The Northern Pennines
The Northern Pennines are amongst the wildest and most unspoiled countryside in England.
An English area comes to mind,
I see the nature of my kind
As a locality I love,
Those limestone moors that stretch from BROUGH
To HEXHAM and the ROMAN WALL,
There is my symbol to us all.
'England to me is my own tongue', A New Year Letter, 1940. WH Auden
WH Auden loved the Northern Pennines that he thought reflected the real England in contrast to what he saw as the 'low and dishonest' country of the 1930s.
Here's an illuminating account of WH Auden and the Northern Pennines by Anthony Toole.
This area of outstanding natural beauty and a UNESCO Global Geopark is one of the truly wild places left in England.
An interesting website on walking in the Northern Pennines and with lots of good links - Bill's Walks.
Click on the map to connect to the Northern Pennines AONB website
Rookhope Arch
Bollihope, Weardale in Summer - by Paul Stangroom
Bollihope in the snow - January 2021
Upper Weardale - the 1960s
The work of Paul Stangroom - Fine Art
Paul is a very talented North East artist who has specialised in depictions of the Northern Pennines. My wife Shirley commissioned Paul to paint a picture of Bollihope to mark my 70th birthday (see above). Here's a couple of examples of his other work that captures the bleak majesty of the uplands of Durham and Northumberland and its vanishing farm and country houses. Click on the link above to see the rest of Paul's work.
Homage to Riddlehamhope,
Blanchland, Northumberland
Little Swinburne, Hexham, Northumberland
Paul Stangroom