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Sites Anne T has logged on trip number: 77 (View all trips)
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Milfield Reconstructed Henge at Maelmin Heritage Centre
Trip No.77 Entry No.1 Date Added: 1st Jun 2018
Site Type: Henge
Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 31st May 2018. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4
Milfield Reconstructed Henge at Maelmin Heritage Centre submitted by Andy B on 27th Feb 2003. Part of the Burnham family trip to Northumberland, August 2002
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Log Text: Maelmin Recreated Henge, Milfield: We had a bit of a tortuous journey to get here, having been stuck in roadworks on the A1 northbound, so instead of the hour and a half it would have taken us, it was almost two and a half, so we were eager to get out of the car and walk.
Having found the ‘Archaeological Guide’ by Clive Waddington in a local charity shop about 10 days ago, I had read it from cover to cover and was really keen to see this site. I’d shown the booklet to our three year (going on 63) old grand-daughter and we’d talked through the photos on the journey here. As we walked into the centre of the henge from the car park, she turned to me and, pulling a face, said; “It’s just a ‘thing’ with a deep hole”.
Having spotted all the information boards round the site and running through the woods, she ran from one to the other. On getting to the Dark Age hut at the far side of the site, she was fascinated by this, and we had to go inside. Opening the door was amusing, at the wood had swollen in the rain and it took a while to get it to swing open gently without trapping fingers.
We walked back around to the henge following the circular path around the field, taking in the airfield. We found a sign saying ‘Mesolithic hut’ but there was only a hollow in the ground with a few poles laid inside.
No totem poles, or none that we could spot, anyway. It looks like these have now been replaced with two taller plain tree trunks.
After reading the story of the recreation of the henge, I did enjoy seeing it but had expected more from the heritage trail, which was essentially a ‘trail’ of information boards but without any real specific context or associated feature to look at. Would go again, without dearly loved child, to soak in the atmosphere. We went onto the Heatherslaw Light Railway - a great 15in gauge railway, ideal for small children and grandparents!