CULTURED. North East

2 days ago | culturednortheast.co.uk | Sam Wonfor

Durham Cathedral has unveiled a wide-ranging programme of events to accompany its summer exhibition of three rare Magna Cartas, celebrating the 800th anniversary of the 1225 issue. From July 11, alongside the display in the Cathedral Museum, visitors will be able to enjoy behind-the-scenes tours, family trails, interactive installations, and thought-provoking talks and debates, all designed to bring the legacy of Magna Carta to life for modern audiences.

2 days ago | culturednortheast.co.uk | Sam Wonfor

Evidence has emerged of Northumberland’s very own ‘Bigfoot’ during a dig at a Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall. The excavations by teams of volunteers are investigating defensive ditches at the little-explored Magna fort, which is also the site of the Vindolanda Trust’s Roman Army Museum. And the latest find has seen one occupant of the fort walk into the history books as one of his shoes was discovered in a ditch.

2 days ago | culturednortheast.co.uk | Sam Wonfor

A week of events will celebrate the latest addition to a valley’s wildlife population. Sand Martin Week from June 12–16 will mark the arrival of the migratory birds from their African wintering grounds to nest in the Ouseburn Valley in Newcastle. Last year, nine pairs of the birds used crevices in sandstone walls near the Free Trade Inn to raise their broods.

2 days ago | culturednortheast.co.uk | David Whetstone

Preparations for this year’s Northumberland Miners’ Picnic are well underway and it’ll take something drastic to stop it. The event was first held in 1864 at Blyth Links and it has been a fixture in the county’s calendar ever since – apart from during the two world wars, the strikes of 1921, 1926 and 1984, the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 and the Covid pandemic which put paid to 2020 and 2021.

2 days ago | culturednortheast.co.uk | David Whetstone

The Globe Gallery’s Plasticine project has been simmering for decades but is now proceeding apace with an exhibition planned for September as part of North Shields’ 800th anniversary celebrations. Funding has been allocated by Historic England via the Linskill Trust to this and another North Shields 800 project led by nearby Helix Arts. Globe director Rashida Davison said: “I’m absolutely delighted that this can now happen. It has been such a long time coming.