Allendale, Composite c.1955

Photo ref: A102070

When I saw this photo, and read the memory by Jill Graham, I have to admit that tears filled my eyes. I stayed at Ashleigh with my parents and sister in the 60s. It was the first time that my parents had ever booked a holiday - before that they usually just set off in the car to an area and looked for places to stay. I was 12 when we first went there, and I can honestly say that my memories of that stay are ...see more

We lived in South Shields and used to come to Allendale every year for our summer holidays. Can you imagine it now? A lot people from South Shields used to do the same. We always stayed at the Ashleigh Hotel and once stayed in the cottage in the "Italian Gardens" beside the hotel. I loved it there. There was a large monkey puzzle tree in the front garden and an old fashioned gong was rung at meal times. I used to spend most of my days at the riding school close by.

During the 2nd world war, probably around 1944, I was on holiday with my parents and maternal grandmother staying in a cottage opposite the green. We often saw Italian PoWs cycling by to do local farm work. One rather blustery night we went to a make-shift cinema show across the river and the film included Will Hay. It was either the Ghost Train or something where a train crashed from a bridge. With great trepidation we ...see more

I too have very fond memories of Heatherlea. I remember well the dinner gong and the daily walk to the swings where I seemed to spend hours. Every day seemed to be sunny, which of course it probably wasn't. The treat of the week was the riding lesson with Dorothy in charge. My dad and I would spend happy times going for our daily walk, which usually ended up going to 'Peckriding'. I remember too the weekly ...see more