Walking from Wylam again

 Walking from Wylam again, and why not. May 15th

The weather here has not been as nice as it could be. Several gadgies are away on their adventures and the few who remain are having a walk that has been covered several times before. The walk starts in Wylam, easily reached by heading west on the A69 until the slip road for Wylam and drive carefully through the village. Just before Wylam Bridge turn into the large free carpark. 

The map for the walk is OS Explorer 316 Newcastle upon Tyne. Not essential. 

The Coffee Tree on the main street makes a fine breakfast.

Parking at Wylam. Plenty of space and free. 

Leaving the car park we headed for the River Tyne, took the footpath under the Wylam Bridge and walked on the north bank of the river until we reached the Hagg Bridge. This bridge, an arch suspension bridge known locally as Points Bridge was built in 1876 for the railway from Newcastle. Once over the water the line joined the track to Carlisle.

                              Hagg (Points) Bridge. Now a footpath and cycle track

                               River Tyne from the bridge, vsry quiet today.

Once over the river we followed the footpath on the south bank for about a mile and a half to the Tyne Riverside Country Park.

On the way we passed the Spetchells, a series of ridges made from Calcium Carbonate, spoil from a nearby factory that produced fertiliser and explosives during WW2. The ridges are now a nature reserve, complete with trees and creatures.

                        White footpath up the Spetchells (The name comes from the previous name of the section of riverside)

            There is a cafe, toilets and play areas at the country park but we soldiered on, crossing the narrow bridge back to the north bank of the river and the village of Ovingham.

Walking clockwise round the church we came to a stile, scrambled over it and headed for Whittle Dene.

St. Mary the Virgin, Ovingham. Late Saxon, 11th century origins, with 13th C rebuilds  and Victorian restoration. The tower is probably the oldest part, some of it being built with stones from nearby Roman sites.

 Soon we were in Whittle Dene. There are the remains of several houses and hints of old industry but mostly it is a gentle climb through woodland to the A69

.                     In Whittle Dene.

Reaching the A69 we followed a footpath for a short distance before making good use of the bridge over the road.

Into a field and then on to what was once the A69 before the modern dual carriage way was built. Several rather grand houses later we turned, went under the bridge, turned left and walked along the road to the village of Horsely. Hunger calls, we Herbied in a cosy bus shelter which also had a book exchange cupboard. There are more of them around, good idea.

At the east end of the village we spotted the finger post (mile 6) telling us Wylam was 1.5 miles away. There is a narrow fenced footpath before reaching open fields.

The horse on the right is a small cob.

Leaving the footpath we crossed, in a south easterly direction, navigated a couple of stiles and a footbridge  before reaching the road back to Wylam. Then we went home.

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The walk is 8 easy going miles, river bank and woodland.

A coastal walk again

 A coastal walk again. May 8th

After several country walks and a slog round Prague I've been looking forward to being beside the seaside. An old favourite, from Warkworth to the mouth of the River Aln and back through the dunes.

Take the Northumberland Coast Route to Warkworth, turn left as you approach the church and park by the riverside.

It's possible to do the walk without relying on OS maps but the one that covers the area is OS Explorer 332 Alnwick and Amble.

                         Car parking by the River Coquet is free.

There is a good cafe, Bertrams on Bridge Street but on this sunny morning a small team of gadgies opted to get on with the walk. Leaving the car park we took the riverside footpath to the bridge.

There are two bridges, one is a 14th century structure with a gate at the south end. It was used until replaced by the modern bridge next to it built in 1965.

St. Lawrence church Wark worth. Mainly Norman

Just a little section of the ancient bridge. The sign in the top left corner is on the road to the beach.

             The gate at the south end of the bridge.

Once across the bridge we took the road towards the beach. Should you wish to shorten the walk there are a couple of car parks near the caravan site and some toilets too.

Heading for the dunes, passing the golf course we turned right and walked along the track almost to the mouth of the river.

Coquet Island in the distance

               Mouth of the Coquet.

Joining the beach we headed north. Soft sand making boots sink in but nearer the water the sand is firmer for easier walking.

Three miles of golden sand, littered with lumps of coal washed out of nearby seams. As has been said before if Northumberland had sunshine the beaches would be lined with hotels and sunbeds. Small mercies!

A man and his dogs and all that beach to play on.

After a couple of miles walking the beach there is a choice. Climb up the grassy low cliff and walk through the caravan site before returning to the sands, or continue on the beach and negotiate the rocks. Not too difficult but can be a scramble.

The final section of the beach has a roped off area for nesting birds, none present today. 

At the River Aln, oppositec Alnmouth we turned inland and scrambled up to the cross.

The cross stands on the site of  St. Waleric's church, a 12th century house of worship that was destroyed in the great storm of 1806 which also changed the course of the river. Once the village church, now just a memorial on the opposite side of the Aln.

Close to the church hill is the ruin of a mortuary chapel. It looks old but was built in 1870. It offers some shelter for a Herbie, A shareless Herbie today. 

            Mortuary chapel from 1870. Convincing arch, lookls Norman.

Moving south along a good track we passed the ruins of the guano shed. Built in the 18th century to store imported guano which was used a s a fertiliser. Before the great storm of 1806 Alnmouth was a thriving sport.

                               The Guano shed

The path stays close to the beach, above the water. When it reaches the Warkworth golf course it turns closer to the water, passing under a footbridge.

The bridge takes gol;fers from one tee spot to the next. Attached to the central pillar is:

 a bell. Walkers are asked to ring it to warn players of their approach. It works if you are going in the opposite direction from us. We had already crossed the fairway.

From this point the footpath fo;lows the edge of the course until it joins the path to the beach. We turned right and were soon back at the medieval bridge and car park and home.

The walk is about 9 miles. Easy going on sand and track.

Close encounters of the third kind

 Close Encounters  of the Third Kind. May 1st

We first attempted this walk many weeks ago but it rained so heavily we cut it very short. The second attempt was halted because the A68 road was closed and diversions were long.

Today the road is open, the sky is blue, the wind is light. Good day for walking.

The walk starts at Allensford caravan park which naturally has a café.

Easily reached A69 west, A68 south and turn left at the signpost into the park after a few miles.

The walk is covered by OS Explorer 307 Consett and Derwent.

                    The car park at Allensford. 

Once fuelled and booted  we set off across the grassy play area and headed for the bridge over the Derwent. We didn't  cross the river, just the road and followed a narrow, fenced footpath  before starting a gentle (mostly)  climb through woodland until we reached the first of many stiles on the walk.

Having navigated the wobbly construction we walked across fields but close to the edge of Birks Wood until we reached a car park, crossed a road and followed a path over fields. Left at the next road, almost immediately right and we were on the Waskerley Way. The way is an old railway line from near Stanhope to Consett. We walked the length of it several years ago. It is popular with walkers and cyclists being a section of the coast to Coast cycle trail. A vgrassy track we followed it going roughly south west for a couple of miles, took a short cut at Bed House and called a Herbie in the picnic area at Waskerley Station.

A good spot for lunch, several tables to offer some comfort and we shared apple pies, cookies and, of course, sweet and savoury from Mrs A.

Lunch over we headed north east on a grassy track named Nanny Mayers Incline. Built as a gravity powered railway incline for hauling mineral wagons it is now a farm track and public footpath.

                                        Lunch time

At a point slightly less than mile 6 there is a path across fields, not very well marked, but it leads to Middles Farm. More fields from the farm, we crossed a road by the cattle grid and followed footpaths  until we found the woods near mile 8.

 No leaves yet? Dead?

Leaving the wood we turned right, walked a road for a short distance before following a finger post that led through woodland and field until we reached Horsely Hope Burn. There was no bridge or ford, some, sensible people, followed the footpath along the stream until they found a crossing point. Some, less sensible crossed the stream with the help of slippery rocks and then scrambled up a steep unforgiving slope. It did have the occasional tree for help.

Having found a path we followed it to Fox Holes, crossed one of the fields from almost the beginning of the walk and finally we walked back through the woods to the caravan park.

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The walk is about 11 miles, mostly easy going with gentle climbs but be careful at the Horsley Hope Burn.