I have spent a great deal of time researching this story, for my If This Tree Could Talk series. I found out a lot and I had help from some fantastic people. I was greatly helped by Freda Walker, Duncan Glen and Sandy Hunter. Their book, The Valley Remembers, is the inspiration for this article. Sandy kindly read and commented on my first draft. Freda helped with some fact-finding, and Duncan was the inspiration for the whole thing - he told me about the two chestnut trees. The Valley Remembers is available from All Saints Church, Rothbury. You can also read it online here: The_Valley_Remembers[1].pdf (newmp.org.uk)
One part of the story was published in the local paper:
I also wrote about it in our community magazine, Over the Bridges. This is what I had to say there.
