Our North Pennines stories
The valleys and moorlands of the North Pennines may sometimes look wild and untamed, but everywhere you look, people have left their imprint on the landscape.
Collecting and telling the stories of the people who have shaped today's North Pennines enriches our understanding and appreciation of the area.
Cross Fell Commoners
Cross Fell Commoners focused on the changing way of life associated with sheep grazing around Cross Fell. Simon Danby has been collecting photographs, documents and oral history recordings of the commoners who have sheep in the area now and in the past.
The practise of grazing sheep on the fells illustrates the way in which people have shaped the landscape of the North Pennines; it is this kind of human influence that Our North Pennines Stories hopes to celebrate. You can listen to Simon's recordings by visiting his website.
Penning the Pennines
Vane Women writer's co-operative held poetry readings which explored writers who use sense of place as their inspiration. They followed the sessions up with workshops using the heritage and landscape of the AONB as inspiration, and an anthology of poems by people who live in the North Pennines is being compiled.
Other community projects