Articles September 2025

Request for Volunteer(s) to Edit the Tree

At the end of this year, we will have been editors of the Tree for four years, and will be retiring as editors of the newsletter. We are now looking for somebody, a couple or a group of people, to take on this role.

This currently involves producing the newsletter on a monthly basis (apart from in July and December), so 10 editions a year. The tasks include requesting inputs from a list of local people and groups, searching for interesting contents from local websites, liaising with the parish council and advertising representatives (part of the current editorial team). We then edit, lay out and produce the print-ready document. 

We receive the Trees from the printers and these are circulated by a group of volunteers. We also build the online version of the Tree based on the printed document, and provide a Breaking News service.

New editors may have new ideas and wish to do things differently. 

We’d be happy to support anybody looking to take on the role over their first few months as required.

Unfortunately if we don’t have some interested parties in the next two months then the Tree newsletter will come to an end in December.

Please get in touch to find out more about the editor’s role. You can contact us on longhorsley.tree@gmail.com.

Jan and Sheena Haveman

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Longhorsley Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, 10th September, in the Village Hall, starting at 7pm, with a parishioner slot at 8pm. Meeting notices are displayed on village notice boards, with minutes and other information found on the Parish Council website.

Contact details for the current members are detailed below:

Clerk:  Samantha Doyle, 35 Burghley Gardens, Pegswood, NE61 6TN 07427 123268 or parishclerk@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk

Chairman: Norman Douglas 07485 174529 norman.douglas@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk

Councillors: Sarah Alcock, Kirsty Bell, Peter Boyle, Jennie Parker, Anne Peat and Trevor Potts.

Thank you

The Parish Council would like to express thanks to Mr B Paterson. 

Mr Paterson has stepped down from his duties as Village Maintenance Contractor, we wish you well and thank you for all your hard work in the village.

FixMyStreet

The Local Authority use the Fixmystreet service to allow Parishioners to report things such as Fly Tipping, Street Lighting, Broken Paving Slabs.  Overhanging leaves, trees and shrubbery that are Local Authority ownership can also be reported on this service. The link is fix.northumberland.gov.uk. Once a report is logged the system will update the next working day. You can also choose to receive updates for all issues logged in the Village.

Adamson Park Fencing

The Parish Council recently supported the Adamson Trust to arrange the funding and installation of new fencing around Adamson Park. Our thanks go to Northumbria Fencing for a marvellous job and to the Wingates Wind Farm Community Grants Scheme for the funding support.

South Road Development  

Whilst the “St Helens Gate” development on the South Road continues, access restrictions are in force in the fenced off areas, which means no access to the public for safety reasons. If there are any queries regarding those areas, please contact Ascent Homes.

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West Road Closure

On the 22nd September - weather permitting - the C136 West Road will be closed to traffic west of the village. This is due to structural patching works and repairs. More information can be found on one.network.

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Your County Councillor

As the A1 gets more clogged up - especially at the pinch points where dual goes to single carriageway (we all know what that looks like at busy times) - we are bound to see more traffic using the A697. That is why I am disappointed with the organisation that is working on getting the fixed camera boxes, including ours, working again with new technology. It is running well behind in getting the work agreed, never mind started.

So I have been knocking on the Police's door again each month to ask them to deploy the camera van and hand held equipment - and the most recent visit a few weeks ago had a larger figure of speeding motorists than their last visit.

I will keep on nagging about the need for the camera box to be updated.

Please get in touch anytime if I can help with County Council issues or you simply want a hand with a Council problem.

Glen Sanderson  07730 979737 glen.sanderson@northumberland.gov.uk

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Northern Ark Update

It’s been a busy season at Northern Ark Nursery and Hedgeley Honey. The nursery can be visited by appointment only - call Ian on 07833 317319. This is due to our growing show, event and market commitments. You can still buy plants and herbs at our market stalls at Alnwick every Saturday and at our usual pitches at Morpeth and Hexham. For one-off shows, check out our Events page online - northernarknursery.co.uk/events - and Facebook page for details.

Essential jobs to do in the garden in September:

• Pot up half-hardy herbs, such as tarragon and basil, to use in winter.

• Vegetables to sow now include lettuces, spinach, land cress, purslane, beetroot, radishes, coriander, spring onions, calabrese, spring greens, turnips for their green tops, Swiss chard, winter spinach, hardy Japanese onions, winter lettuces, endive, corn salad and baby salad leaves.

• Finish summer pruning apple and pear trees to encourage fruiting spurs.

• Sow hardy annuals to provide early spring blooms, such as calendula, centaurea, limnanthes and poppies.

• Plants to prune now: pyracantha, lavender, rambling roses, climbing roses that have finished flowering and late summer flowering shrubs such as helianthemum.

• Buy spring-flowering bulbs like tulips, crocuses, narcissus and fritillaries. Daffodils can be planted now.

• Plant perennials, as the soil is still warm, but moisture levels are increasing.

• Spring-flowering biennials will need planting out – nip out the tips to encourage bushy plants.

• Continue to deadhead dahlias, delphiniums, roses and penstemon to prolong the display.

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September Tweets along Archie’s Pond

Migrants regularly seen during September include Spotted Flycatchers. These are dull grey birds and not very spotty either. But their habit of sallying forth after a large flying insect and returning to usually the same perch is very distinctive. They can show up in your garden too.

We are all familiar with Blackbirds, but over the next couple of months the numbers along the walk will increase then gradually tail off as the season progresses. These birds are from Northern Britain or Scandinavia, and their arrival and departure dates are weather dependent. Blackbirds and other Thrushes will use the thickets of Blackthorn as a night roost throughout the winter, and they are very vocal as they settle down for the night.

Your best chance of seeing less common birds like Goldcrest, Treecreeper and Willow Tit is when the leaves are off and you encounter a mixed flock of the common Tit and Finch species. Pause and watch as they pass and look out for the more skulking species taking advantage of the safety provided by so many alert eyes. A reliable splash of colour is provided by Bullfinches, resident at all times of the year along the walk. Look out for them where there are Ash keys or berried Hawthorn. They will often sit in clear view for long periods while feeding.

Andrew Brunt 788352

For more information about birds in Northumberland, visit the Northumberland and Tyneside Bird Club website at www.ntbc.org.uk

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Longhorsley Village Fete

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended Longhorsley Village Fete! What a day we had, a real community event, which was so well supported. We had lots of entries in the Industrial Section, children enjoying the games and races on the school field - not to mention all our four-legged-friends who competed in the Family Dog Show! A truly special day for the village.

Thanks to the generosity by attendees on the day, we raised just over £2,500 - an incredible amount, and it means we can do it all again next year...! So save the date of SATURDAY 4th JULY 2026 for the next Longhorsley Village Fete!

If you'd like to help out next year we would love to have you! We have so many ideas but need volunteers to bring them to life. Our AGM will be held on Wednesday 17th September at 7pm in the Village Hall, so come along and hear about what it takes to put the event on. We'll also discuss giving donations to local groups and causes, as we want to give back to the village. 

As ever, if you want to contact the Fete committee please email longhorsleyfete@gmail.com, or find us on Facebook/Instagram.

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Post Office in Longhorsley Village Hall

Monday 9.15am   to 11.30am

Friday 11.30am to 1.30pm

Please note that this Outreach Service cannot accept large parcels.

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Longhorsley Takeaway Food

We will send out a Breaking News if we are notified of any changes.

The Shoulder of Mutton

The Shoulder of Mutton is open and offering takeaways every day.

Sunday lunches 12-6pm ~ Monday to Saturday 5pm-8pm

See their menu at  shoulderofmuttonpub.com ~ phone 788236 to order

The Flying Fryer

The Flying Fryer will be here every Friday from 4pm to 7pm, depending on demand.

Facebook The Flying Fryer 07984 426 725

Dou_h&co 

Dou_h&co visits on one Thursday in the month from 4:30pm – 7:30pm.

Pre-order on  07507 834 628 from Monday 9am.

See their menu on the Dou_h & Co Facebook page, Instagram and Dou-h.co.uk

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Mobile Library Visiting Times

The Mobile Library visits Longhorsley once every 3 weeks, on Fridays between 15.55pm and 16.35pm, in the Village Hall car park.

The next visits will be on the 12th September and 3rd October.

The Mobile Library Service website can be found here

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October Edition

The last date for submissions is 20th September. You can email or phone us.

Please keep articles under 250 words, if at all possible.

Jan and Sheena Haveman 07834 740649 longhorsley.tree@gmail.com

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