Dragline shovel from the former opencast mine

There's a massive yellow dragline shovel sitting in the Northumberland countryside near Morpeth, and it's exactly the sort of thing that stops you in your tracks. This is the real deal - an industrial relic from the days when opencast mining tore through the landscape here, and they've left it standing as a monument to that era. The shovel itself is genuinely huge. You can walk right up to it, which most people do, and it's a proper photo moment if you're into industrial heritage or just like looking at enormous bits of kit.

It's free to visit and there's no time pressure - you'll spend twenty minutes here max, unless you're the type who wants to sit and contemplate what mining meant to this part of England. Families with kids often find it interesting because it's visual and tactile in a way that a plaque on a wall isn't. Walkers heading through the area tend to make a detour, and it works well as a quick stop if you're based at one of the nearby parks like Felmoor Country Park or Hillside Huts.

Go on a clear day. Grey skies don't do the shovel any favours, and you'll want decent light for photos anyway. The location itself is fairly exposed, so it's not a bad-weather sort of stop. Morpeth's only a few miles away if you need refreshments before or after. It won't change your life, but it's a genuine piece of industrial history that's worth twenty minutes of your time.