Spoiling route of St Cuthbert
Northumberland Gazette, www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk 14 October 2011
Northumberland Gazette, www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk 14 October 2011
With reference to comments made in your paper about the presentation of information at the public exhibition on the proposed Middleton Burn windfarm near Belford, I would like to state the following.
At the exhibition, I commented on the adverse effects that the development would have for St Cuthbert’s Way and was told by one of the representatives of Air Farmers Ltd that the route of St Cuthbert’s Way was in any case ‘always changing’.
As the originator of St Cuthbert’s Way and a member of its steering group, I can categorically state that in its 15 years of existence, the route has only had one major change and that was on the Scottish side of the border.
In Northumberland, where the route was specifically designed to follow existing public footpaths, bridle-ways and public roads, there have – apart from one minor adjustment when a public footpath was rerouted at Beal – been no changes to the route whatsoever.
In my opinion, one of the highlights of the route is when, nearing one’s goal after several days of walking, one climbs St Cuthbert’s Cave onto Greensheen Hill and suddenly sees Holy Island and the sea. The sudden sight of a sea of wind turbines would certainly not give me the same thrill.
Ron Shaw, Lord’s Mount, Berwick
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/10/14/spoiling-route-of-st-cuthbert/