Marshall Meadows Bay
Marshall Meadows Bay is the northernmost point of England. It is located on the Northumberland coast, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the north of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and just to the south of the Anglo-Scottish border. Across the border in Scotland is the county of Berwickshire in the Borders region. The hamlet of Marshall Meadows lies to the west of the bay, and is the most northerly inhabited place in England. The Marshall Meadows Country House Hotel is here, along with a farm and a caravan site. Nearby is the A1 trunk road and the East Coast Main Line railway.
The Berwickshire Coastal Path from Berwick to Eyemouth runs along the clifftop at Marshall Meadows Bay. The cliffs are about fifty metres high. There is also a disused tunnel from the caravan site to the bay below.
Land's End to Marshall Meadows Bay
The length of the English mainland is delineated by the distance between Marshall Meadows Bay and Land's End in Cornwall, the westernmost point on the mainland (but not the southernmost, which is Lizard Point). The distance is 556 miles (895 km) by road or 426 miles (686 km) as the crow flies. The traversal of the length of England is sometimes used to define charity events such as walks and cycle-rides. A variant is the Four Points Challenge, to walk to each of the four extremities of England and return to the starting point.
History of the northernmost point of England
The location of the northernmost point of England has varied historically, dependent upon the location of England's northern border. The Kingdom of England emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the early 10th century, with the Humber and Ribble rivers on its northernmost border. The Kingdom of Northumbria was unified with Anglo-Saxon England in the mid 10th century, extending England's borders northwards to the River Forth and Edinburgh. Lothian was lost to the Scots at the Battle of Carham in 1018, and Tweedmouth became England's northernmost point, with the River Tweed as the border. Berwick-upon-Tweed was retaken by the English in 1482 and the current border was established at Marshall Meadows Bay in the Treaty of Fotheringhay
See also
- Lizard Point, southernmost point of mainland England.
- Land's End, westernmost point of mainland England.
- Ness Point, easternmost point of England.
References and External Links
- Marshall Meadows Bay on Wikimapia
- Marshall Meadows Country House Hotel
- Berwick Time Lines
- Northumberland Walker's Guide
- Four Points Challenge
Coordinates: 55°48′18″N 2°01′41″W / 55.805°N 2.028°W