Quarry venue for a light fantastic
23/11/2007
A MAGICAL display of colour and sound is about to light up the rock faces of a historic Tynedale landmark.
The month long Northumberland Lights Festival will roll into the district on December 1, at Walltown Quarry near Haltwhistle.
The festival has already captured the imagination of visitors at other venues across the county this winter.
Blyth’s Ridley Park, the Cragside estate at Rothbury, and Warkworth Castle at Alnwick have already become part of the light fantastic.
But the festival will now descend on the quarry and Walltown Crags, which forms some of the most spectacular terrain along the length of Hadrian’s Wall.
The innovative artistic experience is expected to draw visitors from far and near.
The festival will transform the giant stone arena into a huge son et lumière-style spectacle created by lighting experts.
The event at Walltown is entitled ‘Stone’, a fitting name for the quarry setting, and it hopes to tie together the geological and architectural history of the site through the use of light and sound.
It aims to enchant audiences with illuminated rock surfaces, bursts of pyrotechnic activity and a soundscape set to include music, explosions, bursting flames and bouncing light.
It will incorporate sound work by acclaimed artists John Kenny, a professor at the Guild Hall School of Music and Drama, and Chris Wheeler, one of the UK’s most talented turntable artists.
A range of partners have supported the event from internationally renowned artists to local residents.
The festival is being staged by Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd in partnership with Northumberland National Park Authority.
Festival director Phil Supple will be casting a keen eye over the creative aspects of the programme, with support from Jack Thompson, project manager of light experts White Light, and acclaimed artist and designer Graeme Gilmour.
Walltown Crags and quarry have long been popular with walkers, and the site has been part of Northumberland National Park since 1985.
Active work at the quarry ceased in 1977, a century after the Northumberland Whinstone Company first begun work there in 1877.
A huge Whinstone boulder was extracted from the site in 2004, and was chosen to form part of an international monument.
The monument, made up of 35 stones from around the world, went up in Arnhem, as a place of contemplation where people could lay flowers to remember children who have died.
Walltown’s history and idyllic location means it is a hotbed for both education and entertainment.
It regularly plays host to school visits and Roman re-enactment events.
In recent years it has been home to the Pax Britannica, an annual re-enactment event which brings hundreds of visitors to South Tynedale.
This event features an encounter between an-cient Celts and Romans which brings history to life by recreating life at the site from 2,000 years ago.
Following the Walltown extravaganza, the Nor-thumberland Lights Festival will continue throughout December with the lighting team making surprise visits to spots across the region.
People can visit the website www.northumberlandlights.com and suggest sights that they feel would make good venues, and the final list will be uploaded to the site on December 1.
Anyone interested in attending the Walltown event can get further information from Haltwhistle and Hexham tourist information offices or at www.northumberlandlights. com.
For local people planning to visit the festival, a shuttle bus service is being put on to ferry people from Haltwhistle and Housesteads.
The Northumberland Lights Festival was created last year in spectacular style, with a wide range of features and landmarks given an injection of colour.
Locations varied from factories to castles, bridges and kilns, not to mention stately homes and cottages.
It memorably rolled into Kielder Water last December and turned the Leaplish Waterside Park into a winter wonder-land.
Highlights also included St Cuthbert’s Church, Bedlington, Lesbury Bridge, and St George’s Church, Morpeth.
The Walltown event begins at around 6pm, lasting for an hour and a half. Tickets are available through the Haltwhistle and Hexham tourist information centres.
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