Ponteland means 'island in the Pont', named for the river that flows through the town and for such a small place it has a surprising amount of history.
There has been nearly a thousand years of Christian worship in Ponteland. This traditionally concentrated around St Mary’s the Virgin, the prominent Church of England church near Ponteland's village green. St Mary's traces its first construction to the Norman period in the twelfth century and is still an active church.
In the thirteenth century, Ponteland narrowly escaped conflict when the Treaty of Newcastle (1244) ensured a last minute peace between Scottish and English forces. The treaty bears the name of Ponteland's nearest city but was actually signed in the village. During the 14th century, Ponteland was less fortunate. Scottish forces destroyed part of Ponteland Castle, as prelude to the Battle of Otterburn in 1388.
There's quite a lot of further information to be found around the town and this Wherigo will take you to a few of them. It should only take about half an hour to complete, all of which is wheelchair accessible.
You will need a Wherigo app for your mobile phone or tablet or a compatible GPSr. I use an iPhone and I guess most people will be using the ‘Pocket PC Device’ version of the cartridge. You will need to download the cartridge from its page on the Wherigo website. Click here to do this: Ponteland - A Short Historical Tour
When you have visited all the waypoints and answered some simple questions you will be rewarded with the final coordinates. It’s a good idea to save the game frequently as you move from zone to zone.
This Wherigo was made using Wherigo Kit, by rangerfox, which is a fairly straightforward to use Wherigo builder though it is a bit clunky.