Ridsdale 'Castle' Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A short walk from the centre of the village of Ridsdale where the nearest car parking can be found. Suggested route is north down the footpath beside the A68 and west onto the right of way going through Foundry Yard. There is a steep incline on the footpath beside the A68. The right of way through Foundry Yard involves passing through a garden - please ensure both gates are closed behind you. Don't worry - this is a designated right of way.
Many people travelling through Ridsdale on the A68 mistakenly believe that the ruinous structure in the field to the north of the village is the remains of a castle.
It is, however, a relic from the Redesdale (later Ridsdale) Ironworks. This was a short-lived venture and part of a largely unsuccessful 19th century iron industry in Northumberland.
Many features of this remote ironworks can still be seen and survive relatively intact, primarily as earthworks. However, the largest extant building is the Engine House.
This partially ruinous engine house is roughly rectangular with an attached chimney at the southwest corner. It would have been nine metres tall at full height, with two storeys. The walls are over one metre thick.
There are earthworks to the south of the engine house showing the location of the demolished coke ovens, reservoirs, wagonways and roasting kilns.
The building housed a double-beam blowing engine which powered the three blast furnaces which were located to the north.
The ironworks was established in 1836 using local sources of ironstone. A series of tramways linked the site with nearby sources of ironstone, limestone and coal.
Despite having supplied the pig-iron used in construction of the High Level Bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne, the ironworks failed to thrive in such a remote situation.
By 1848 the ironworks had virtually closed and in 1864 two of the furnaces were dismantled and taken to W.G. Armstrong's works in Elswick, Newcastle.
By 1880, the site had fallen into total disuse. Around one hundred years later, the east wall of the engine house collapsed. The building was consolidated in 1996 and is now listed as a Scheduled Monument.
The ruins are on private land with no designated public access. The cache is located on an adjacent right of way. Please note that it is not located in the dry stone wall.
The cache is a small ‘click and lock’ container with a log book and pencil and a few small tradeables, including some beadwork trinkets made by my daughter.
I would welcome comments on the accuracy of the coordinates as this is my first hide.
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Unjgubea
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