Acomb, Wall and Heavensfield

On my second tour photographing the villages of Northumberland, I began at the village of Acomb. This is situated North of Hexham, below Hadrian's Wall and at a bend in the River Tyne. It's name means 'at the oak trees' in old Anglo-Saxon English.

I parked up by the village 'pant' (essentially a watering trough for horses) and took a short walk suggested on the village website (https://acomblocal.co.uk/local-walks-around-acomb/). This was an easy walk to the south of the village following a pack horse route, over a bridge and on towards St John Lee church.

The church of St John Lee interested me as it is dedicated to St John of Beverley, a bishop of Hexham, then York before going on to found the town of Beverley (which is where I grew up). John of Beverley died in 721 and later canonised in 1037.

The church yard was a little overgrown with clusters of bluebells and forget-me-knots gathered around the graves.

Returning to the village through the fields I passed Lantern House which was once a windmill.

The main street of the village is lined by attractive houses and three pubs.

Wall

Moving on from Acomb, a few miles north on the A6079 is the village of Wall. Below are examples of some of the attractive houses from the main street and village green.

On a hill to the west of the village is the remains of a defended settlement which dates to the iron age. This once consisted of six round houses inside an oval enclosure (according to Keys to the Past website).

Heavensfield and St Oswald's Church

Within the parish of Wall is the site of Heavensfield battle, fought in AD635 between Anglo-Saxon king Oswald and the Welsh king Cadwallon. Cadwallon was defeated and a church was built dedicated to St Oswald around 1310, although the present church was built in the 18th century.

Despite being the site on which a battle took place, the field did look heavenly as it was covered with buttercups and daisies.