Morpeth

The town suffered greatly from disputes and cross-border raiding during the Middle Ages (Scottish brigands entering Morpeth with the regularity and impunity of men going to market). As a result, some of the town's earliest buildings are now ruined shadows of their former selves.

Fortunately there is still much to see, beginning on the northern bank of the river at the Chantry in Bridge Street (originally part of 13th-century All Saints Church, which collected bridge tolls, served as a grammar school, and now houses the tourist office, craft centre, wildlife trust shop, and a bagpipe museum celebrating the Northumbrian smallpipes). Modern road traffic crosses downstream on an elegant stone bridge built by Thomas Telford in 1831, just south of which stands the courthouse built in 1822 by John Dobson (formerly used as the town prison).

Opposite is the entrance to Carlisle Park, awash with award-winning floral displays. The park contains the mound of the original Norman castle and a second 14th-century castle site (destroyed during the Civil War, leaving only the gatehouse and curtain wall fragments). Further south on the Newcastle road is St Mary's Church (14th-century) and the grave of suffragette Emily Davison, who threw herself under the King's horse at the 1913 Derby.

The walk swings around Morpeth Common and Kirkhill to the atmospheric ruins of Newminster Abbey (a Cistercian foundation built in 1137 under Ranulph de Merley with close ties to Fountains Abbey, destroyed during the Dissolution). Returning toward town via the Norman-style St James's Church and John Vanbrugh's 1714 Town Hall, you pass the 15th-century Clock Tower in Oldgate and a fine Georgian house once owned by Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood (Nelson's second-in-command at Trafalgar). A leafy riverside path along the River Wansbeck returns you to the Chantry.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.