Exploring the East Coast – Chathill, Pegswood and Berwick-upon-Tweed

Back in March I based myself in Newcastle for a couple of nights to complete some more stations for Exploring the East Coast, leading to both episode 12 (read about that here) and this one (episode 13). You can also check out the video for episode 12 on my YouTube channel (here) with episode 13 coming soon. The key feature of both episodes was poorly timed and infrequent trains, so its only right that this one started with an 0557 departure from Newcastle.

Chathill is the destination for just two trains each day, the 0557 and 1757 departures from Newcastle with the evening service having started at Carlisle. The morning departure calls at just Morpeth and Alnmouth enroute whilst the evening is the only northbound service to call at a number of other small stations in Northumberland. The former station building at Chathill is Grade II listed, and whilst the southbound platform has a waiting room, this is locked out of use owing to the roof being unsafe.

Chathill itself is a tiny village of about 20 houses including the old station building and the old post office. Unfortunately, this means there’s pretty much nothing to do in the village and the 18 minutes between the northbound arrival and southbound departure were plenty. The station was previously known as Chathill for Seahouses, and despite the village of Seahouses being over 4 miles away there were a surprising amount of people from neighbouring villages dropped off at the station in time to catch the morning southbound service.

That southbound service took me on the 45-minute journey to Pegswood, four stops back towards Newcastle. Whilst a village in its own right, Pegswood is not far from the much more major town of Morpeth and with a regular bus connection I was able to visit the village without needing to wait for the next train to leave (more than 10 hours later!). The most notable thing about Pegswood station is the ridiculously large step from the train to the southbound platform owing to the cant in the track. This was a challenge even for me and I would not want to try and use the station with small children!

Pegswood is a former mining village, with the nearby Pegswood Colliery being the main employer in the village for many years. The colliery and the expansive Northumberland Coal fields are commemorated by a monument on a roundabout on the outskirts of town which features an archer shooting an arrow towards the Houses of Parliament in London. Whilst the village had undergone a lot of regeneration since the closure of the colliery, there is still not much to do or explore and so I was soon on a bus into Morpeth to then catch a train north to Berwick.

Berwick is famous for its role as a border town, with it having changed from being in England to being in Scotland and vice versa numerous times during its history. This turbulent history has led to the city being defended by some grand walls and a once mighty castle, although little of the latter is left, with it having been destroyed by the construction of the railway in the 19th century.

Exiting the station, I headed straight into Castle Vale Park that is situated next door and occupies some of the former grounds of the castle. The park also provides access to the riverside paths that lead down into the town and views across the River Tweed and the famous, Grade I listed, Royal Border Bridge. The bridge spans more than 650 meters at a height of 37 meters above the river and was opened by Queen Victoria herself in 1850 after three years of construction.

Of course, any visit to Berwick is not complete without climbing the walls and I headed up Meg’s Mount at one corner of the former defences to enjoy a stunning view out over the town and the coast, including the town’s quayside where boat trips around the estuary and coastline depart from. I was tempted by a boat trip, but unfortunately with my visit being in the low season, the timings didn’t work and with the weather being rather changeable I decided to take a wander around the historic town and try out one of the cafes for lunch.

Berwick is also home to the regimental museum of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, along with the historic barracks and parade ground. Along with the Town Hall Museum & Cell Block, there is plenty that can be done indoors within the town and from experience, regimental museums can easily take a few hours to explore if you’re interested. In conclusion, whilst Chathill and Pegswood aren’t really worth a visit, Berwick is certainly worth a day trip or longer holiday if you want to visit some other attractions in the area.