Places to visit around Alston page


	Guide to Places to Visit around the Alston area.

Updated on 1st March 2008.

The Alston Model Railway Shop is now located at Hexham, in Northumberland.

Please note: That from January 2008, the Alston Model Railway Shop and Exhibition Centre has closed and the model shop part of this business has relocated from Alston to Hexham, in Northumberland. The model railway shop, is now renamed as Townfoot Models and is now located at Platform 2, at the Railway Station at Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 1EZ. Telephone 01434 382100. Their website can be visited at www.townfootmodels.co.uk

The Townfoot Models model railway shop sales stand also visits several model railway exhibitions around the U.K. during the year.

The Hub Museum opposite Alston Station

The Hub Museum is housed in the former railway goods shed, which is the large grey stone building located on the other side of the road, opposite Alston railway station. It contains a selection of local transport and household exhibits and historic photographs, posters and memorabilia of the local area, illustrating life in the ‘good old days’. Older people will rediscover their memories of their younger days. Whilst youngsters will catch a glimpse of what life was like before the arrival of Concorde and computers.

It is well worth a visit and usually open on South Tynedale Railway operating days between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm, and is managed by the Alston Goods Shed Trust, which was set up by local business people. Admission is by donation and annual membership to the Alston Goods Shed Trust costs £5.00.

The museum contains a collection of vintage cars, bicycles and motor bikes, historic photographs of local transport, including railways and the local bus companies, including other businesses in the area, old signs, various old household items and tools. Including interesting stories about local folk.

For further information - contact the The Alston Goods Shed Trust, Alston, CA9 3HN, telephone either 01434 382272, 01434 381609 or 01434 672306.

Photo: The Hub Museum, showing various vintage cars and bikes on display, on the walls are some old implements and hanging up is also a destination blind from a Wright Brothers coach. The exhibits in the museum are changed from time to time and this photograph shows some of the items on display in September 2002. (Photograph by Daniel McIntyre).

The town of Alston, Past and Present

ALSTON is Englands highest market town, which despite being so remote, is still a busy place, it retains its cobbled streets and traditional shop fronts. There are many local specialities including Alston Cheese and Cumberland Mustard, with hand-made gifts, craft shops and art galleries in and around the town.

Evidence of Bronze Age settlers has been found, whilst the Romans also had a fort near the town, known as Whitley Castle, possibly built to protect their mining interests in the area. The town grew as lead mining became the areas major occupation. In the 18th and 19th centuries the mining rights were leased by the London Lead Company, a Quaker owned orgionisation which had a great impact on the community, with a reputation of looking after their workers.

Alston is also the starting point for the South Tynedale narrow gauge railway - you can take a round trip or walk back from Kirkhaugh through the picturesque South Tyne Valley.

Photos: Some views of Alston town from a postcard by Peter Pedley:-
Top left: The Market Cross in the main cobbled street, with the Turks Head public house to the right.
Top right: Alston Post Office in the main street. Bottom left: Some of the shops near the Market Cross.
Bottom right: One of the interesting passageways between the streets.(All photographs by Peter Pedley).

Alston with its steep main street and old shops and houses seems unchanged by modern times and is used by film and TV companies as a seeting for period drama. One of the more recent productions was ITV’s “Oliver Twist”. Local people had a fine time playing the inhibitants of the workhouse, etc.

The road journey over Hartside Pass and through Alston was recently voted one of the most scenic in the country.

Gossipgate Gallery

The Gossipgate Gallery is located in The Butts at Alston. It specialises in displaying the work of contemporary artists and craftspeople from the North of England and a continuous programme of exhibitions are held from February to December each year.

For further information see the Gossipgate Gallery website at www.gossipgate-gallery.co.uk

Alston and the Surrounding Area

The following information has reproduced from the Discover Cumbria’s Eden - Ullswater, the Eden Valley & North Pennines. Holidays and short breaks in Cumbria the Lake District 2007 Brochure. Published by Eden District Council.

The climb from the Eden Valley over Hartside to Alston, England’s highest market town affords spectacular views of the rugged Pennines and glacial valleys. Alston is an intriguing little town surrounded by the high, wild countryside which has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Old stone buildings cling to the side of the cobbled streets, and narrow lanes lead to secret passageways. There is much to explore in the town, a 21 feet diameter water wheel, a mill race running through the town, the start of the South Tynedale narrow gauge railway, antique shops and craft galleries.

Alston, is a great base for outdoor pursuits. It is an ideal starting point for both gentle and more challenging circular walks, some of which take in the Pennine Way.

The area has much to offer those seeking a less traditional holiday experience. You can go down a real lead mine at Nenthead Heritage Centre, or journey on foot from tranquil Garrigill to nearby Ashgill Force and stand behind a fifty foot waterfall. Visit the reading room at Nenthead or the many fascinating remnants of a once thriving lead mining community.

The North Pennines offers visitors the freedom to enjoy their own style of holiday at their own pace and to discover the charms of a landscape, which over time has inspired both artists and poets.

Other Places to Visit

1. Hartside Nursery Garden

Situated 1½ miles from Alston, on the Penrith road (A686), this is the highest nursery garden in England and specialises in alpine plants. The plants that are raised here are used to cold and windy conditions and will thirve in gardens, where more gently-nutured might struggle - the perfect place to find hardy plants. The garden contains many rare and unusual hardy plants from around the World.

2. Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre, Nenthead

The nearest lead mining museum is in the village of Nenthead, three miles from Alston on the A689 road towards Weardale. See photograph to left, which is reproduced from the Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre 2003 leaflet. This local lead mine is open to the public during the Summer months, between April and October, each year.

A Brief History of Nenthead

The small village of Nenthead, Englands highest at 1500 feet above sea level, was one of the earliest purpose-built industrial villages in Britain, but the minerals which brought the prospectors here were deposited about 290 million years ago.

Nenthead in 1825 was a bustling village of some 1500 souls, mostly Methodist and in the employ of the Quaker London Lead Company in the Nenthead mines - the most productive in the country. The benevolent Quakers built, amongst other things, housing, a school, a reading room, public baths and wash-house for the miners and their families, laying the foundations for todays welfare state.

The company buildings included a smeltmill and a barracks building for the accommodation of miners, whose homes were some distance away. The testimonial fountain, erected in the centre of the village in 1877 for R. W. Bainbridge, the superintendent of the mine company, matches the one in Middleton-in-Teesdale, another London Lead Company village.

Lead mining had been going on in the Pennines for centuries, but the company organised the industry on a much bigger scale.

And so these hardy people lived their lives - mining all week and working on their smallholdings each weekend, with a way of life which changed little for over 100 years.

Falling lead prices and cheap imports caused many families to emigrate to America and Australia in the late nineteenth century and the mines were sold to the Belgian Vieille Montagne Company who mined zinc until the early 1940s. Nenthead Mines finally closed in 1961.

For the following 35 years most of the old buildings stood empty, until the North Pennines Heritage Trust began work on the Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre project in 1994.

Today, the Nenthead Mines site bustles and stirs once again - but to the feet of visitors, rather than to the clatters of the miners clogs.

Some of the reasons to visit Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre:-

At the Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre, visitors can do the following things:-

Go underground on a tour of the extensive mine workings within Englands highest and largest lead mining complex, parts of which are over 350 years old. Take an hour-long adventure beneath the surface, to explore the stories of silver, lead and zinc and the people who mined these minerals.

Pan for minerals like a prospector of years gone by. Its an easy skill to acquire. Hunt for Fools gold and gems. They can also keep what they find!

Witness and Control the Power of Water, with huge working waterwheels that you can control yourself. Watch and wonder at the simple logic of the machines that they power. The Power of Water is the only interactive exhibition of its kind in the country.

Stand at the top of the Brewery Shaft and gaze down the 328 feet drop with its amazing virtual stone feature.

There is a chance to learn more about the history of the area in the modern Heritage Centre, relax in the cafe or sit out in the picnic area. Browse in the well stocked gift shop which sells souvenirs and specialises in local history books.

There is an admission charge for entry to the Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre. The use of a car is preferable to reach the heritage centre at Nenthead, as local bus services are very infrequent.

Visitors can also take part in mineral panning, or explore the nearby woodland walks and the fanastic scenery.

For further information see the North Pennines Heritage Trust website at www.npht.com or write to Nenthead Mines Heritage Centre, Nenthead, Alston, Cumbria, CA9 3PD, telephone 01434 382726 or 01434 382037 or E-mail [email protected]

3. Killhope North of England Lead Mining Centre, Weardale

The other local lead mining museum is a little further away from Alston, about 7 miles along the A689 road towards Weardale. The water wheel and buildings of the Killhope North of England Lead Mining Museum also provides fun and a good day out in the countryside. Where visitors can enjoy a visit to the lead mining museum and explore the underground mine by guided tours. Visit the shop and cafe, or explore the woodland walks around the area. Various special events are held throughout the year between April and October. The photograph to the left is reproduced from the Killhope North of England Lead Mining Museum 2003 leaflet.

This local lead mine is open to the public during the Summer months, between April and October, each year. There is an admission charge for entry to the Killhope North of England Lead Mining Museum Mines Heritage Centre. Again your own transport is required to travel between Killhope and Alston, as local bus services are very infrequent.

For further information see the website at www.durham.gov.uk/killhope or write to Killhope North of England Lead Mining Museum, Killhope, near Cowshill, Upper Weardale, County Durham, DL13 1AR, telephone 01388 537505 or E-mail [email protected]

4. Weardale Railway, from Stanhope to Wolsingham

Passenger trains will be operating between Easter 2008 and January 2009, on certain days only.

A recent attraction, which opened to the public from Saturday 17th July 2004, is a ride on the new Weardale Railway. This is a 5 mile long, standard gauge line which operates from the railway station at Stanhope, which is 23 miles away from Alston, and is many miles east of the village of Nenthead and Killhope North of England Lead Mining Museum, located further along the main A689 road from Alston.

Due to financial difficulties, the Weardale Railway did not operate any trains during 2005.

Diesel hauled passenger trains recommenced operation on the Weardale Railway from Wednesday 16th August 2006, under new management.

Train services operate between Wolsingham and Stanhope, with a request stop at Frosterley along part of the scenic upper Weardale valley. Refreshments and car parking are available at the railway stations at Wolsingham and Stanhope, which are also signposted from the main A689 road.

The Weardale Railway was received an Ian Allan Publishing Award for the restoration and recreational use of Stanhope station, at the National Railway Heritage Awards ceremony at the Merchant Taylors Hall in London on 6th December 2006. The above photograph shows a Weardale Railway Pacer diesel multiple unit train at Stanhope Station during 2006, taken by Brian Sharpe and reproduced from the January 2007 issue of Heritage Railway magazine.

For further information about the Weardale Railway including operating dates and timetable during the year, visit the railway internet site at www.weardale-railway.org.uk or telephone 0845 600 1348.

THE SOUTH TYNEDALE RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY,
Registered Office Address:-
The Railway Station, Alston, Cumbria, CA9 3JB.
Telephone 01434 381696.
Talking timetable - Telephone 01434 382828.
Registered Charity No. 514939.
Limited by Guarantee: Company Registration No. 1850832 (England).

E-mail addresses - click on links below:-
South Tynedale Railway information - Send e-mail to South Tynedale Railway
STRPS membership information - Send e-mail to Kathy Aveyard
Tynedalesman information - Send e-mail to Tynedalesman compilers