Day 10. Howick: A Mad Search

Oh, dear, poor Rachel. If she'd known what the morning held for us she may well have stayed in bed or gone off in a different direction to me!

I had been delving into the St Oswald's Way guide book and discovered that along the Howick stretch of the walk was the site of a Mesolithic settlement. I suggested to Rachel that we could visit there in the morning and then return north to the lovely Craster to Dunstanborough Castle walk in the afternoon. The day was warm but slightly overcast as we set off. 

Googlee maps, my trusty friend, gave me a clear indication of the Howick site. We drove down the coast. In my excitement I misread the entry in the Guidebook. I was expecting to see evidence of the original settlement, there is a photo of the 'tepee' shaped round house in the book. I did not note that this was a reconstruction!

We arrived at a strip of wild car park on a track leading to a farm, just a few metres back from the cliff edge overlooking the sea. Googlee maps clearly indicated that we should carry on down this track to our destination. It looked a little muddy. I stopped to ask a small group of people, who were about to take a gang of children to do something exciting on the seashore, if they knew the whereabouts of the settlement. They didn't know, but directed us knowledgeably away from the farm track and onto the coastal path that runs along the cliff edge at this point.

I ignored the map and headed to the coastal path, Rachel trustingly followed. 

We walked the path, back tracked a little to enjoy the quaint, 'bathing house' associated with Earl Grey, one time Prime Minister who gave his name to the tea. We passed Rumbling Kern, an outcrop of rock shaped by the wind and sea, a spot that had once been on my 'to see' list but passed now almost unnoticed due to my preoccupation with a Mesolithic settlement. We asked another walker on the path about the settlement, received vague directions including a metal gate on our right - which we failed to find. We arrived at Low Stead Links with the footbridge across the Howick Burn that flows gently out to sea. We had come too far and not found the site.

It was here, on a track off to the right, that we spotted a wooden footpath sign for 'Howick hill fort'. 

'Perhaps this is it?' said Rachel hopefully. 

It's not a 'hill fort' I protested glumly. But we followed the sign up hill, away from the sea. We found the remnants of the circular fort, a ring of stones, partially buried in the turf. We stopped to rest and take stock. 

''Is this it?'' asked Rachel, she had trusted my random directions. I was the one that had read the guide book, located the place on the map. 

''No, no. There should be a house here,'' I grumbled. I began to suspect Rachel was thinking I was making the whole thing up. The guide book was back in the car, I couldn't even show her what I was talking about. She reassured me, she didn't think I was mad. 

Cows, across the field, stared at us suspiciously. I was so preoccupied with finding the settlement I disregarded these ancient stones, this ancient site, the view across the cliffs. I searched my phone trying to locate the missing settlement. I felt defeated and out of sorts. We walked back down the field and sat for a while beside the footbridge, watching the Burn flow out to sea. 

We decided to walk back to the car using the alternative 'cycle' route which runs parallel to the coastal path but a few metres further inland. We set off, climbing slightly uphill, passing the footpath sign to the hill fort. I was trundling along, still downcast, when Rachel suddenly squeaked, ''What's this?'

I raised my head from the path. we stood beside a wooden-fenced enclosure of overgrown grass and nettles. Rachel pointed. Hidden within the wildness was an information board, weathered almost to the colour of the vegetation. There was a gate with a rusted but beautiful catch. we waded through the long grass. Peered at the barely legible board.

This was it! Rachel had found the settlement. It did exist. I was overjoyed and she was intrepid, patient and kind, wading through the undergrowth, making a path for me to another board, this one about the Hill Fort, with a footpath sign showing its direction.

But where was the house? ''There 'should' be a house here,'' I told her.

A passing local man provided us with the answer. The house, like the site, had not been maintained. It had simply disintegrated, probably buried beneath the wildness. He explained that the Council had not looked after the site. Allowed it to become overgrown. He was as upset by this as we were, but felt it useless to protest as they wouldn't listen. I felt a letter of complaint coming on.

We stood within the enclosure. Read the boards. This was a Mesolithic site, probably inhabited around 8000BC. The oldest known 'built' dwelling in Northumberland was here, and it was one of the best preserved Mesolitic huts in Britain. It had been inhabited by our hunter gatherer ancestors, and finds here would change our understanding of their lifestyle. From the archaeological investigations, it appears this group were not 'nomads', constantly moving across the land in search of food and shelter, but were settled here. This place would've been perfect for them, with access to the resources of land and sea. The site was further from the sea than it is now, and probably surrounded by trees, archaeologists found evidence of large amounts of roasted hazelnuts which our ancestors could store for winter, and of course they had fresh water from the Howick Burn.

When archaeologists excavated the site they not only discovered the foundations for the Mesolithic dwelling dating to circa 7,800BC, which would have accommodated a group of hunter gatherers, but also five early bronze age, burials, from circa 2000BC. The graves contained bones of four infants and an adult found in stone lined boxes known as 'cists', some containing small artefacts. Was the adult a woman, I wondered, a mother? These people would now have been farmers, keeping animals, growing cereals. On the rising ground above us were the remnants of the Iron Age hill fort, dating from somewhere between 200BC - 43AD. This area was important to our ancestors. They were connected to it and inhabited it over thousands of years, some even chose to bury their dead here. 

I peer at the lichen spotted information boards, it's as though they're slowly being absorbed back into the earth. I am torn between thinking we should allow this site and the past to rest, and feeling that we give so little attention to our ancient past, treat it with such little respect. This is a site that changed our understanding of our Mesolithic ancestors, it's a burial ground, and it is simply disappearing back into the undergrowth. How can we cherish our past if we are unaware of it, cannot locate it. There isn't even a footpath sign indicating the spot.

Rachel and I leave the site, continue along the track and I discover it will take us back to the car. We feed grass to a friendly young bull at the farm entrance and I realise this is the 'muddy' track that we should have taken when we'd parked the car. I want to sink my head into my hands. If only I'd trusted my map and my instincts and not got distracted by other voices

It's over twenty years since the original excavations took place here in 2000 and 2002, but I feel this site should be sign posted and should be cared for. This area was important to our ancestors, it's part of who we are and we should cherish it and our ancestors. It's a beautiful place.

There is lots more information about the excavation of the Howick settlement here: 

Howick - Archaeological Research Services Ltd gives a brief introduction

Howick Project: Overview (archaeologydataservice.ac.uk) gives lot more detail, use the menu on the left of the page to explore more details about the dig, including images.