The Dell

A Memory of Edmundbyers.

My childhood memories of Edmundbyers have been with me all my life really. My mum & dad, aunty, uncle and cousin used to holiday in a tiny caravan on farmer Edon Sanderson's field. This was before the Derwent Reservoir was built. Our dad's used to use our 6 weeks summer holiday to take us up to the caravan and we would spend an idyllic few weeks there. Our sunny days (they actually were very sunny days then) were spent going round the fields with the farmer whilst he was tending his cattle and sheep. My dad and uncle used to return to work during the week but spent the weekends helping the farmer when it was haymaking time. We used to ride on the hay bogey (I even have a picture of it) piled high with haystacks. Health and Safety did not exist in those days! I remember once sitting on a haystack as they all collapsed as we rounded a narrow bend and we were spilled onto the concrete road! Dad and I used to go mushroom picking in the nearby fields for mushrooms the size of dinner plates! A fresh water brook at the bottom of the field provided not only our water which we collected in buckets but delicious watercress. My mum used to make bilberry pies from fruits picked on top of 'Midgie Hill' up from our caraven site. Dad also shot rabbits on top of the hill much to my dismay, but they did make a lovely meal which mum also prepared for us. As this was so close afte the end of WW2 and rationing that we thought ourselves very rich in deed from all the "free food" just there for the taking. Now, 'The Dell' this was a delightful spot with a tree lined river running right through. We used to take a picnic down (it was a rather steep climb through another farmer's field) and sunbathe on the huge flat rocks and swim or paddle in the lovely crystal clear water. Sheer heaven! These are the most wonderful memories of holidays spent in the country before the world became the busy complicated place it is now. I visited Edmund Byers a few years ago and could hardly recognise it because of all the new, dare I say, pretty new bungalows made from I think local stone. Thank you for your interest in childhood memories spent on a farm in the country after war torn years.

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