Community

Belsay parish is a fairly settled community.  People work within the parish in a variety of tourist and service industries and agricultural occupations nearby, or by commuting to work in Morpeth or Ponteland/Newcastle.  Much of the land of the parish, its farms, businesses and about a third of the houses in Belsay Village is owned by the Belsay Estate.  The Estate has a long history of employing and housing local people, which continues today. In the 1800s this included many staff employed with Belsay Hall and Gardens. The Hall is now run by English Heritage with its events and activities being held throughout the year. Today, English Heritage has its own staff who either live-in or come daily to work. The Hall is an important attractor of visitors and both the Hall, and the village are well-known regionally and nationally for their particular identifiable architecture and history.

Belsay village, with its well-known village shop and long-standing Blacksmith’s Coffee Shop, is an important pit-stop along the main Jedburgh road. The shop is generally regarded as being at the ‘centre’ of the village, acting as an important hub for the village and parish residents.  The Blacksmith’s Coffee Shop attracts locals and visitors from a wide area. There are a number of other excellent cafés in the parish, including the café at Bolam Lake Country Park and a café within the grounds of Belsay Hall. 

The annual international horse trials held on Belsay Estate were established in 2013 with other equestrian events and activities throughout the year.  Shortflatt Tower has a wedding venue and Battlezone Paintball Newcastle is located at Bygate Plantation at Black Heddon. St Andrews is an Anglican church situated at Bolam and Harnham Buddhist monastery teaches the Theravada tradition.  Belsay Woodland Burial is situated to the west of the main village. Belsay Primary School and Daycare is located in the centre of the village providing an important service to the local village and outlying farms and hamlets of the parish. The School takes children from ages 4-11 years.  It has a large playing field and consistently achieves high quality reviews from assessments and parents with a ‘good’ assessment in the last Ofsted review (December 2023)[i].  There is no village hall at Belsay.  Parish council meetings are generally held within the school’s main hall – Sir Stephen Middleton Memorial Hall - which also houses Belsay Bowls Club.  A public defibrillator was installed in 2022 near the school entrance as a result of a fund-raising initiative by one of the teaching assistants at the school. Belsay Garage is also located in the village centre.  Belsay Hall Croquet Club is based within the grounds of Belsay Hall. It has two full-sized lawns which can be converted into four short courts.  The Club’s active membership provide taster days for those interested in their activities[ii].  Belsay cricket ground is situated along the Whalton Road.  Belsay Cricket club has both a Senior XI and a Social XI.  Regular fixtures are held at the ground throughout the summer months[iii].

The parish is crossed by the main Newcastle to Jedburgh road which has been historically important as the main route to Scotland and now continues to be a major road that has both benefits and problems for those living in the parish. Traffic-related issues remain one of the key subjects that concern the parish council and parish inhabitants. The Highlander Inn, on the southern boundary of the parish, adjacent to the A696 was converted from a farmhouse in the early part of the 19th century when the Turnpike road system was established. It reputedly hosted Bonnie Prince Charlie and has been completely renovated in recent years.  It is the only public house within the parish.  While there are (infrequent) buses running along the busy main A696 road, parish residents have to rely primarily on private cars.  The nearest railways are the Tyne & Wear Metro service which runs from the airport (about 9.5 miles from Belsay village) into Newcastle, or the overline East Coast Mainline which runs through Morpeth (about 9.3 miles).  A School bus service runs to and from the village to Ponteland High School.  The nearest petrol station is located at Darras Hall/Ponteland 6.5 miles away.  Roads in the parish are generally well maintained by Northumberland County Council. The 400KV electricity pylon line runs north-south c700m to the east of Belsay village through the east side of the parish area. Internet capacity remains variable across the parish in common with rural areas generally. While most houses rely on septic tank systems, Belsay village has a communal sewage system. In recent years while storm impacts are felt primarily in relation to mature trees and woodlands and the impact of winds on services and road access, flooding of properties has not been a report issue.  In the past, smaller settlements, properties, and farmsteads have been cut off by snow for short periods, but Belsay village generally remains open.

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