Belsay Hall makes way for something Extraordinary!

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in Northumberland will close for two weeks from the 19th April, while the new artworks for contemporary arts exhibition, Extraordinary Measures are installed.

The English Heritage property will re-open its doors to the public on Saturday 1 May at 10am, to unveil Extraordinary Measures which will be on display until the end of September.

The exhibition will offer visitors a whole new perspective on contemporary art, the exhibition will take visitors of all ages into an Alice in Wonderland world of dark enchantment. Highlights among the specially-commissioned installations - most of which are being seen for the first time in the UK – will include the premiere of new hyper-realistic sculptures by Ron Mueck in the 19th-century rooms of Belsay Hall and photographs of tiny day-trippers facing everyday dramas within the gardens of Belsay, as documented by urban artist Slinkachu, who here leaves his usual city setting for the first time.

English Heritage is grateful to its funding partners, Arts Council England, Northern Rock Foundation and One North East, whose support for Extraordinary Measures has made the exhibition possible. A number of other supporters, including Fenwick Ltd and the Barbour Charitable Trust, have contributed to what promises to be a wonderful addition to the region’s cultural calendar.

For more information about Belsay Hall and Extraordinary Measures please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/belsay or http://www.extraordinarymeasures.co.uk/
Picture caption: Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens which will play host to contemporary arts exhibition, Extraordinary Measures which opens on 1 May.

Chocolate Heaven

Chocoholics can discover the science behind their favourite vice during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend (2-5 April) at Newcastle’s Life Science Centre.

The Centre’s Chocolate Heaven workshops will give visitors the chance to make their own mini Easter egg, hear a potted chocolate history and learn more about our chocolate addiction.

The workshops will last approximately 20 minutes and are suitable for the whole family. Entry to the workshops is included in the Centre’s admission price although visitors must sign up for the workshop on arrival. Admission prices to the Life Science Centre are: Adult: £7.65, Child (aged 5-17) £5.55, Under 4s: FREE, Concession: £6.55. Family tickets are also available priced at £23.10 for either one adult and 3 children or 2 adults and 2 children.

Legions of sightseers attend Hadrian's Wall illumination

Ancient northern border of the Roman Empire seen in new light as beacons line its 70-mile length.

They came, they saw and they clambered on the ramparts – in numbers not seen on Hadrian's Wall since the Romans called it a day and pulled out their legions 1,600 years ago.

Drawn by the first-ever lighting of the 70-mile monument from end to end, thousands of visitors filled every local car park, lay-by and footpath, while helicopters and a Nasa satellite recorded the necklace of beacons from above.

The airborne had the best overall view, but crowds who shrugged off the chill after sunset and clustered round each flare were rewarded with an awesome sense of the past. Flickering into life on the Whin Sill crags, above the twilit forest and marsh to the north, the 500 lights recreated the ancient border between civilisation and the barbarians.

"It's magnificent," said Matthias Fabian, from Nijwiller in the Netherlands, striding about in the red cloak of a Roman cohort sergeant, plus plumed helmet which made drinking his tea difficult. "How better to get the sense of what life was really like in those far-away days?"

Read full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/mar/14/hadrians-wall-lights-illumination
View video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/ihw2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Sunday 14th March

IMAGE: North News & Pictures

Don't miss your last chance to see Lucky Spot!

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in Northumberland will only be displaying the magnificent 'Lucky Spot' until Sunday 18th April.

Stella McCartney’s stunning three metre high leaping horse is a contemporary art sculpture made from over 8000 Swarovski crystals. It was created by the internationally renowned fashion designer specifically for the Grade 1 historic site in 2004 as part of 'Fashion at Belsay'.

BBC Countryfile at Hadrian's Wall

It was great to see BBC Countryfile at Hadrian's Wall last night as the World Heritage Site gets prepared for the unique event: Illuminating Hadrian's Wall. To watch the programme again on the BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rdw24/Countryfile_07_03_2010/

And to find out more on the event go to: http://www.visitnortheastengland.com/site/what-to-see-and-do/events/search-results/illuminating-hadrian-s-wall-p132951

Cheviot Hills: England’s quietest spot

See what journalist Damian Whitworth had to say about Northumberland’s Cheviot Hills:
“When you are lucky enough to come across a special place that remains little known, the duty to report on it and the desire to preserve its charm by keeping quiet can be hard to reconcile.
Fortunately, College Valley, in the Cheviot Hills on the English border with Scotland, is remote and inaccessible enough to ensure that it is in little danger of being overrun, however lustily one sings its praises from the heather-topped hills.
This is about as wild a spot as you will find in England. If, like me, you have little experience of the expansive horizons of Northumberland, they will be a thrilling revelation as you encounter them for the first time. Following the detailed driving directions to enter this secluded valley feels like being let in on a secret.
Only a dozen cars a day are allowed into College Valley. You can park at the entrance to the valley and walk in from there. But if you want to hike up the Cheviot itself, the highest hill in the range, at 2,674ft (815m), or ascend the border ridge, then you will probably want to drive into the valley. To do that you must purchase a permit.”
Source: The Times: Saturday 27th February 2010
See full article at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/active/article7041259.ece

Great North Museum Shortlisted for Family Friendly Award

Newcastle’s Great North Museum: Hancock has been shortlisted as one of the country’s most family-friendly venues, in the Guardian Family Friendly Awards 2010.

Organised by Kids in Museums, the annual award recognises museums which make family visits enjoyable and fun. The Great North Museum: Hancock is one of only six museums in the country to have been selected as a finalist, from hundreds of nominations.

The winner will be announced in April - so watch this space for more information!

Beamish Museun - One of the world's coolest museums.

The Sunday Times has named Beamish Museum, Durham, as one of the world’s coolest museums:

Beamish Museum was featured alongside Science Museum, London and the Kennedy Space Centre, Orlando in it's list of the 'World's 12 Coolest Museums'.

"Forget tired old artefacts in dusty old display cases. The 21st-century museum visit is a whizz-bang affair, involving thrilling spaces packed with interactive technology, where you’re urged to grapple head-on with the mysteries of science and nature, history and art. Here are the world’s best.

Forget Doctor Who — time travel comes no more enthralling than the epic open-air museum at Beamish. Upon entering, you lurch back a century or so, into a lovingly created facsimile of Edwardian life in the northeast of England, including a colliery village, a working farm, a railway station, a pub, a bank and a bandstand, with clanking trams to catch and real-life horse manure to step in.
A community of flat-capped guides — nice touch, that — occupies the town at all times, and our favourite moment comes when you crouch in the damp and dark, listening for the telltale and slightly scary noises that warned a drift miner his tunnel was about to collapse, burying him alive."

Source: Sunday Times, 18th October 2009

Garden of the Year 2009 - Howick Hall Gardens

Howick Hall Gardens has been awarded Garden of the Year 2009 by Gardens Illustrated and the Garden Museum.

This is what Tom Stuart-Smith, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, said about Howick hall Gardens:
"This place is a living ark, a gene bank of material from all over the world, planted
through 65 acres of grounds surrounding the house, and meticulously documented. Charles, Lord Howick, has planted more than 11,000 trees and shrubs with around 1,800 different species, all of them grown from seed collected in the wild, sometimes by Charles himself. The new planting is so subtly woven into the landscape that if you didn’t know the back-story you might miss it. The setting of the Howick estate is astoundingly beautiful. The 18th-century house overlooks the Howick Burn and the plantings are arranged either side of this in a long valley. You wander through groves of mature beech and young plantings. Eventually you are lured along a gradually descending valley that finally opens
out on a wide headland with the crashing sea below. When so many of our gardening endeavours are instant fixes, this garden is an antidote to the quick gratification of the makeover garden and the tourist honeypot. In a world where our horizon is, at best, centred on our own lifespan, it is a great gulp of fresh air off the North Sea. The ultimate in slow gardening."

Tartan and Tyne

The warm and friendly North East has been slowly reinventing itself to become one of today’s hottest places to visit.

Newcastle is now a number one city break destination, thanks to its Georgian buildings, rejuvenated quaysides, galleries, theatres, coffee shops, tilting Gateshead Millennium Bridge and the Tyne Bridge, a mini version of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Angel of the North sculpture at Gateshead still inspires awe-its wings are the size of a jumbo jet’s. And the maritime port of Hartlepool showcases a superbly recreated 18th-century seaport and Britain’s oldest warship still afloat. The Tall Ships Races finish there in August at the town’s biggest-ever party.

Source: Daily Mail, 6th February 2010

One of the finest Cities in England

Durham is a top contender for finest city in England. Its ancient heart sits high and mighty above a glorious loop in the River Wear. The cathedral has been voted the nation's best-loved building. Together with the castle, it forms part of our first World Heritage Site.

Source - Daily Mail Online, 10th January 2010