Economy
The economy of Kielder has relied on forestry but now also incorporates tourism. Prior to the 20th century the economy of Kielder revolved around sheep farming. The use of the area as a hunting ground by the Dukes of Northumberland added an extra element to the area. Due to its location close to the border with Scotland, there was a black economy concerned with the smuggling of whisky from Scotland to England. [13]
Forestry
The Forestry Act 1919 established the Forestry Commission with a purpose of forming a strategic reserve of timber for the country. The first plantings at Kielder were in 1926 when 800 hectares (3 sq mi) of coniferous trees were planted. [14] A further 19,000 hectares (73 sq mi) were purchased in 1932 [14] and today 62,000 hectares (239 sq mi) of forest are under Forestry Commission control. [14]
Although timber production remains an integral part of the forestry operation, it also has the aims of encouraging the public to use the forest as an educational resource and to sustain and enhance wildlife conservation. [14] Over 50% of the red squirrel population of England is now found in the forest. [15]
Tourism
With the creation of Kielder Water in 1982 [16] great strides have been taken to develop the area as a tourist destination with the establishment of facilities such as Leaplish Waterside Park by Northumbrian Water, which offers both accommodation and recreational facilities, [17] the Kielder Observatory and various artworks in the landscape, such as the Kielder Skyspace. [18]
Education
Kielder Primary School and Nursery is a community school in Butteryhaugh, catering for a small number of children aged 3 to 11. [21] Its roots go back to 1849 when Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland founded a school in the village. Northumberland Education Authority took over the school in 1939 and added two timber-built classrooms. From 1950 senior pupils were transferred to the newly built Bellingham County Secondary School. [22] The school building is described as "new" in 1964 by headmaster, W.M. Brown in an article published in the Journal of the Forestry Commission. It was built under the auspices of Northumberland County Education Committee. Attached to the school was a three-storey community centre, containing a Northumberland County Library branch and reading room; the first floor had facilities for teaching art, woodwork and needlework. Between 2002 and 2015 the community centre building was utilised as Kielder Youth Hostel, but had been demolished by March 2020. [23] [24]
Children aged 9 to 13 attend Bellingham Middle School and from 13 to 18, Haydon Bridge High School. As the high school is a considerable distance away the option to board at the school exists. [25]
Northumberland is a ceremonial county in North East England, bordering Scotland. It is bordered by the Scottish Borders to the north, the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The town of Blyth is the largest settlement.
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. In 2011, it had a population of 13,097.
Tynedale was a local government district in Northumberland, England. The district had a resident population of 58,808 according to the 2001 census. The main towns were Hexham, Haltwhistle and Prudhoe. The district contained part of Hadrian's Wall and the southern part of Northumberland National Park.
Kielder Water is a large man-made reservoir in Northumberland in North East England. It is the largest artificial lake in the United Kingdom by capacity of water and it is surrounded by Kielder Forest, one of the biggest man-made woodlands in Europe. The scheme was planned in the late 1960s to satisfy an expected rise in demand for water to support a booming UK industrial economy.
Kielder Forest is a large forestry plantation in Northumberland, England, surrounding Kielder village and the Kielder Water reservoir. It is the largest man-made woodland in England with three-quarters of its 250 square miles (650 km2) covered by forest. The majority of the forest lies within Kielder Water and Forest Park, with the southern tip known as Wark Forest lying within Northumberland National Park. The forest is next to the England - Scotland border.
Hexham is a constituency in Northumberland represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Guy Opperman, a Conservative. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
Allendale, often marked on maps as Allendale Town, is a village and civil parish in south west Northumberland, England. It is located within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Langley or Langley-on-Tyne is a small village in Northumberland, England, located to the west of Hexham.
Wark on Tyne is a small village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, 12 miles (19 km) north of Hexham.
Tarset is a civil parish in Northumberland, England, created in 1955 from parts of Bellingham, Tarset West and Thorneyburn parishes. It is 4 miles (6 km) west-north-west of Bellingham. Today it shares a parish council with the adjacent parish of Greystead. It is partly located within the Northumberland National Park, and also mostly within the international dark skies park.
The Border Counties Railway was a railway line connecting Hexham in Northumberland, with Riccarton Junction on the Waverley Route in Roxburghshire.
Kielder Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, Englandupon Black Fell overlooking Kielder Water near the Scottish border. It is accessible from James Turrell's Kielder Skyspace via a half-mile long forest track.
Deadwater is a small settlement in Northumberland, England, about 3 miles (5 km) north west of Kielder, Northumberland, on the English side of the border between Scotland and England. It is regarded as the source of the River North Tyne, which merges with the River South Tyne near Hexham, and continues around 93 miles/150 km to the North Sea.
Plashetts is a small settlement in Northumberland, in England south east of Kielder, Northumberland. It is about 22 miles (35 km) north west of Hexham. Part of the settlement is now beneath the surface of Kielder Water.
The Tyne Valley Line is a 58-mile (93 km) route, linking Newcastle upon Tyne with Hexham and Carlisle, England. The line follows the course of the River Tyne through Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. Five stations and two viaducts on the route are listed structures.
Lewiefield Halt was a wooden-built halt that served the hamlet of Lewie, and a Ministry of Labour training camp, in Northumberland, England.
Kielder railway station is a closed railway station that served the village hamlet of Kielder, Northumberland.
A skyspace is an architectural design in which a room, which is painted in a neutral color has a large hole in its ceiling which opens directly to the sky. The room, whose perimeter has benches, allows observers to look at the sky in such a way as though it were framed. LED lights which surround the hole can change colors to affect the viewer's perception of the sky.
