Bothal is a village in
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
, in England. It is situated between
Morpeth
Morpeth may refer to:
*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales
* Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
* Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK
** Morpeth (UK ...
and
Ashington
Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...
. There is
a castle, a church, a vicarage opposite the church gates, some stepping stones over the
River Wansbeck
The River Wansbeck runs through the county of Northumberland, England. It rises above Sweethope Lake, Lough on the edge of Fourlaws Forest in the area known locally as The Wanneys (Great Wanney Crag, Little Wanney Crag; thus the "Wanneys Beck") ...
, and a few houses.
Bothal was the headquarters of the extensive Welbeck Estates in Northumberland. Half a mile upstream of the castle are the remains of a watermill that still had a working waterwheel up to about the First World War. It had a turbine for electricity production for the mill house from 1947 to 1980. Until 1866 Bothal was a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
, In 1831 the parish had a population of 1319.
Bothal was also a drift mine ('Bothal Barns Drift') though this is something of a misnomer. Bothal Drift was merely another entrance to the Ashington colliery. Now, Bothal Barns Drift is the site of a private house with the old entrance to the drift mine being long disused. The Bothal Drift is situated on the top of the bank on the Ashington side.
Image:bothaldrift2.jpg, It used to be the entrance to the 'drift'mine
Image:bothaldrift.jpg, Now long disused.
Image:bothalbarns.jpg, Nearby farmhouse 'Bothal Barns'
Further west ( a few hundred yards) from the church and castle, it is possible to walk along the river Wansbeck for some 30–45 minutes west towards Morpeth. The name Morpeth apparently means 'murder path' and was once the main thoroughfare along the river. Further along the footpath is the remains of an old chapel.
The footpath starts near the site of the old mill. You can park your car near the gate (at the bridge) and then walk westwards past the weir.
Image:bothalchurchsummer.jpg, Bothal church in the summer
Image:bothalchurch2.jpg, Bothal church
Image:bothalweir.jpg, The old weir, just past the outbuilding/ old watermill. Looking west
Image:bothalfootpath.jpg, The footpath leading west along the river Wansbeck
References
External links
GENUKI(Accessed: 15 November 2008)
Villages in Northumberland
Former civil parishes in Northumberland
Ashington
{{Northumberland-geo-stub