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Walk No.4 - The Spetchells and Hagg Bank - page 2 of 3
	About 150 yards along the road you have a choice. You can either follow the road or go through a gate which leads to the river bank. The walk by the river side meanders between gorse and broom with an abundance of wild flora, but it is muddy in wet weather. The two routes connect up again about a quarter of a mile further on. On the right side of the road are the Spetchells (2).
This is the only area of chalk grassland in Northumberland and the soft chalk is a nesting site for sand martins. The name "Spetchells" is ancient and its meaning uncertain, but it is shown on O.S. maps of the 1860's. The heaps are the legacy left to Prudhoe by I.C.I. - the result of manufacturing ammonia during World War Two. They are estimated to comprise two and a half million tons of chalk. Some attempt was made to remove them, but the wagons could not cope with the rate of production of waste, let alone tackle the existing heaps. Wylam and Ovingham on the other side of the river were occasionally covered with white powdery chalk. To stabilize the heaps they were grassed over in 1971. Later, ash and sycamore trees were planted on the slopes and hornbeams on the top. This has been largely successful although the rabbits tend to undo some of the good work. Some natural colonisation by chalk-loving flora and fauna has taken place.
The river side path passes the Intake Pump for the Prudhoe Paper Mill. Erosion of the river bank has damaged the pathway and you are advised to use the footbridge. Further on you will cross a small stream which supports tadpoles and small frogs during the spring. The footpath then joins the road. The old Pumping Station of the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company is across the river.
At the end of the Spetchells (3) the road follows the bend of the river, then up a slight gradient to a gate leading to Hagg Farm. Follow the road past the farm and across pasture land to another gate. You then walk between trees and up a gradient leading into the hamlet of Hagg Bank Cottages (4). This has become a fashionable place to live and most of the cottages have been modernised. After passing the cottages take the path to the right just before the iron bridge. Pass the gardens to some very steep steps overlooking a pond. This is a sanctuary for a variety of wildfowl.