The Shepherds Walks guided walk blog can now be found on our main Shepherds Walks web site.
Day Walks
May 15, 2011
April 18, 2011
Hadrian's Wall, part 4 - Port Gate to Brocolitia
Guided Walk date - 17th April 2011
A chilly wind on an otherwise bright sunny day greeted us as we assembled on the car park at Brocolitia. We completely filled Brian’s minibus, no seats spare, for the short transfer to Port Gate (aka the Stagshaw Roundabout) so much so that it required first gear to get up the hill after crossing the bridge at Chollerford and climbing from Brunton crossroads.
Having briefly discussed the importance of the Port Gate on Dere Street and how it fitted into the Roman road infrastructure we turned into the keen wind alongside the vallum to make our way to Stanley Plantation for “elevenses” right on time, enjoying the sun but protected from the wind in the lee of the trees.
By now the banter had started and Jim, as ever, was in fine form. On through the plantation for a brief stop at the now redundant trig point to talk about how the maps are made and how skilled the Roman engineers were at surveying 1800 years previously. Crossing the road to walk alongside the Roman ditch north of the Wall soon afterwards allowed us to appreciate the transition from arable to pastoral land as we gained height. We could easily see distinctive outline of Simonside above Rothbury 31 km away and further round to the north both Cheviot and Hedgehope were prominent on the far skyline at 51 km and 52 km distant respectively.
The Heavenfield memorial proved to be a delightful spot, the sun had warmed the air and the wind had begun to lose its sharp edge. The contrast between the brilliant white of the blackthorn blossom and the very dark bark positively shone in the sunlight and the location of St Oswald’s church was idyllic - if you ignore the reason it was constructed in the first place! The St Oswald’s Tea Rooms a little further on did cause a short pause in our progress but the consensus was to carry on towards a lunch stop somewhere around Chollerford. Reaching Planetrees it was easy to see the transition from broad to narrow wall construction in the first real exposure of the wall since passing through Heddon. So far we have had to be content with observing the vallum to the south of the wall and the ditch to its north and the odd footprint of a milecastle – but it does get your eye-in for spotting the archaeology. The zigzag route downhill to visit Brunton Turret (26B) provided us with a very pleasant lunch location, in the sun but out of the wind in an open parkland landscape.
Following a brief comfort break and the opportunity to purchase a hot drink at the garage cafe in Chollerford we made our way past Chesters, the stud farm and uphill towards Walwick desperately on the look-out for something to stop and comment on, the hill was steep and it was just after lunch. Opting for looking at how you can use suitably exposed trees to find south due the “tick effect” of the way in which the branches grow differently on north and south sides of a tree. I’m not sure that anyone really wanted to know that but it gave everyone a chance to get their breath back without loss of face! Turning off the Military Road in Walwick was significant because it marked the last time we actually walk on the road, apart from crossing it, for some time. It doesn’t however mean that we won’t be walking parallel to, and in sight off, the good old B 6318 for several days yet!
The deviation around Walwick Hall was slightly different to my previous trip as the footpath had been diverted and realigned. Black Carts provided the next substantial exposure to the wall and from the top of one of the ladder stiles it was easy to appreciate the configuration of the vallum, wall and ditch. For the first time all three appeared alongside each other in the landscape, even if General Wade’s Military Road was built on top of the Roman Wall itself. At Limestone Corner we arrived at literally the most northerly point on the Wall with excellent views in all directions. We sat near the trig point (250 m) chatted about what we could see and identifying Chipchase Castle, Barrasford and Swinburne Quarries. The good visibility enabled us to see the radar station on top of Great Dun Fell in the Pennines east of Penrith 43 km away to the south west. Our field of view from Cheviot in the north to Great Dun Fell in the south west was just less than 100 km!
A little further on the change in surface geology to an outcrop of the Whin Sill had a visible effect on Roman efforts to excavate the northern ditch. You could plainly see where attempts had been made, and failed, to split the hard dolerite rock. Shortly afterwards we arrived back at Brocolitia and our cars, this was all the more civilised for being able to purchase a fresh cup of coffee there on arrival. An interesting walk with a great group of people on a bright and clear spring day, thank you all for making it so enjoyable.
To find out more about the guided walks in that are coming up please click here.
April 10, 2011
Pennine Way - part 1
Guided walk date - 3/04/2011
As Sundance made his way south and west his usual luck with the weather seemed to be holding that is until he crossed the county border into Cumbria. The clouds thickened and darkened, until by the time the group were ready to set off we encountered the first drops of the first rain shower of the day. Obviously the soft shoe shuffle only works in Northumberland.
Before the walk could start we first had to walk south through Alston to cross the river and get on to the Pennine Way Path. Here we started to walk north along a drive /track passing several houses before we came to the first of many stiles and discovered the unexpected time it took to get the whole group over.
The first field gave Mike the chance to really start to witter showing where some moles had been caught and how a mole catcher would set his traps. A little bit further on we went through a very ornate field gate before contouring around another house on to its drive. After walking along the main road for a short distance we crossed over to start the first climb of the day that took us out of the valley and on to more open country but, we still had lots of stiles to cross.
A gentle descent took us down to the real proper start of The Northumbrian Pennine Way as we crossed the bridge over the Gilderdale Burn and the county border. We were back into Northumberland and another rain shower. A short climb took us past and above the Roman Fort Whitley Castle here we took the opportunity to have lunch as it was dry.
From here the route descended back down into the valley crossing the road once more and passing Kirkhaugh Station which is the terminus of The South Tynedale Railway, although we could see that the track continued further north.
More fields and stiles took us to a foot bridge over the Thernhope burn here the path went under an old viaduct and eventually along the banks of the South Tyne. The route then joined the main road into Slaggyford.
Making a slight detour to walk through Slaggyford Rail station and along the old Railway line before was more joining the Pennine Way. At Burnstones we walked under Viaduct to then cross the Thinhope burn on the road bridge to immediately to walk under the viaduct again on the road. Here Mike set us a challenge. How many arches does the viaduct have? From the west we counted five arches for the burn and one arch for the road but from the east we were only able to see five arches in total!
One of the arches was a Blind arch.
Climbing up away from Burnstones the Pennine Way follows the line of an old Roman road called the Maiden Way. After a stiff climb we contoured the hill until we descended into the Glendue burn. By now it was raining again so a quick dash to the waiting bus allowed us to get out of the rain, it only took a couple of minutes to retrace our steps to be back in Alston.
To view more pictures taken on this walk please click here
To find out more about the guided walks in that are coming up please click here.
March 21, 2011
Hadrians Wall, part 3 - Newburn to Portgate
Guided Walk date - Sunday 20th March 2011
This was the third instalment of our regular monthly progression westwards towards Bowness-on-Solway starting from Tynemouth. The first two days were essentially urban transects and no less interesting for that but today saw us into more rural settings.
Beginning with a gentle walk alongside the River Tyne Jim was quick to remind us that the Scots won the Battle of Newburn in 1640, the friendly banter had already started and we were only a few hundred metres into the walk! Our party of regulars was joined by John who had forsaken his usual cycle to start training for a walking holiday in the High Atlas in the summer. We were all jealous and Andrea was able to fill-in some of the details having experienced a similar holiday in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco previously. Following the Wylam Waggonway, on which George Stephenson first worked as a cowherd before becoming famous, we left the riverside adjacent to Close house Golf Course to climb the valley side to arrive in Heddon –on-the-Wall. The views of the Tyne valley were exceptional and unexpected. The Spanish style haciendas along the road drew some wry observations about the vernacular architecture of Tyneside! In Heddon we saw the first stretch of Hadrian’s Wall since leaving Segedunum. Time for photographs (thanks Ian) and explanations about the broad wall construction and inset kiln feature before setting-off into real countryside alongside the B6318, our constant companion for the rest of the day.
We were nicely sheltered from the south-westerly wind in the Tyne valley but walking into wind was distinctly chilly and something we were to be aware of for the rest of the day. Next stop was Rudchester fort (Vindobala) which is preserved in its unexcavated state. This feature is easily missed being camouflaged in part by overlying “lumps and bumps” of ridge and furrow – or rigg and furrow depending on which books you read. On the section up towards Harlow Hill there was plenty of opportunity to explain that the Military Road referred not to the Roman road but to the one constructed by General Wade following the 1745 Rebellion of Bonny Prince Charlie. It was largely constructed on top of the Roman Wall using the wall fabric in its construction – conservation and heritage were not considerations in those days. We were beginning to “get our eye-in” by now an were picking out the remains of the Roman ditch to the north of the Wall and the vallum to the south as we changed sides of the road via numerous steps, styles and gates. Lunch was taken in the lee of a hedge beside a stream where the Chilvers team found a beautifully built vaulted chamber inset into a bridge on the March Burn.
At the Whittledene Reservoirs we caught-up with a group of walkers who had left Newburn before us which made us feel good. We used the picnic seats and benches kindly provided by the Northumberland Wildlife Trust for another break, the sun came out and in the shelter of the walls and bird hide we son warmed-up. Jim was amused by a note in the bird hide notebook “Seven ducks, too far off to identify” not the usual sort of entry from birders. Christine used the diagram of a cross-section of the Wall in the hide to sort out the relative positions of the ditch and vallum and see where the Roman Way fitted into the picture – a picture is worth a thousand words etc. On past the Robin Hood Inn and the Vallum Farm Shop, the only retail opportunity of the day which contrasted well with Royal Quays on Day 1 and Newcastle Quayside Market on Day 2, more wry comments! Along this section we were increasingly aware of the skylarks singing and the spring flowers appearing wherever the sun could provide encouragement – there was a noticeable difference in the stage of flowering between north and south sides of hedges for instance, the trees and shrubs were in bud too.
By the time we reached the copse at Down Hill tow kilometres from where we parked our cars it was clear that we would achieve our planned five o’clock finish. It is always a good sign when everyone hangs around for a chat at the end of a walk; we’d had a good day. Considering that this section of the walk is reportedly the one that is most often missed out we certainly found plenty to interest us and the banter was good too. Thanks to everyone for making it such an enjoyable day, I hope to see you all again for part four of the series on April 17th.
Richard
Monday, 21 March 2011
To view more pictures taken on this walk please click here.
To find out more about the guided walks in that are coming up please click here.
March 07, 2011
Thrunton Woods and Long Crag
Guided Walk date - 7/3/11
Sundance and his soft shoe shuffle have done it yet again. Yes it was dry, yes it was sunny and yes even the few boggy bits were easy to dodge. So yes Mike ended the day with dry feet.
We all met at the car park at Thrunton Woods and very quickly wrapped up against the cool breeze. We left the cars by 10.00 and set off down the road towards the Coeburn. The gentle walk down allowed cool muscles to warm up before the need for anything strenuous. At the Coeburn we entered the forest and walked through an area that was being partially harvested. Unfortunately for us this gave Mike the opportunity to start whittering about modern harvesting methods, using a machine called a harvester, compared to cutting down trees manually, and to Mike’s great delight we passed a big tank of urea, which he had been telling us about, that they paint on to stop shoots re-growing from the tree stumps.
The track continued to climb gently following the Coeburn which at this point is lined with knarled old oaks, silver birch and downy birch (yet another chance to whitter). Crossing the Coeburn by a wooden bridge we now started to seriously ascend the front face of Coe Crags. Mike made frequent stops to talk about rocks (again) trees and to take photographs (in reality this was the pretext he needed to get his breath back from the steep climb).
On reaching the top of the steep climb a much gentler climb lead us to the summit of Coe Crag (308m). From the summit the views were fantastic looking across the Vale of Whittingham to the hills just above Wooler, then on to Hedgehope, and The Cheviot before swinging round to Hogdon Law and Weather Cairn then Harbottle Crags and westwards to the end of the Simonside Ridge, swinging round further we could just make out the chimneys at Alcan. We followed the top of the scarp face to Long Crag (319m). Just after starting the descent back down to the Coeburn we found a sheltered spot to have a latish lunch.
Lunch was very idyllic with warm spring sunshine, virtually no wind and not a sound to be heard, with a beautiful view across the vale towards the hills it felt as if we had the whole world to ourselves. After lunch we continued down to the Coeburn and then started the long gentle climb up the lee slope to the top of Callaly Crags.
As we approached Callaly Crags we entered an old open woodland of Scots Pines and with the soft spring sunlight filtering through the trees it had an idyllic peaceful atmosphere. A steep decent through Hobbs Nick brought us to McCartney’s Cave and then down to small valley below Castle Hill. A short steep climb brought us to the summit of Castle Hill and having walked over a couple of ditch and ramparts, we found another pleasant place to sit and have rest and drink. A short descent lead us back on to a Forestry Comm. track which we followed eastwards before joining the tarmac road that would lead us back to the car park and the end of another enjoyable day out in the hills.
To view some more pictures taken on this walk please click here.
To find out more about the guided walks in that are coming up please click here.
February 21, 2011
Segedunum to Newburn
Guided Walk date - Sunday 20th February 2011
What a difference walking from east to west makes. We saw all sorts of things that walking the opposite way some of us had never seen e.g. the Newcastle skyline from St Anthony’s Point including the Civic Centre, the seven bridges from St Lawrence’s near the Ouseburn redevelopment, even approaching the Baltic and the Sage from an unfamiliar angle made it a wholly different experience. From now on I shall be encouraging participants to turn round and view where we have come from more often.
The grey overcast didn’t change all day but we didn’t get wet and at least the chill south-east wind was behind us all day, not bad for a late February day especially as a few of our number were prevented from getting out and about yesterday with the slushy wet snowfall in the uplands.
There were quite a lot of cyclists out on the initial section between Segedunum and the Walker Riverside Park but after that it was relatively quiet going as from here the cycle route diverges from the Hadrian’s Wall Path.
We lunched overlooking St Peter’s Basin with an explanation of the significance of a boat moored there called “The Three Amigos” which relates to a previous walking group on this route - you had to be there to appreciate it. Onwards to The Baltic, our only crossing of the river of the day for a quick drink and comfort stop before negotiating the quayside market and the seven bridges each with their own particular stories to tell. The rafts of debris on the incoming tide populated by seabirds kept us amused as far as Dunston’s coal staithes, a section had been destroyed by fire since my last walk on this route. Looking south beyond the staithes we could easily pick out the tall block of flats (The Rocket) that was adjacent to the site of the Gateshead Garden Festival which none of us could remember the date of (it was 1990 according to the internet). Was it “only” 20 years ago?
The Metro Centre was passed at a safe distance i.e. on the other side of the river as we passed the British Airways call centre on the redeveloped Newcastle Business Park. There were some rye comments about how few people were working there and no wonder we couldn’t get through by phone to make reservations. We walked out onto the Scotswood Road which, in the days of Lord Armstrong’s Elswick Works boasted no fewer than 44 public houses. Crossing the road we entered Paradise near the start of the Vicker’s tank factory, well that is what the map said anyway.
Unfortunately the visibility was too poor to look back and see the Angel of the North, it is the only place it can be seen from along this route. We walked along a former rail track with lots of redevelopment being carried out beyond new fences to our north before looping around and over the A1 via a footbridge linking Denton Dene to Bell’s Close prior to the final run into Newburn via the southern edge of Lemington. We had mentioned the catastrophic floods along the lower Tyne in 1771 earlier because it resulted in the collapse of so many bridges downstream of Hexham but seeing the flood level marker outside the pub by Newburn Bridge certainly made an impression. The last leg was literally alongside the river to the memorial of the Battle of Newburn 1640 where the first fording point on the River Tyne made it a natural choice for raiding parties from Scotland, they won that one.
That completes the second day of the series of one-day westbound walks along the Hadrian’s Wall Path. From now onwards it is mainly rural, except for passing through Carlisle, but that is for the future, the aim is to reach Bowness – on – Solway, the official end of the walk, in the autumn.
To view more pictures taken on this walk please click here.
To find out more about the guided walks in that are coming up please click here.
February 15, 2011
Nordic Walk - Hepburn Woods
Guided Walk date - Sunday 13th February 2011
The morning was damp with a slight chill in the air and with poles at the ready the group gathered in the car park. After a brief introduction into Nordic walking and instruction on the basic technique, we set off along the forest tracks ready to burn some calories and create some heat. Everyone got on really well and soon got hang of the technique, quickening the pace as confidence grew.
The group were chattering away as they motored along (Nordic walking is extremely sociable and allows you to talk and walk which has to be a bonus hasn’t it girls?) and were amazed at how much ground they were covering without feeling the effort, especially when negotiating a long, steady incline.
After a couple of miles of Nordic walking we paused for a little snacket. It had started to rain quite hard at this point and we took shelter amongst the trees for a little respite. Not wanting to get too cold it wasn’t long before we were off again, completing the previous route in reverse so that we took in a steeper incline.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day even the cold and wet didn’t dampen our spirits. I can’t wait for the next walk around Humbleton Hill from Wooler Common on Sunday 13 March. Why don’t you join me?
To find out more about the guided walks in that are coming up please click here.
February 06, 2011
Goats on the Roof
Guided Walk Date- 5th February 2011
After several days of high winds and occasional periods of rain the soft shoe shuffle went into overdrive had Sundance done enough for Saturday to be a dry day? YES.
Although overcast and grey it was not raining and the strong winds had died down to a steady breeze. We arrived at the café at Goats on the Roof and availed ourselves to the facilities before setting off to walk back to the entrance gate to Fontburn Reservoir on the way crossing the Scots Gap to Rothbury railway line and the farm Roughlees which is set up as a rare breeds farm.
At the gate the footpath left the track and headed west along side a wood. After a short distance we once more crossed the line of the railway. The footpath then turned south through the wood before we once more continued to head west over rough pasture land. A steady gentle climb lead us past a number of sink holes (allowing Mike to witter on about how sink holes were formed) this eventually brought us to the top of Greenleighton Hill.
Here we looked down into Greenleighton Quarry (and once more Mike went in to raptures because he was able to talk about ‘rocks’ in this case that this quarry had given its name to a species of brachiopod Pleuropugnoides greenleightonensis and this was junction between the Lower and Upper Carboniferous period, the Visean – Namurian junction, lies in the vicinity of the Great Limestone.
From here it was a short walk to Greenleighton farm (Jon’s old stomping ground) leaving the farm we entered another woodland this sheltered us from the wind so Mike condescended to stop for lunch having been threatened with a rebellion if he didn’t. After lunch we left the woodland to walk North West through some rough pasture until we reached the Fallowlees burn. As this was the furthest west we were going we turned east heading back to the top end of the Fontburn reservoir roughly following the route of the burn.
Our route now followed the southern boundary fence of the reservoir this is a permissive path. The path eventually enters into the land adjacent to the reservoir and follows a well maintained path back to the overflow dam which is just in front of Goats on the Roof. Mike as usual made a long detour along to the Dam proper so we could see the over flow pipe (it looked like a big plug hole), then to look at the water treatment plant and in the background the old railway viaduct.
At long last we headed for the restaurant for a well deserved cup of coffee and some chocolate cake.
To view more pictures taken on this walk please click here.
To find out more about the guided walks in that are coming up please click here.
