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 Hadrians Wall and Crag Lough from Hotbank Crags'. A suitable symbol for defending our countryside from the barbarians. |
Now -
the 'Land of Far Horizons'. “In Northumberland alone, both heaven and earth are seen, we walk all day on long ridges, high enough to give far views of moor and valley, and the sense of solitude below. It is the land of far horizons . . .” G. M. Trevelyan ‘The Middle Marches’. The Future - "A Wind Energy Landscape"? Northumberland is now facing 627.5MW of onshore wind power stations at the pre-application stage (ca. 300 turbines). Even the regional planners now admit that some 'areas of least constraint' for wind development in the unspoilt, rural areas of Alnwick, Tynedale and Berwick-upon-Tweed - whose main industry is tourism - could now end up with so many turbines that a viewer would think, “this is a wind energy landscape”. |
 Hepburn Moor, Northumberland, Looking West to the Cheviot Hills |
Hepburn Moor
(left): The Middlemoor power station (18 x 125
m. [410 ft.] turbines) would be ca. 6 km from this
position and would dominate the heather moorland with its
Iron Age hill forts and glorious views to the
Northumberland National Park and the Cheviot Hills. This
moor is immediately above the walled park of
Chillingham Castle with its unique herd of wild cattle. It
is a popular area with walkers, painters and
photographers. Middlemoor is over 50MW and so will be determined by the DTI (write and protest now, details on the 'Stop the Alnwick & Berwick Turbines' website, left). There is another proposal for 10 x 125 m. turbines at Wandylaw, immediately to the north of Middlemoor on this plateau and EHN is scoping two further sites which would be even closer to this viewpoint. |
 Cheviots from Halidon Hill, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 36 turbines are proposed for the ridgeline on the plateau shown here. All images on this page: Copyright © Don Brownlow Borders Photography |
Just a few miles
further north, we are facing another three proposals on
a small lowland plateau just to the south of
Berwick-upon-Tweed. These are for 36 turbines of between
110 and 125 m. [360-410 ft.] which would dominate the
northern approaches to the National Park and would, with
the Middlemoor/Wandylaw turbines, line the skyline of
the heritage coast from Holy Island to Bamburgh Castle.
(See the 'Moorsyde' website). For centuries, Northumberland was a lawless frontier where 'reivers' raided, robbed and killed, reducing the region to penury. Now Northumberland is under threat again. The reivers now wear suits and are armed with laptops and document cases rather than spears and broadswords. But their intent is the same - a quick killing with no regard to the land, the local people or their livelihoods. |
| This page was made several years ago -
for up to date news about the fight against wind turbines
in Northumberland, Durham and Borders and Lothians, visit
the excellent and informative website www.windbyte.co.uk |
For many years, Don drove the South Molton mobile library in North Devon, serving the villages around NPower's Batsworthy Cross proposal. He says: "If I wasn't so angry, I would be depressed! As somebody who also cares deeply about the landscape of Devon, and of Exmoor in particular, I think that NPower's proposed turbine array would be a disaster for the people of North Devon and would do lasting damage to the tourist economy of the area." Link to Two Moors website: www.twomoorscampaign.co.uk |