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Environment Editor Tony Henderson goes downhill to a castle which has kept itself to itself.
Think Northumbrian castles and it conjures up images of highly visible, massively imposing fortresses dominating striking landscapes.
Bothal Castle, then, bucks the trend.
Not only is it hidden away in a hollow beside the River Wansbeck, it is also on the edge of the former mining town of Ashington.
Charles Sample, who has an office to envy within the castle as agent for the Welbeck Estate Company, lists other peculiarities.
"It is one of only two castles in Northumberland on the north bank of a river and, as we are in a geographical bowl, it is a castle you come down to," he says.
That is part of the appeal of Bothal village and its castle.
Tucked away at the bottom of banks, Bothal has the appearance of a typical, rural Northumberland village, with its venerable church.
But as coal mining boomed, it became flanked by pit villages like Pegswood.
For most people who don't know Bothal, the first visit brings with it a sense of discovery. Bothal is built on a spur, overlooking the river, which rises to form a hill, and this was the spot chosen for the castle.
But the evidence suggests that Bothal has been inhabited for at least 1,500 years.
Botl is Old English for a dwelling, as...