Welcome to Wagtail Press, set in the beautiful Northumbrian countryside of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From our hill farm Wagtail Press has been publishing books of local history, diaries and rural interest since 1999.
Just Arrived!
THE BLANCHLAND LETTERS
In June 1940 a group of twelve evacuees from industrial Wallsend arrived at the remote and beautiful village of Blanchland accompanied by their young teacher, Peggy Wilkinson.
THE BLANCHLAND LETTERS is a story formed by the love letters between Peggy and her husband-to-be Alex Dunn.
Peggy’s canny and witty observations shine through her eloquent words allowing the readers to enter the heart of a resiliant rural community during the Second Word War.
This remarkable record captures the warmth and eccentricity of village life, the danger and tension of Peggy’s weekly commute amid the air raids on Tyneside and most vividly of all, her sheer joy of life with the bairns in the countryside around Blanchland.
‘You have created a fascinating and moving book which brings to life, not just a wartime romance, but a whole way of life which has now passed into history, but is of inestimable importance to younger generations. The stoicism, delight in small pleasures, sense of fun when days were harsh, strong values and belief in the future…all that and more is contained in the story of Peggy Wilkinson and Alex Dunn, and I (who had the privilege of knowing them in my teenage years ) feel all the better for reading it.’
BEL MOONEY
AUTHOR AND DAILY MAIL COLUMNIST
We publish a variety of subjects including special interest and local history books. Subjects include photographic historical records of towns, villages and the countryside in Northumberland and recently discovered fascinating historical diaries and journals.
Some of our more recent publications include the fascinating County Durham’s Lost Houses (by Jim Davidson who also wrote Northumberland’s Lost Houses, now in hardback), Carol Graham’s ‘A Shoulder on the Hill’ about her life in the Durham Dales, and Jane Dotchin’s popular ‘Journeys with a Pack Pony’ books.
Please browse through our website and explore the books we have on offer – whether you are choosing a gift or a memento from Northumberland you will be sure to find something of interest.
You can order our published books here on our website. They make excellent Christmas gifts containing an immense amount of information, beautiful illustrations and photographs.
‘November Gold’ is an absolute joy – an anthology of beautifully crafted poems by Hexham-born author Wilfrid Gibson, sensitively selected and carefully compiled by local historian, Hilary Kristensen. (read the full review)
Dr Albert Weir, March 2019-04-17
