The Sill
See the latest news and a timetable, to get in touch please e-mail thesill@nnpa.org.uk.
The Sill is a £10.5M, five year investment to increase audiences and develop opportunities for learning, participation and conservation, delivering sustainable rural development across Northumberland National Park.
We want everyone to have an exceptional experience. By radically increasing accessibility and engagement, we aim to transform the opportunities for everyone to enjoy, explore, conserve and value the diverse, high quality heritage and landscapes of Northumberland National Park.
The Sill will bring together different communities of interest, showcasing their activity, perspectives, produce, expertise, art, businesses, research, culture and experience, to reveal how our quality of life relies upon the ecosystems, heritage, accessibility and management of Northumberland National Park.
Our proposal is to provide a hub through which many people can interact and explore all the special qualities of the National Park. It will be located where we have most visitors and easiest access - at Once Brewed on Hadrian’s Wall, where NNPA and YHA have been present for over half a century, and where it is only a short walk to this iconic view of Hadrian’s Wall:
Northumberland has the fewest visitors of any National Park in the UK. Surveys show a very low awareness (3% nationally) and a strong perception as a “risky” destination. Comprehensive research concludes that a ‘physical gateway destination’ is necessary to provide essential visitor facilities and orientation to both the National Park and to Hadrian’s Wall. Of our 1.5 million annual visitors, 1 million come to Hadrian’s Wall, leaving 500,000 spread over the remaining of 400 square miles of National Park. On Hadrian’s Wall, only 65,000 use the Once Brewed Visitor Centre and 11,000 stay at the Once Brewed Youth Hostel. The evidence shows that we don’t offer what most potential visitors want, and that there is a significant opportunity to reach many more people.
Our proposal is for a new building on the site of Once Brewed, which integrates visitor, accommodation, operations, education and interpretation functions. Any new development within a National Park and a World Heritage Site will rightly come under close scrutiny. The draft architectural and interpretive design brief emphasise the requirement to exemplify the special qualities and values of Northumberland National Park, and the designs will involve comprehensive public and partner consultation.
The Sill delivers:
- Influencing how people conserve, learn and participate, by mixing Rangers, businesses, volunteers, experts, learners, researchers, local people, managers and visitors together
- Base for all seasons - warm welcome, orientation, interpretation and hostel accommodation so everyone can confidently explore for themselves, easily accessible, with tailored group accommodation and learning facilities
- New rural skills training, short courses, have a go events, school and university field trips, and developing people’s interests through volunteering, arts, sciences and adventure
- Effective interpretation, curated exhibitions and activity programme, provoking real world discovery: see award winning 'Our Beautiful Bogs DVD' ...
- Shop window - using, selling and promoting locally distinctive products, artisans, businesses and experiences
- Inspiring environment demonstrating best practice construction and operation for this context, illustrating new locally distinctive architecture and artworks, with learning, participation and conservation opportunities during design, construction, maintenance, management and operation.
Many partner organisations have helped ensure that The Sill complements their activity, including Northumbria University, Hadrian’s Wall Heritage, the National Trust, Natural England, English Heritage, Northumberland Tourism and Northumberland County Council.
The local newspaper, The Hexham Courant also supports the development. See their article here.