Kielder WaterNewcastle

NORTHUMBERLAND

Cheviot Hills

Hexham

If you prefer your rugged landscapes without an outdoors shop round every bend, Northumberland is your county. Where Hadrian’s Wall marks ancient divides, you’ll find a sociable seclusion... and plenty to entertain you

WORDS Gary Blake PHOTOGRAPHY Gary Blake & Wendy Johnson

Better than the

Walking the Wall is a challenge but don’t forget to simply sit and stare for a while

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TOURING – NORTHUMBERLAND

Photo credit: istock

In my mind, I’m in a scene from The Eagle, the Hollywood blockbuster about the Romans’ Ninth Legion, lost in Northern Britain.

I’m here on the wall, marching eastbound to the garrison of Housesteads Fort and along the iconic

‘Great Wall of China’ section of Hadrian’s wall, on the dramatic escarpment of Steel Rigg. From the high ground of the wall, it’s easy to imagine the barbarians (the rebellious Scottish tribes) being kept at bay by the defenders of this most heavily fortified border in the Empire. This is definitely the male highlight of our six-day break to Northumberland.

I have seen both ends of the wall from motorways en route to Scotland but never realised the sheer scale of it as it blends into the countryside on top of ridges and in valleys. It’s a longish walk but at last I arrive at Housesteads Fort where the wall climbs to the top of a dramatic escarpment with stunning views.

As New Zealanders, now living in the UK, we started out with no preconceptions about Northumberland. Our trip had been heavily researched; planned out over weeks of the two of us poring over OS maps and books. As I stood on the Wall, our caravan had been sited for two full days at Melkridge, within an 800m walk of the wall itself. But our caravan trail then moved along the Military

Road, 20 miles north to Bellingham, to a CCC site in Brown Rigg. Here we were surrounded by hills and close to a river with reputedly the best salmon and trout fishing in England. The Pennine Way walking route passes through the village. It’s a convenient campsite for explorers: with close proximity to Northumberland’s National Park and the Forestry

Canterbury. Bumpy, rolling foothills lead up to the Cheviot ranges and sheep abound.

Otterburn Mills was a convenient stop – a visit to buy outdoor clothing and lunch in the mills, with overhead shafts, pulleys and belts which once wove wool into tweed. The shop still sells rugs, as used by our current Queen.

Our reconnoitre took us uphill along Redesdale (nicknamed Wild Redesdale,) on the A68 to Rochester. This is an area of spectacular natural beauty. There’s a network of cycling trails and walking routes, as well as countless opportunities for horse riding, stretching north to the Scottish Borders. And to the hamlet of High Rochester (a sharp right uphill from the war memorial)

Commission’s Kielder Water, as well as a spectacular walk to a waterfall from the site.

To get a broad view of the area, we took a 142-mile tour to Otterburn, then into Scotland, and finally around Kielder Forest.

Northumberland National Park covers 1030 km2 of protected landscape, with breathtaking views, crystal clear streams, dark skies for stargazing and rich wildlife havens. As few as 2000 people live within the National Park itself – a wild landscape which was once the stamping ground of the Border Reivers. Their homes, pele towers and bastle houses, (tower-like, with one window and a small door and stone roof), can still be seen attached to farm buildings around Bellingham.

The surrounding countryside has emerald green pasturelands with wild running brooks (burns) in places, along with bracken and heather heaths which support three main breeds of sheep. The east coast is drier than the west and is surprisingly reminiscent of the sheep pastures of New Zealand’s South Island around

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BUSYDAYForest adventureThe National Park around Kielder Water (www.visitkielder.com ) has so much to offer. The Canadian-style adventure forest is home of Calvert Trust, whose outdoor adventures for disabled people include exhilarating sailing, abseiling and high wire ropes, with able-bodied friends joining in.

Walk the wallTo enjoy Hadrian’s Wall, get a free circular walk map from Northumberland Parks Centres. The AD 122 bus plies the Wall in summer so you can walk bits, taking in the Vindolanda Roman Museum as round-rover trip. More details, Northumberand Tourist Board, National Trust, English Heritage.

The first electric house Cragside (nationaltrust.org.uk) is the magnificent and fascinating home of great 19th-century Newcastle industrialist Lord Armstrong, and the first house in the world to be lit with the owner/inventor’s hydro electricity. The grounds are impressive, as is the drive there over the moors and via Rothbury village.

LEFT: People have always lived – and died – in this remote place

TOP RIGHT: Three sheep breeds cut the mustard up here

CENTRE RIGHT: You’re never far from a natural wonder

RIGHT: The Roman influence can be seen in the roads

FAR RIGHT: CCC’s Bellingham site is a belter

TOURING – NORTHUMBERLAND

Kielder’s forest paths goad mountain bikers to go faster

The bustling beach at Agay

Kielder Water’s Lewisburn Bay, viewed from the road. It gets even better on foot

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TOURING – NORTHUMBERLAND

whose village green and scattering of houses were once the heart of Bremenium (a Roman fort) whose rampart and part tower and fine west gateway are still visible. You can see the

rounded ammunition stones for giant Roman catapults, now built into the edges of the gables of the stone-built house on the corner.The Otterburn Ranges are one of England’s

remotest upland areas, owned by the army since 1911 and used for military training. Red flags on roads tell you when the firing range is being used (around 250 days a year) but on non-firing days you can ride or walk around dedicated paths and bridleways in an unfarmed landscape which has reverted to nature.

There is the alternative 12-mile ‘Kielder Forest Drive’, a £3 toll-road shortcut from Blakehopeburnhaugh to Kielder Castle. Keep a lookout for England’s native red squirrel in one of its last remaining strongholds, plus badgers, roe deer, meadow flowers, and orchids (May, June, July) in the glens.

From here we moved on to the Cheviots and Kielder Water. With more than 600 square kilometres of forest and 27 miles of shoreline to explore, Kielder Water & Forest Park is perfect for walking and hiking holidays or family days out and offers space – lots of it. The park surrounds a huge artificial reservoir created by drowning a valley. It’s an inspirational place for leisure,

exploration and fun – a mammoth, pine-lined playground full of opportunities for kayaking, mountain biking, owl feeding and deer safaris. You really must check out the strange sci-fi sculptures lurking along the new Lakeside Way: there’s a disembodied head as big as a house, and a sofa disguised as a sheepfold. They make for one of Britain’s most ambitious outdoor art destinations.

Our day started at the Kielder Water Birds of Prey Centre. We took the option of a one-hour walk into the woods with ‘Monty’ the American harris hawk and Cath, his keeper. This is a fantastic opportunity to watch a

falcon swoop down from the skies at over 100mph, and see the grace and speed of eagles, hawks and kites. Monty finally took to Wendy, my partner, and swooped from the

trees to take food from her gloved hand.

The elegance of Monte Carlo

LAZYDAYGo for a driveOur AA ‘250 Tours of Britain’ book offered drives from Bellingham. Perfect roads for car drivers, with uplands giving wide-open views, forest and glens, brooks and burns, heather, history, market towns and stone bridges. Use OS Landranger maps 80, 81, and 86, 87, 88.

See the fallsHareshaws Linn (www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/hareshawlinnwalk) is a stunning 30ft waterfall in an area famous for red squirrels, rare ferns and lichens. It’s a 2 1/

2-hour return walk (or short drive)

from Bellingham CC site. Take a picnic and paddling shoes.

All about the ReiversThe Border Reivers display in Bellingham’s Heritage Museum provided us with a fascinating insight; also the colliers historical photographs and the Smithy Shop while children were entertained with ladybird badge spotting amongst the exhibits and a mini-Fergie tractor to drive www.bellingham-heritage.org.uk

The centre cares for owls, falcons and vultures as well as fallow deer and wallabies. In a prominent position was ‘Sima,’ a white tailed sea eagle, the UK’s largest bird of prey and the star of the film at the Roman Museum.

Home-made food at The Duke’s Pantry at Kielder Castle was excellent while we watched a live webcam of the osprey’s nest in the forest. Over the past two years, six ospreys have fledged successfully in the 62,000 hectare (155,000 acre) wilderness using a man-made nest. This makes Kielder only the second location in England this once-extinct bird has recolonised naturally.

At Purple Mountain bike hire centre we were swiftly kitted out with £1,000 mountain bikes to explore the purpose-made track around the lakes. Our ride nowhere near circumnavigated the undulating, sometimes arduous 27 miles of shore line. However, help was at hand –a 75-seat ferry can transport bikes and people across to three docks to shorten the journey. Booking is essential and rest stops with inspirational art and architecture around the lake make it very enjoyable.

There are trails for bikers from beginners to advanced riders, and there are single-track, ultra-fast one way routes. There’s even a race marathon – the Montane 100, which is a 100-mile loop. That’s how big the areas is.

Just before sunset we took a drive up a hill to the view point to look at the lakes, with it all seeming more like Canada every time. If I’d caught the fishing bug, I could have fished Kielder Water. It’s stocked with vast numbers of rainbow trout, and anglers can either fish from a boat or wander its shores with a fly rod.

Little Whickhope Burn – which tops up Kielder Water

LEFT: The Church of St Cuthbert, Corsenside – very ancient

RIGHT: Eyes right...Lakeside Way’s dramatic scupltures

BOTTOM RIGHT: There are occasional reminders of how close you are to Scotland

ABOVE: Monty the harris hawk shows off for Cath, the falconer

BELOW: Melkridge Camping and Caravanning Club site

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Bring on the wall!

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Hadrian’s Wall was ordered by Emperor Hadrian in 122 AD; six

years later it was a formidable dry-stone wall six meters high, eight to 10 feet wide stretching 80 Roman Miles long (73 statute miles). It separated ‘Britannia’, the Romans’ newly-won territory in England, from Newcastle’s coast in the east to Carlisle in the west.Day walkers can do Halstead Home Fort from Steel Rigg (four miles, or six with the Bumps) and take the bus back to the car park at Steel Rigg. Some stamina is needed to walk the undulations and to the car park up a hill. The AD 122 bus services the nearby routes and points of interest. The reality of life as a Roman soldier 2000 years ago is brilliantly explained in a 20-minute film at the Roman Army Museum at Greenhead. In stunning 3D, “The Eagle’s Eye” is filmed through the eyes of a Sea Eagle, the eagle being a symbol of Rome, and follows the ups and downs of the life of a Roman guard called Aquila.The Roman Army Museum has shared a £6.3m grant with the Roman Museum at Vindolanda. This Roman Fort, a mile south of the wall once homed a garrison. In the wonderful visitor centres in both sites, the day-to-day reality of the settlement is vividly brought to life via surviving leather shoes, military armaments, coins and artefacts. The nine writing tablets of soldiers’ notes are the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain, now housed in a temperature-controlled room.Hadrian’s Wall is a treasure for people to enjoy. Access is relatively unrestricted – you can touch it, and even walk on it if you want.It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and in 2005 it became part of the transnational ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site’ which also includes sites in Germany.

There’s evening entertainment with a difference here; in the shape of the newly-opened Kielder Observatory. We were on the edge of a mild geo-magnetic storm when we visited, so high-latitude dwellers were keeping an eye out for the Aurora from a modern observatory with two main telescopes. You find it up a fire break track on top of a hill. Visit the Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society (KOAS) and you can learn about the stars and see them in the clearest skies in England. There’s almost zero ambient light pollution here because here are no cities nearby.

And long may that remain so, and long may Northumberland keep its tranquillity. Our northern adventure exceeded our expectations by a very large margin. The lasting impressions I have – as an Aussie – are of the south of England over-populated leading to traffic jams around all the interesting market towns.

By contrast, the wide open spaces we found in Northumberland reminded us of the wildest parts of the northern Scotland. Most people think of the Lake District as first choice open space England, but it hasn’t got Hadrian’s Wall or Kielder Forest Park. What’s more, it has got countless tea shops, clothing shops and car parks, seething with coaches and cream teas. Standing atop Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland seems much more real...

Looking ever the part as a smart city car (with its detachable towball removed) the 5008’s also a big family car with cavernous loadspace.Hauled comfortably by its 2-litre, 4-cylinder diesel and 6-speed gearbox, it’s also a seven-seater people carrier in disguise; two flip-up seats with belts are hidden in a well in the boot. Its front seats are comfortable and heated, the grey leather interior in our looking classy. If you want it, you can have built-in

Peugeot Connect Navigation RNEG which pops up, along with a speed repeater on the dashboard. When towing, an important feature is a visual reminder when you reach 60mph towing speed. The 5008 offered plenty of torque for hauling, even though its kerbweight of 1563kg coupled to the Avante 554 MTPLM of 1490kg gave a 91% tow car ratio.

There’s an all important full spare wheel, too, and a removable torch built into the boot, which proved useful when unhitching in the dark.

Further fine turning calculations before purchase of Peugeot models coupled to caravans are given to Caravan Club and CCC members at www.caravanclub.co.uk and www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk

g This 5008 model retails at £23,645. Available from Peugeot dealers or see www.peugeot.co.uk

Our tOw car 2010 PEUGEOT 5008 EXCLUSIVE HDi 150

TOP: A Sycamore tree on Hadrian’s

MIDDLE: Kielder Observatory’s window on the galaxy can be yours

ABOVE: Northumberland is, in places, a driver’s dream

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| 56 Go caravan | 56 Go caravan | 56 Go caravan

g THE SITE: Bellingham CCC, Brown Rigg, Bellingham, Hexham, NorthumberlandNE48 2JY“Bring your bike, walking boots, canoe, a fishing rod – or simply a good book,” say Carole and Barry Howard, managers of the Camping and Caravan Club site at Bellingham.

It’s set by a river within easy walking distance of the village, which has a Heritage Centre, small shops, cafes, restaurants, Co-op shop, banks with cashpoint and pubs.

The site got 5 stars from ‘Visit Britain’ and hold CCC’s 99.98% efficiency badge. Carole and Barry keep a close eye on comings and goings, and you feel very well looked after and safe.

P OPEN: 11 March - 30 October

P PRICES: From £19

P CONTACT: 01434 220175

BELLINGHAM CCC SITEh THE SITES: The best place to stay

g THE SITE: Hadrian’s Wall Camping & Caravan Site, Melkridge Tilery, Melkridge, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, NE49 9PGSituated at the foot of part of Hadrian’s Wall. Breath-taking scenery from all pitches. Excellent for walkers and cyclists. Immaculate facilities including heated toilets/showers building. Close to Melkridge village.

P OPEN: All year

P PRICES: From £16.50

P CONTACT: 01434 320495www.hadrianswallcampsite.co.uk

g THE SITE: Highburn House Country Holiday Park, Wooler, Northumberland, NE71 6EEThis site is on the edge of the National Park with views of the Cheviot Hills. Modern facilities, children’s play area and dog exercise area. Ten minute walk to the town of Wooler. Alnwick, with its castle, is a few miles away.

P OPEN: 1 March - 30 November

P PRICES: From £17.00

P CONTACT: 01668 281344www.highburn-house.co.uk

g THE SITE: Riverside Country Park, Wooler, Northumberland, NE71 6NJAlso on the outskirts of Wooler, this park offers lake and river views. It’s packed with facilities including swimming pool, spa, games room, bar and restaurant. The surrounding area is perfect for walking, cycling, fishing and exploring.

P OPEN: All year

P PRICES: From £20

P CONTACT: 01668 281214www.northdales.co.uk/riverside-country-park

g THE SITE: Kielder Water CC, Leaplish Waterside Park, Falstone, Hexham, Northumberland NE48 1AX

A haven of peace and quiet but with a

swimming pool and licensed restaurant five minutes’ walk from the site, pony-trekking,

horse riding, orienteering, bird

watching, cycling (hire available), crazy golf and walking.

P OPEN: 1 April - 31 October

P PRICES: From £18

P CONTACT: 01434 251 000http://www.nwl.co.uk/Kieldercaravanpark.aspx

g THE SITE: Haltwhistle Camping and Caravanning Club Site, Burnfoot Park Village, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, NE49 0JPSet in a clearing of Bellister Wood (NT). Four miles from Hadrian’s Wall. Perfect for birdwatchers, anglers and walkers. Nearby Haltwhistle, steeped in history, has shops, pubs and a golf course. Non-members are welcome.

P OPEN: 1 April - 31 October

P PRICES: From £8.70

P CONTACT: 01434 320106www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/haltwhistle

g THE SITE: Wellhouse Farm Camping & Caravan Park, Wellhouse Farm, Newton, Stocksfield, Northumberland, NE43 7UYSmall site on family-run working farm. Only one mile from Hadrian’s wall in peaceful countryside surroundings. Newly constructed facilities building. Pub, restaurant, shops, takeaway and sports activities all within four miles. An abundance of historic houses, towns and villages in the area.

P OPEN: April - October

P PRICES: From £14

P CONTACT: 01661 842193

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2012 Elddis infoGo to our website

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2011 Elddis Avanté 554

Elddis Avante 554 Price £15,749

Axles 1

Berths 4

MTPLM 1490kg

Width 2.23m

Length 6.42m

Overall length 7.34m

Headroom 1.95m

OUR HOME

What we liked P High security door lockP Ample storageP Good sized washroom

What we didn’t likeP Kitchen storage too high P Loo cramped

With plenty of room and great lighting, we got on well with the Avanté. The Winterhoff stabiliser gave us the impression it was working a treat on the hill roads when we experienced crosswinds, and had easy, single-handed operation.

One of our favourite features was being able to convert the bunk space into a garage for our bikes. The Avanté is blessed with ample storage and a good-sized washroom, though the loo space is a little cramped.

| 56 Go caravan