Alastair Robertson has lived on Alston Moor since 1991. Soon after moving here he became fascinated by this unusual place. He went to the library to find a book that would tell him all about it - there was no such book. So began his quest in libraries, records offices and archives, collecting scraps of information that culminated in an enthusiastic desire to share with the world the results of his research.

He writes articles for the quarterly Alston Moor Newsletter, gives talks, leads guided walks, and has several books to his credit. His first foray into wider publication was a short account of Whitley Castle, or Epiacum as it is becoming more popularly known, first published in 1996. Other short books followed, including ‘January 28th 1908, The Story of the Roachburn Pit Disaster’, and ‘Limekilns of the North Pennines’. Later books have been more ambitious, particularly ‘A History of Alston Moor’, ‘The Foreigners in the Hills’, and ‘Alston Moor and the Great War’.

All hobbies cost money, whether it’s going to football matches or collecting stamps, so instead of mountain climbing or deep-sea diving, Alastair set up Hundy Publications as a vehicle for his books to be printed, because no publisher in his right mind would dream of financing such obscure, minority interest subjects. (The books can take years to recover their printing costs alone.) It’s an enjoyable hobby, he says, when the muse or inspiration comes along, and even more so when someone actually buys a book and tells him they’ve enjoyed reading it!