Errington Reay: Britain's last salt glaze pottery, still firing at Bardon Mill

In the Northumberland village of Bardon Mill, a short drive from Hexham and the most popular stretch of Hadrian's Wall, a pair of old brick kilns are still doing something no other commercial pottery in Britain does. Errington Reay is the country's last producer of salt glazed pottery, and its handmade garden pots are prized by gardeners far beyond the North East.

The story began in 1878, when Robert Errington and William Reay set up their pottery in what had once been a water-powered woollen mill. Since Victorian times it has remained a traditional, family-run business, and its methods have changed remarkably little.

Every pot is made using traditional techniques of hand-throwing, moulding and casting, and the skill involved is considerable. Apprentices can take up to two years to learn to throw just one style of pot, and several of the master potters have been with the company for more than 25 years.

The magic happens in the kilns. The pottery has two, both refurbished in 2001: the Newcastle kiln, dating from 1925 and now used as a visitor centre, and the Beehive kiln from 1932. Once a kiln is filled, its door is bricked up and it takes two days and nights to reach 1,250 degrees centigrade. Salt is then added, vaporising and fusing with the surface of the clay to create the glossy sheen and slightly orange peel texture that gives the pottery its name.

The firing is quite a spectacle. Every Thursday evening, with the kilns at full heat, the team blocks the exhaust flue to starve them of oxygen, sending bright, theatrical flames flickering around the kiln. The fire is put out with sand and the kilns are sealed to cool slowly until Monday morning, completing a seven-day cycle.

Each finished pot carries the potter's initial and the year it was made, along with a ten-year frost proof guarantee. The range takes in classic salt glazed planters, herb pots and strawberry pots, alongside newer collections.

Visitors are welcome at the pottery, where there is ample parking, a factory shop with quality seconds, and workshops where you can learn to throw a pot yourself. A festive shopping event is planned for late November, and details of events, workshops and the full range are on the Errington Reay website.