The Glorious Twelfth
Autumn Festival - Friday 10th to Sunday 19th October
Walk to Scotland and the Source of the North Tyne - Day 1
Depending on numbers we may run two parallel routes as we leave each day. We set off from Haltwhistle Market Place and head north, some pass up the Burn Footpath, others up Shepherds' Terrace to Pyke Dyke Neuk and to the Roman Wall. Here we look south to the North Pennines with Cold Fell and perhaps even Cross Fell in view if the day be very clear. To the north we can see the dark edge of Wark Forest with Kielder beyond. We then cross open grazing country to Scotchcoulthard, (an assembly point for Reivers), and finally enter the fringes of the largest man-made forest in Europe. After a brief experience of deep forest we emerge onto the natural cover of open heath and bog land - ancient flow country which we traverse as far as the fertile valley of the Irthing at Lamperts where there is a traditional hay meadow on a protected site. We then follow the single track road towards Churnsike and will be collected by the 'bus which will return us to Haltwhistle.
Walk Fee: £15 (including bus fare)
Distance: 12 miles/6-7 hours
Grade: Moderate, with some stretches of very rough walking but without too many steep ascents
Meet at: 10am Haltwhistle Market Place. Bring packed lunch
Come to the Butterfly Ball
A short walk for the youngest children and their carers. Amble along beside the Haltwhistle Burn and collect beautiful things to decorate your Butterfly. Bring a picnic and something waterproof to sit on.
Walk Fee: Free, please book your place
Distance: 1 mile
Grade: Very easy - toddler and pushchair friendly!
Meet at: 11am at Willia Road Car Park, Haltwhistle
Maximum number: 20 children
Walk to Scotland and the Source of the North Tyne - Day 2
The 'bus collects us from Haltwhistle and takes us to the place near Churnsike where we were collected yesterday afternoon. After Churnsike we enter Kielder Forest proper and mainly following forest roads with remarkably open stretches with extensive views we penetrate deep into the remotest part of our walk, far from traffic, roads, noise or any other audible evidence of human activity. We finally descend into the North Tyne valley, now flooded by the Kielder Reservoir, conceived in the 1960s when the demand for water by the industry of the North East was anticipated to be far greater than has materialised. Now it is a great recreational resource and reservoir of water should it be needed in the future. We are again collected by the 'bus that returns us to Haltwhistle.
Walk Fee: £15 (including bus fare)
Distance: 12 miles/ 6 hours
Grade: fairly easy walking over mostly forestry tracks
Meet at: 9.30am Haltwhistle Market Place. Bring packed lunch
Isaac's Tea Trail - Allen Valleys walk from the West Allen to Allendale Town
This walk follows Isaac's Tea Trail back home to Allendale. Enjoy a splendid day's walking down the secluded West Allen Valley combined with a riverside walk along the East Allen Valley. On the way we may see red squirrels or black grouse. In the sunshine, the autumn colours will be splendid. If it's wet then we'll look out for salmon and sea trout leaping upstream.
Further particulars including the route can be found in the Isaac's Tea Trail booklet available at TICs in Haltwhistle and Hexham at only £2.00. We'll aim to finish at the Allendale Tea Rooms in time for tea (payable locally). For further information please visit www.northumberlandlife.org/teatrail.
Walk Fee: £10 (including bus fare)
Distance: 11 miles/5.5 hours
Grade: Mostly moderate with some short strenuous sections
Meet at: 10am Allendale Market Square by Isaac's Well. Bring packed lunch, waterproofs and walking boots.
In the Footsteps of Sir Walter Scott
In 1779 Walter Scott, then a newly qualified Edinburgh lawyer with only one obscure piece of poetry to his name, came as a tourist to the Shaws Hotel in Gilsland to take the spa waters. There he met his future wife and found inspiration for his novel Guy Mannering. This half day walk explores the Gilsland that Scott would have visited and attempts to answer some puzzling questions about the people and places now associated with him. There will be an opportunity for a 'swift half' at the Spa Hotel en route, if desired, and the walk will end with afternoon tea at Mumps Hall. Will Higgs, a local historian specialising in the history of Gilsland will be guiding this walk.
Walk Fee: £9.50 (including tea)
Distance: 3 miles
Grade: Moderately easy with some ascents/descents on good paths, waterproof/mud proof footwear essential
Meet: 1pm Station Car Park, Gilsland (GR636664)
Walk to Scotland and the Source of the North Tyne - Day 3
The 'bus collects us from Haltwhistle and takes us to the point we reached yesterday whence we enjoy the new Trail, the Lakeside Way, recently constructed by the Forestry Commission along the lakeside as far as Kielder village. Originally built for forestry workers, tourism is now also very important for this most remote of communities. We then follow the old railbed of the railway line that joined the now closed Waverley Line at Riccarton Junction. At Deadwater station we climb onto Deadwater Fell and follow the ancient road to a drystone wall and gate into Scotland. At the gate we see a small rivulet - the source of the North Tyne. We descend to the road and meet the 'bus for the return to Haltwhistle.
Walk Fee: £15 (including bus fare)
Distance: 10 miles/ 5 hours
Grade: Moderate mainly level walking over good paths
Meet at: 9.30am Haltwhistle Market Place. Bring packed lunch
Haltwhistle to Walltown Circular
We start walking up the lower section of the Haltwhistle Burn, before taking the bridleway to Hadrian's Wall at Great Chesters. Continuing to the west, we walk over the 'camel humps' of Walltown crags with some stunning views of the Solway Firth and the hills to our north and south. Then, after pausing at the Walltown visitor centre (toilets), we return to Haltwhistle, mainly downhill over the pastures of Haltwhistle Common and a quiet lane.
Walk Fee: £9.50 (including tea)
Distance: 8 miles/ allow 4.5 hours, including stops for points of interest
Grade: easy start, some steep sections along Hadrian's Wall
Meet at: 10am in the Market Place, Haltwhistle. Bring packed lunch.
Walltown to Haltwhistle - a shorter walk
For those preferring a shorter walk and a later start time, we assemble in the Market Place, Haltwhistle and travel together by bus to Walltown where the walk begins. We make our way on to the Hadrian's Wall trail and follow it over the 'camel humps' of the spectacular Walltown Crags - one of the most photographed sections of this World Heritage Site. Then the going becomes easier, and we continue through the Roman Fort at Great Chesters to Cawfields Quarry (toilets). From there we leave the Wall itself and wind our way downhill through the picturesque Haltwhistle Burn and back to our starting point in Haltwhistle.
Walk Fee: £5
Distance: 5 miles/ 2.5 to 3 hours easy pace
Grade: Moderate, with some short steep climbs at the start, then easy walking
Meet at: 10.45am Haltwhistle Market Place to catch the 10.55am Hadrian's Wall bus service AD122 to Walltown.
Life with the Birds
A walk in the company of David O'Hara, a warden of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds at its Geltsdale Nature Reserve. It will take approximately 3 hours to cover 3 miles or so where you may expect to see birds of autumn - redwings, fieldfares and possibly black grouse, feeding on berries as winter approaches.
Walk Fee: £7
Distance: 3 miles (approx)
Grade: Easy to moderate
Meet at: 9.30am Sainsbury's Car Park for car share to Clesketts (via Hallbankgate) (grid ref 589588)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Our walk starts at Greenhead with a climb up the Sustrans cycle route heading east to the former Roman hill fort of Carvoran. Running parallel with and below Hadrian's Wall we continue eastward along the road to Walltown Farm and then a stony track across open moorland. Cut off from light pollution and weather permitting we should have good views of the night sky. Our route then swings south (navigating by the stars?) to cross the Military Road and return into the town by way of the Haltwhistle Burn.
Walk Fee: £7.00 (including refreshments)
Distance: 5-6 miles
Grade: Moderate (night walking does require a little confidence to 'stride out')
Meet at: 8pm Haltwhistle Market Place for 8.13pm bus to Greenhead. Bring a torch. Finish at Eden House for soup and home brewed beer.
By Blue Streak and Farmhouse Cheese - a Country Ramble
We meet on the car park of the now closed Gilsland Railway Station. Our route takes us northwards beside the River Irthing, through the wooded gorge adn nature reserve below the Gilsland Spa Hotel (memories of Sir Walter Scott) to the secluded waterfall at Crammel Linn. After a brief stretch along a quiet country road, we walk past the forests and upland farms of Moscow and Dumblar Rigg, skirting the excluded bombing ranges of RAF Spadeadam. Heading west and then south past secluded farms in hidden valleys, we pause at Slack House Farm where they still make cheese from their own organic dairy herd. After a tea stop, we continue to the Roman Wall fort of Birdoswald. Finally we return to Gilsland along the Hadrian's Wall Path, crossing the River Irthing at Willowford, next to the impressive remains of the Roman road bridge. The best-preserved milecastle on Hadrian's Wall at the Poltross Burn is the last point of interest before reaching our transport.
Walk Fee: £5
Distance: 12 miles, allow 6 hours including the stop at Slack House Farm
Grade: mainly moderate, with some steep sections and some rough hill pasture
Meet at: 10am Gilsland Railway Station car park (GR 636664), south of the B6318. Bring packed lunch.
Healthy Walk
A short walk in and around Haltwhistle, mainly on the flat. Aimed at those unable to cope with long walks, this is a sociable and friendly walk.
Walk Fee: Free
Distance: About 2 miles
Meet at: 11.30am Sainsbury's car park, Haltwhistle
Twice Brewed 'Figure of Eight'
We travel independently and assemble at the Steel Rigg car park on Hadrian's Wall. The walk is in two sections: an east-bound circuit of 7 miles. On the way we follow part of the Hadrian's Wall trail, pass the Roman fort of Housesteads, the trig point and former Roman signalling station atop Thorngrafton Common, then by Vindolanda and the Stanegate Roman road back to our lunch stop near the Twice Brewed pub (or optionally at the adjacent Once Brewed Information Centre). Then, we follow a shorter, 5 mile circuit to the west, taking in Hallpeat Moss, Caw Gap and the highest section of Hadrian's Wall at Windshield Crags before returning to the Steel Rigg car park. The walk has some long views, many points of historical interest and a variety of geological and hill-farming contexts.
Walk Fee: £5
Distance: 12 miles in total / 6 hours
Grade: mainly moderate underfoot, but with several steep sections that can be a bit more demanding.
Meet at: 10am at the Steel Rigg car park GR 751676 (parking £2 all day). Bring packed lunch.
Food available all day at the Twice Brewed Inn.
Steel Rigg Short Walk Option
This walk is offered for those who prefer a shorter walk and possibly an easier pace. While covering some of the same ground as the longer walk above, it will be separately led and we take it in the opposite direction. Starting from the Steel Rigg car park on the Hadrian's Wall trail, we walk westwards, rising gradually to gain the trig point on the Windshield Crags, which is the highest point of the Wall. After enjoying the magnificent views, we continue to Caw Gap, where we leave the wall to return via Hallpeat Moss and Cranberry Brow. We end the walk by the Twice Brewed Inn (food all day) where we are also next door to the Northumberland National Park information centre at Once Brewed. Our cars parked at Steel Rigg are a 5 minute walk across the road.
Walk Fee: £5
Distance: 5 miles, allow 3 hours, easy pace.
Grade: moderate, easy in places
Meet at: 10am at Steel Rigg car park, GR751676 (parking £2 all day). Bring packed lunch.
Sensory Walk and Poetry Workshop
This walk and workshop is suitable for all including those with lower agility/mobility or visual impairment and is wheelchair accessible.
Morning: A slow walk along the lush valley of the Haltwhistle Burn with the emphasis on experiencing nature with all the senses. The route is along a tarmac road and a compacted aggregate track which was once a narrow gauge railway. Please let us know if a walk assistant is required.
Transport from your door to the Burn Footpath can be arranged if requested. (Haltwhistle and district only!)
Afternoon: A poetry writing workshop led by members of the Hexham Writers' Group.
Please let us know the nature of any assistance you require when booking.
Walk Fee: £5
Distance: is a minimum of 0.6 mile (those having a car to the start and picked up at the end) and a maximum of 1.4 miles.
Grade: very easy - level and wheelchair accessible
Meet at: 10.30am Willia Road Car Park, Haltwhistle
Lunch: A soup and sandwich lunch may be booked in advance for an additional cost of £6.
Numbers Limited - maximum 20
This walk is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and Northumberland National Park Sustainable Development Fund.
Haltwhistle to Windshields Circular
The walk starts with the most interesting, middle section of hte Haltwhistle Burn. The walking is easy, using a well kept, riverside footpath through the gorge on the gentle gradient of a disused railway track. The river itself, the flora and the fauna, the industrial archaelolgy and the visible geology of the walls of the gorge make this a veritable time capsule. We continue along the Burnside to reach Hadrian's Wall at Cawfields quarry (toilets). Thereafter we follow the Wall trail to the trig point by Windshields Crags before turning south and across the Military road. Our return to Haltwhistle is via bracing, upland pastures and rural lanes with good views over Haltwhistle below and the South Tyne valley.
Walk Fee: £5
Distance: 8 miles / 4 hours
Grade: easy at the start, then moderate with some steep sections along Hadrian's Wall.
Meet at: 10am Haltwhistle Market Place. Bring a packed lunch.
Afternoon Assisted Walk along Haltwhistle Burn
Booking essential with Claire Heaviside on (01434) 321533
A leisurely short walk along part of Haltwhistle Burn, where the trees will be in their autumn colours, accompanied by volunteers to support walkers and push wheelchairs. A friendly sociable walk aimed at those who are unable to walk unaccompanied, followed by tea and cake at Haltwhistle Methodist Church Hall plus an illustrated talk on the History of Haltwhistle Burn.
Walk and talk fee: £3.00 (including refreshments and transport from your own home - Haltwhistle and district)
Illustrated Talk on the History of Haltwhistle Burn
See photos and hear fascinating facts about the 'busy Burn' where over the last century a lot of local people worked at the coal mines, woollen mills and brick works.
Talk fee: £2.50 (including refreshments)
Meet at: 3pm Haltwhistle Methodist Church
Wallace Figure of Eight, with a short walk option
The walk commences at the old station car park at Featherstone. The first part takes us through woodland and pasture including a sharp descent before reaching the Featherstone Road Bridge - a fine example of Victorian construction. We then walk alongside the River South Tyne to reach the farms of Low and High Burnfoot set in the picturesque Hartleburn valley. We cross a section of moorland through old mine workings, thence down to the spectacular Lambley Viaduct. We detour here up steps to the viaduct itself to view the panorama afforded by both sides of the bridge and being October to wonder at the wide variety of autumn tints. We descend again to the river, along the opposite bank to access the South Tyne Trail to return to the car park.
The walk is considered to be easy to moderate with only a couple of fairly stiff ascents or descents. The distance is approximately 5.7 miles.
Lunch can be taken at the 'Wallace Arms' if you wish or you can 'picnic' nearby.
The second part of the walk will commence at approximately 2pm. This is shorter than the morning one and will allow time at the end to partake of the refreshment opportunity provided by the 'Wallace'.
It consists mostly of pasture and moorland but includes the Park Burn Waterfall at Lynnshield. We cross to Broomhouse Common affording a view of Haltwhistle nestling in the river valley below before passing through Park Village. We proceed along another section of the South Tyne Trail to return to the car park.
Walk Fee: £5
Distance: Total 10 miles (5.7 miles am and 4.3 miles pm)
Grade: Easy to moderate with a couple of fairly stiff ascents and descents in the first part.
Meet at: 10am Featherstone old station car park (GR 608684)
'Sycamore Snap'
with instruction from local photographer Danny Brannigan
A short walk from Steel Rigg Car Park along the course of Hadrian's Wall to Sycamore Gap and back, with plenty of photo opportunities. Followed by buffet lunch at the Twice Brewed Inn, with an opportunity to show your photographs and discuss with an expert.
Walk Fee: £11 (including buffet)
Distance: 3 to 4 miles
Meet at: 10am Steel Rigg car park (parking £2 all day).
Numbers limited - maximum 15
Haltwhistle First School Treasure Hunt Trail
an introduction to Geocaching (see explanation under Saturday's Family Treasure Hunt)
For pupils of Haltwhistle First School.
Source of the South Tyne - Day 1 Slaggyford to Garrigill
Following the river on the east bank through Kirkhaugh, Randalholm, Alston and then crossing the river below Bleagate and Garrigill. Between Bleagate and Garrigill there are many rare plants that thrive in the lead rich mine waste deposited over the last two centuries of mining activity in the North Pennines.
Walk Fee: £10 (including coach back to Haltwhistle)
Distance: 10 miles / 5 to 6 hours
Grade: Moderate
Meet at: 9.45am Haltwhistle Railway Station to travel by public transport to Slaggyford - approx cost £3.00. Bring packed lunch.
Fungi Walk
with Dr Gordon Beakes, Mycologist at Newcastle University
Search for and identify Fungi with an expert, learn about how they grow and reproduce and are they safe to to eat? A variety of different habitats will be visited, including oak and coniferous woodland.
Walk Fee: £7
Distance: 5 miles (approx) / 4.5 to 5 hours
Grade: Moderately easy with some steep and wet conditions underfoot
Meet at: 10am Sainsbury's car park, Haltwhistle, for car share and travel to South Tyne Trail at Coanwood.
Bring packed lunch.
Numbers limited - maximum 15.
Family Treasure Hunt Trail - an introduction to Geocaching
Geocaching is a treasure hunt using a hand held GPS system to locate the 'treasure' or cache. The treasure consists of a well hidden box or tin containing small items which can be swapped for items you have brought with you for the purpose. There are caches hidden all over the world and, once you have learnt the basics, you will be able to take part in this exciting sport wherever you find yourself.
The walk takes a route up Haltwhistle Burn via Aesica Roman fort onto Hadrian's Wall. After a short stretch of the Wall Path and lunch we return to Haltwhistle via Lowtown, Greenwood and Comb Hill searching for caches all along the route. GPS handsets are available for each of four teams (or let us know if you can bring your own).
Please apply as a team between four and six people. There should be at least one adult in each team with no more than four children (under 16). The route can be wet and muddy. Stout footwear is essential. This walk is not suitable for young children unless carried in a back pack.
Walk Fee: £10 per team
Distance: 6.4 miles
Grade: moderate - field paths, tracks over boggy ground and moderate ascents and descents. It also includes some road walking on minor roads.
Meet at: 10.30am Haltwhistle Market Place
Source of the South Tyne - Day 2 Garrigill to the Source
Following the river on the east bank we divert to view and walk behind the spectacular Ashgill Force and then past Hole House, climb the valley through pleasant pastures, thorugh deserted mineworkings up on to the high fell and the very source, whence a few hundred yards extra stroll lets us look down on the nascent Tees.
Walk Fee: £5
Distance: 10 miles / 5 to 6 hours
Grade: Moderate
Meet at: 9am Haltwhistle Market Place for care share to Garrigill. Bring packed lunch.
Read the Landscape
with Brian Young, Geologist
Brian has extensive knowledge of the North Pennines area through his work with the British Geological Survey. On the walk from Alston over meadows and pastures to the high lying former mining village of Nenthead he will explain how the landscape and the land use of the South Tyne and Nent valleys have been shaped by the geology and the mining activity over a long period of time. We will also hear about the minerals other than lead, which were more valuable, and also a particular mineral unique to the area.
The walk will start at Alston and finish at Nenthead.
Walk Fee: £9 (including bus fare)
Distance: 6 / 7 miles
Grade: Moderate
Meet at: 10am own transport to Nenthead (Car park opposite children's play area/entrance to Nenthead Mining Centre). If lift from Haltwhistle required, please contact the Partnership office.
Coach to Alston and return Nenthead approx. 4pm.
Bring packed lunch and wrap up well according to weather.
Numbers restricted - maximum 15.
Click to download booking form for Autumn 2008
For more information, please either email use
or telephone 01434 321 242
Why not do more walks?
Haltwhistle Partnership have published a set of 22 walks which are available from their office, Tourist Information Centre and Edens Lawn Garage for £5.00. These can be posted for an additional charge.
A set of circular self guided walks in and around Haltwhistle, complete with Ordnance Survey maps and historic snippets.