Tantallon House on Hadrian’s Wall

If you go down to the woods today, you are sure of a big surprise as down among the woods, in the Irthing Gorge, just by the Gilsland Spa Hotel is the old swimming pool set by the river. It must have been built at the same time as the spa hotel where you could take a walk from the hotel down to the river and swim in the pool. I guess that all the trees would have been cleared from the area otherwise the midges would have eaten you. But now, it is all abandoned, the trees have grown up around the pool, and bushes are growing in the pool.

As you approach the pool, it is like a surreal picture, it could be something out of a creepy movie - I wonder if it has been used as a film set? The pool is set above the river level, so I was wondering how the water flowed in and out. Just upstream, is what looks like the old pump house, a stone built building with a few abandoned electric motors. I assume this is what pumped the water into the pool as it would be unlikely to fill with water only at the time of the river flowing full blast, it might just reach it.Walking along there today, its a great walk all around the woods, hotel, gorge, and river edges with the water pouring off the rock cliffs.Its about 10 to 15 minutes walk from our B&B.

About 10 minutes walk from our B&B is the Irthing Gorge. This is a great place for a walk in amongst the woods with the River Irthing running through the area.

One of the places to visit on the walk is Popping Stones. Local legend has it that Sir Walter Scott proposed to his future wife on the prominent rocks that lie beside the river and and it has been known ever since as Popping Stones. There are 2 stones which sit side by side which are rounded, well worn and bear signs of work by modem masons. Reshaping did take place around 1870 according to the historical records (thanks to Will Higgs here). It is a wonderful place to sit and watch the river and wildlife. Visiting today, the route was muddy, but it does dry out significantly in the summer. The river water was flowing out from a tributary half way up the gorge cliff. (reminiscent of Scotland here) and I have also seen a heron flying though.

The area is administered by the woodland trust and the whole Gorge is protected.