Festival will celebrate the golden age; Tribute to heritage of ancient kingdom.

Byline: By Tony Henderson Environment Editor

A FESTIVAL stretching over seven months which will celebrate Northumberland's Anglo-Saxon and early Christian heritage will be launched on Holy Island today.

The ambitious event is a key part of the 18-month Golden Age of Northumbria project, a community-led venture which has been backed by a pounds 49,600 Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

The festival is based on the calendar of feast days of saints of the Golden Age and activities have been themed around St Oswald, St Aidan, St Bede and St Cuthbert.

Today's launch at the Lindisfarne Centre on Holy Island has been chosen to coincide with St Cuthbert's Day when the route, known as Cuddy's Corse, is being walked in honour of Northumbria's patron saint.

The aims of the Golden Age of Northumbria project are to:

Encourage local pride, understanding and knowledge of this important aspect of north Northumberland's cultural and historical heritage

Involve local communities through active participation in celebrating and interpreting the project themes

Facilitate wider access to material and sites associated with the characters and events of the Golden Age of Northumbria

The project is being led by Berwick History Society. The Borough of Berwickupon- Tweed covers a large area from the Cheviot Hills to the Farne Islands. From the 7th to the 9th Centuries, the district lay at the heart of the powerful kingdom of Northumbria and it contains many sites associated with this dramatic period of invasion and settlement, and the establishment of Christianity in England.

Lindisfarne monastery was founded in 635AD by the Irish saint Aidan and shone as a beacon of Christian art and learning throughout the period historians once called the Dark Ages.

Nearby Bamburgh was the capital of the kings of Northumbria, who also had other palaces in the district at Yeavering (Ad Gefrin) and Milfield (Maelmin) in Glendale.

Art, culture and learning flourished in a period which produced the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Several churches in north Northumberland have associations with saints of Northumbria's Golden Age and they are playing a central role in the project.

The free festival comprises a wideranging programme of colourful livinghistory events, themed guided walks, open days at archaeological sites, demonstrations of traditional crafts and hands-on activities

Part of the project funding has been made available to enable local community groups to stage displays, exhibitions and performances that fit with the project themes.

The project is also working with local schools and young people to stimulate understanding of the significance of Northumbria's Golden Age and ensure that the folklore and history of this vital period in the history of the region is not lost to future generations.

Berwick tour guide and project facilitator Derek Sharman said that more than 20 groups were involved in the project and festival, including ramblers, bird watchers, schools, clubs, local history societies and churches.

"Everyone has used their skills and resources to present a very colourful festival programme," said Mr Sharman.

"The roots of people in this area are very firmly in this historic period through local place names and language.

"The project is helping to stimulate pride in our unique cultural and historical heritage."

Mr Sharman said that a heritage trail was planned which would be a legacy of the project, providing information panels and guiding people to places like Norham, Bamburgh, Holy Island, Glendale and St Cuthbert's Cave.

There are also hopes that walks or pilgrimages can be organised on saints' days along the long-distance trails of St Oswald's and St Cuthbert's Ways and that bodies such as the Bamburgh Archaeology Project and the Gefrin and Maelmin trusts and churches can work closely together.

"We have a tremendous wealth of important places and the intention is that this will all encourage sustainable tourism," said Mr Sharman.

THE themes around the four saints will be:

St Oswald: Life in Anglo-Saxon Northumbria.

Oswald was both a great king of Northumbria and a Christian saint, who spent his early life in exile in the monastery on Iona.

In 633 he returned to Northumbria and defeated his pagan enemies led by Penda of Mercia at a battle near Hadrian's Wall. He then invited Aidan from Iona to convert the Northumbrians to Christianity.

The St Oswald's Way walking route stretches from Holy Island to Heavenfield, near Hexham, the site of his victory over the pagans.

Festival events on this theme include open days at archaeological sites, talks, living-history displays and historical re-enactments.

St Aidan: Spirituality and Sense of Place. In the monastery school on Lindisfarne, Aidan taught the sons of high-status Northumbrian families to become monks and missionaries.

Lindisfarne gained an international reputation as a centre for Christian teaching and learning.

Community organisations and churches have put together a programme of activities to promote the understanding of the role of the saints and early Christian church in the Anglo-Saxon period.

St Cuthbert: The Natural World. Cuthbert became Bishop of Lindisfarne, and was very close to nature. He spent much of his time on retreat on the Farne Islands and the resident eider ducks are known as Cuddy's ducks.

St Cuthbert's Way leads from Melrose, where Cuthbert became a monk, to Holy Island. Festival events include guided walks and outdoor activities.

St Bede: Art, Crafts, Drama and Literature. Bede was a great scholar who lived at Jarrow monastery, and represents elements of the festival which celebrate Anglo-Saxon arts and crafts with craft activities, demonstrations, displays, drama, music and song.

There will also be events linked to St Ebba, the sister of King Oswald, who founded a double monastery for monks and nuns at Coldingham, just north of Berwick, where she was abbess.

St Abbs Head, a beautiful stretch of shoreline and a nature reserve, is named after her.

CAPTION(S):

BRINGING PAST TO LIFE: One of the re-enactment groups which will take part in the seven-month-long festival celebrating Northumbria's Golden Age.