Biddlestone Holidays

A Memory of Gilsland.

Although I was not born in Gilsland I have many happy memories of childhood holidays. I was born in Millfield part of Newburn. From the age of 7 years, this was 1949, during the summer holidays my gran would put me on the bus at Throckley and she would tell the conductor to put me off at the Samson inn at Gilsland. From there I would walk up to Biddlestone farm which was run by Charley Wilson, my aunty was his house keeper Phyllis Reay. At that time the farm was mixed dairy, root crops and grain, the cows were hand milked, potatoes planted by hand, house draw farm implements used to harvest the crops. There was another man living at Charley’s farm I think his name was Mr Hogarth, he may have been a relation of Charleys wife. These were the best times of my childhood helping around the farm, collecting eggs and just being there, in fact at the end of my summer holidays I was always in tears when having to go back home.
A few years later my aunty married Jimmy Michell, Jimmy and aunty Phillis moved to Middle Shields which was a small holding which went with Jimmy’s job working for the forestry commission, this was situated at what is now called Spadadam. I carried on having my summer holidays at Middle Shield up to the age of 15 years. Fridays was pay day for uncle Jimmy and we would go to the village store for the shopping then onto the railway station for the papers, through the week a travelling shop would come out to Middle Shields from which my aunt could buy further shopping. Uncle Jimmy now lives in New Galloway at the grand age of 98, I still visit him and his memory is still very good at telling about the past, Aunty Phylis and uncle Jimmy were very good to me and a big part of my growing up.

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