rectangular dwellings were found in small groups and are thought to have housed a small community of farming families between AD 410 and 570! To see dates like those is insane and again, like Gefrin, it's wonderful to explore the trails and wonder about those who did so thousands of years before. 

On top of the rich historic roots, you can see that this place is just stunning in general. After the hut, there is a magical little path through a wooded area leading back around to the car park with many more information boards - make sure to give them a quick read in the photos above - it's such an interesting place which still blows my mind that I had no idea it existed considering I grew up less than 15 miles away. 

As we got back to the car park and took our last photos more people were just arriving which was great timing. If you'd like to learn more about Maelmin Heritage Trail you can visit https://www.maelmin.org.uk/!

Until next time...

Exploring 'At the Hill of Goats' - Ad Gefrin

 

Situated only 19 miles from the house I grew up in, is a very special site. Considering its importance in Medieval history it seems relatively unknown and is only marked by small a roadside monument. 
On July 3rd Mr H and I took a drive out to Yeavering near Wooler, Northumberland and got to stand on the land where 7th century Kings of Northumberland would have stood.

This place was Gefrin or Ad Gefrin, which translates as 'At the Hill of Goats', where the palace of King Edwin of Northumbria and his successors once existed. 
Gefrin was mentioned by Saint Bede in his writings, but it wasn't known where exactly the location was. However, in 1949 crop marks were spotted in aerial photographs taken by an archaeology professor and over the next two decades excavations were made. These revealed over 26-meter long timber halls with kitchens, cattle pens, a weaving shed and more dating to around 1300 years ago. 
How absolutely exciting it feels to stand in the middle of a field in my dearest home county and imagine the people and animals who walked that ground. 

Bede wrote that 'while king Edwin and his queen were residing here, the queen’s bishop, Paulinus, baptised many in the nearby River Glen'.
Another very fun thing to think about is that recordings state that King Arthur’s first battle happened at the mouth of the 'River Glen'. Sadly there are two River Glens, this one and one in Lincolnshire. It would be so magical to think that battle happened in Northumberland.

The fourth from the bottom photo shows 'Yeavering Bell' a twin-peaked hill that is part of the Cheviot Hills, poetically speaking Gefrin lays in its shadow with the monument facing it. 
The monument is much larger than I expected and even the back of it is beautiful, fitting in well with the field walls and surroundings. You can also see in the photos above the stunning carved Goat Head gate posts which are the work of a local artist, Eddie Robb.

Upon leaving the area, we spotted other points of interest at the site and online I have seen photographs of The Yeavering Standing Stone which I can kick myself for missing. Typical of us we didn't follow the most worn path and instead strayed across the field towards the sprawling views meaning we didn't get to see those. We do plan to visit again though and hopefully do the Yeavering Bell walk so there may be an 'Ad Gefrin - Revisited' post in future haha.

To learn more about this important, exciting and stunning area check out GefrinTrust.org.
Until next time...