‘Plashetts Rising’

(Plashetts Rising: By Fleafolly Architects 2018)

During my ride along the North Shore  of Kielder Water, approximately 6 miles from Kielder Village towards Falstone, I came across an interesting sculpture which didn’t seem to be part of the current Art & Architecture programme and perhaps recently installed. It was here that I found lying washed up on the shore, a cluster of broken up roof tiles.

(Roof Tile found on the North Shore at Kielder Water)

I found this unusual as there was no sign of any nearby structures, the closest being Kielder Village most likely. I would later learn that Plashetts Railway Station was very close to this site.

Branded with ‘Pottelberg Courtai – Made in Belgium’, the tile provoked all kinds of thoughts, particularly while stood on the shore line with a low mist resting on the surface of the water, the sound of birds and with no trace of civilisation in sight. My first thought was that this tile was most likely from Plashetts Railway Station or certainly from a building within that development. 

  (Plashetts Railway Station looking east c.1925)

(Location of Plashetts Station before the construction of the reservoir)

Its hard to imagine a railway line running through Kielder, but this is because Kielder has changed so much in such little time. This then lead to researching the Border Counties Railway, and to understand its role in both local and regional contexts. The Border Counties Railway was a railway line connecting Hexham in Northumberland, with Riccarton Junction on the Waverley Route in Roxburghshire. This line was ultimately connected to a key route between Edinburgh and Carlisle, a route which is currently in the process of being reinstated.

(Map of The Border Counties section of the North British Railway in 1862)

Some plans for the reinstatement of the Borders Railway actually show a branch line to Kielder from Riccarton Junction, something that could be a game changer for the area of Kielder, in economic, social and political terms. So the questions I have at this stage of my scenario is what would happen to Kielder if this line was reinstated? What kind of place would it become? Would it be a positive move, or would it be detrimental to the community and the ecology of the area?