BARROWBURN BRIDGE

"Barrowburn was the hub of Upper Coquetdale, especially when the Second World War halted road improvements."

'Coquetdale Camera 1912-1937. The Photographs of W. P. Collier of Bellingham. Selected by S. F. Owen.' 2005.

Barrowburn, or Barraburn as it was once known, is near a bend in the Coquet, where it again turns west, and has a small cluster of buildings. There was a school here called Windyhaugh, where a tiny post office was located. A newer school was a little south in 1971 but closed in 1978. At Barrowburn, sheep-farming was the main concern in these parts of Coquetdale, and winter was a hard time for both sheep and shepherds. A new road was built in 1935, two years after the bridge.

The green hills are never far away and the sense of isolation ever present. It is difficult to imagine what this valley must have been like in the 1930s, let alone Victorian times, but some reminiscences of 20th century life are to be found in the book Coquetdale Camera mentioned in the quote reproduced above. (see Reference).

Barrowburn Bridge Facts

Constructed - 1935
Type - beam, concrete.
Position: Barrowburn, Northumberland.
Grid Ref: NT 867 107

Barrowburn