Doddington Parish Council
Doddington Parish is a rural parish extending over 3,003 hectares with a population of around 135, giving it a population density of about one twentieth of a person per hectare. It is surrounded by the parishes of Wooler, Ewart, Ford, Lowick and Chatton. The main activity in the Parish is farming which supports seven active farms and the extensive parkland of Fenton House. Farming is mixed, consisting of arable, sheep and cattle, and dairy. Potatoes are an important crop. The dairy produce is processed by Doddington Dairy in Doddington Village to make prizewinning ice-creams and cheeses. The Dairy’s products are on sale at the Doddington Dairy Milk Bar & Café in Wooler.
The two main centres of population are Doddington Village in the east and West/East Fenton in the west. There are few roads in the Parish, the main ones being the B6525 from Wooler to Berwick and the narrower C36 from Doddington Village to Milfield via East and West Fenton. Walking and cycling are popular activities in the Parish. The long distance Pennine Cycleway (Sustrans 68) cuts through the Parish on its way to the end point in Berwick.
The topography is very varied. The south western area lies on the flat Milfield Plain which is the floodplain of the River Till, a tributary of the River Tweed. The plain is contained by an arc of sandstone escarpments to the north and the east, the highest of which is Dod Law, which with an altitude of 200m, towers over the plain. There are two moorland areas, one to the north of the escarpments (Doddington North Moor) and the other to the east (Doddington Moor).
The Sandstone Hills are homes to one the richest concentrations of high quality prehistoric Rock Art in the world – mainly featuring “cup and ring” motifs. The most prolific Rock Art is located at the huge Routin Linn sandstone outcrop in the north of the Parish, named after the nearby (and surprising) vertical waterfall of the same name.
The only functioning public building is the Grade I listed, Church of St Mary and St Michael in Doddington Village which dates from post-conquest period. In January/February the graveyard is carpeted with a brilliant display of white snowdrops and golden aconites. Nearby, another significant heritage feature is the partly ruined 16th century Bastle House.
One of the distinctive characteristics of buildings in Doddington is that they’re mostly built of the esteemed pink sandstone which is still quarried at the Doddington Quarry on Dod Law. The quarry snuggles up to one of the highest golf courses in England, the home of Wooler Golf Club, with an unequalled view across the Milfield Plain to the soaring Cheviot Hills.
Doddington Parish Council has up to six councillors and a part-time clerk. Its meetings are published on this website.