Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:

Q1. Ashington

Q2. Ellington

N.B. For question two, there is some ambiguity in the sources I checked on whether Sid Waddell's school was in Ellington or Lynemouth but given that Ellington is a mile west of the sea, the Eastender is taking a punt on this being the correct answer, as it is a good fit for the clue about the sea lying a mile to the East of the village (Lynemouth looks like it is right next to the sea).

The Eastender was laid low by spring's icy blast last weekend but has recovered sufficiently to peruse the puzzle. The initial clues appear to place us in one of the most beautiful counties on the big British island, ie Northumberland and specifically the village of Ashington. This according to some of his biographies, was where a footballer called 'John Edward Thompson Milburn' aka 'J.E.T. Milburn' or 'Jackie Milburn', was born c 1924. There seems to be a statue of him in the town. Some sources claim that Ashington was once the world's largest coal mining village. The settlement was once home to a group of artists called 'The Pitmen Painters', which consisted mainly of miners who wanted to earn a bit of extra cash by creating and selling their artworks at local markets. A playwright called 'Lee Hall' ran a production called 'The Pitmen Painters' c 2007.

Driving North East out of Ashington, possibly on the A1068, would take us past the mothballed Alcan smelter plant and thence to the village of Ellington. Both Ellington and Lynemouth appear to have been used as locations in the film 'Billy Elliot' but Lynemouth is almost by the sea and Ellington lies about a mile west from the sea, which is a better fit with the clues. The darts commentator 'Sid Waddell' ( born c 1940), according to some of his biographies, attended 'Ellington County Primary School'. There is some ambiguity about whether this school was in Ellington or Lynemouth but if it was in Lynemouth, why bother calling it Ellington County Primary School?

After passing through Ellington, the puzzle author most likely then arrives at a dorp called 'Cresswell'. There does appear to be a ruined fourteenth century tower house there and this is also the start of the sixty four mile long 'Northumberland Coast Path'.

N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment or quip relating to the puzzle and it's possible solutions, he will endeavour to publish it.