15 clearances have landed in Northumberland postcodes. The county is the emptiest in England and that is the fact that shapes the work: Alnwick to Hexham is not a short hop, and a farmhouse off the B-roads is not somewhere a van drops in on the way past.
We plan Northumberland as trips with a date agreed in advance rather than a loose promise about next week, and we would rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise.
Coast, valley and the wall
The coastal towns — Blyth, Ashington, Amble, Alnwick — are terraced and former pit stock, tightly built, with long occupancies and full lofts.
The Tyne valley — Hexham, Corbridge, Prudhoe — is stone-built and larger, with outbuildings and driveways. Easier to work in, more volume per property.
The far north and the hills are farmhouses and cottages: low doorways, narrow lanes, and barns that have been filling for generations. Those are day trips at least.
What we cover
Pages below run across the NE and TD districts inside the county.