Haltwhistle Burn

The Haltwhistle Burn is a river which lies to the east of the Northumbrian town of Haltwhistle. Rising in the peaty uplands below the ridge of the Whin Sill, the burn passes through the Roman Military Zone south of Hadrian's Wall and through a dramatic sandstone gorge before descending between wooded banks to the South Tyne Valley. The Haltwhistle Burn drains an area of approximately 42 km2. Today the Burn is a haven for wildlife and a popular walk for residents and tourists but from Roman times until the 1930s the combination of valuable minerals and water power attracted a succession of industries which provided goods and employment to the town.Geology and associated industriesThe rocks underlying this part of Northumberland were laid down during the Carboniferous Period when variations in sea level resulted in successive deposits of limestone, shale, sandstone, and coal, known in the UK as Yoredale cycles and in the US as cyclothems. The water of the Haltwhistle Burn has cut through these deposits giving access to building stone, clay and coal, leading to the development of the associated industries of quarrying, lime burning, brick, tile and pipe manufacture, coal mining and coke (fuel) and coal-gas production. Ironstone, found in association with the coal seams was also smelted on the banks of the burn.