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bellingham |
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The stone terraces of BELLINGHAM (pronounced Bellinjum) slope up
from the banks of the Tyne on the eastern edge of the Northumberland
National Park. It's a restful spot set in splendid rural surroundings,
and it contains the medieval Church of St Cuthbert , which has an
unusual stone-vaulted roof - designed (successfully) to prevent raiding
Border reivers from burning the church to the ground. The Heritage
Centre just east of the village centre on Woodburn Road (May-Sept Mon &
Fri-Sun 10.30am-4.30pm; £1) has more on this turbulent period.
Buses stop in the centre on Market Place, a few hundred yards down from
the helpful tourist office on Main Street (Mon-Sat 9.30am-1pm & 2-5pm,
Sun 1-5pm; tel 01434/220616). Central lodgings are available at the
modern, en-suite Lyndale Guest House (tel 01434/220361, ; £40-50), just
past the Rose & Crown pub. Westfield House , a large Victorian residence
with fine views at the west end of the village (tel 01434/220340,
westfield.house@virgin.net ; £50-60), is rather grander, and serves a
good dinner to guests. Bellingham's pubs - the Rose & Crown , the Black
Bull and the Cheviot - all have a few rooms, too; those at the Cheviot (tel
01434/220696; £50-60) are the nicest. Swankiest choice in Bellingham is
Riverdale Hall Hotel (tel 01434/220254, iben@riverdalehall.demon.co.uk ;
£70-90), a nineteenth-century country house on the village's western
edge, with an indoor swimming pool and extensive grounds. The youth
hostel (tel 01434/220313, ) has simple self-catering facilities in a
primitive-looking hut some six hundred yards from the centre of the
village on Woodburn Road (signposted from Main Street). The local
campsite is at Demesne Farm (tel 01434/220258; closed Nov-Feb), right in
the centre near the police station.
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