CREATIVE knitters in the North Tyne are encouraging visitors from near and far to help them knit the length between the Rede and Tyne valleys.

The project, Knitting the Rede and Tyne Valleys Together, began last Wednesday, and a station is now set up in Bellingham Heritage Centre so visitors can add some rows to the scarf – which aims to stretch eight miles.

This is the third ‘knitting together’ project the heritage centre has run, after volunteers introduced it in 2009.

In 2011, visitors created a scarf which had rows knitted by people from 129 towns and cities in the UK, as well as 18 contributions from countries further afield.

“In a museum like this, a lot is of interest to men,” explained temporary exhibitions manager at the heritage centre Rosemary Haynes.

“Sometimes there are things for the children too, but with the railway, mining, farming and the temporary exhibitions, women of a certain age sometimes feel they want to sit down.

“This started before Carriages Tea Room came along, and it gave people a chance to sit down and chat while doing some knitting.

“It is eight miles between the two valleys, from here to Otterburn, and now the idea is to knit a scarf of that length to knit them together. It’s about more than knitting; it’s getting people to talk and bringing the two valleys closer.”

Again, staff will keep track of everyone who makes a contribution to help them track the villages, cities and countries it brings together.

Centre staff hope to reach the landmark eight miles by the heritage centre’s 25th anniversary in the spring of 2019.

“If we do make it, it will be a big celebration,” added Rosemary. “It would be nice to see people from all over the world getting involved again.”