Scots Gap (Northumberland) September 11th.
Long ago there was a tiny village near Mitford which is near Morpeth which is near Newcastle which is in Northumberland (sort of). Every night the villagers would gather their flocks and herds and drive them to a night fold called the Villains Bog. The fold was surrounded by a dyke and had a narrow entrance, the Avenue or Gap. The idea was to save the animals from packs of wandering wolves or squads of marauding Scots. One night a band of Scots arrived, planning to steal the animals and probably kill off the totally innocent villagers. However the villagers hammered the Scots who ran home and since then the village has been called Scots Gap.
Long ago there was a tiny village near Mitford which is near Morpeth which is near Newcastle which is in Northumberland (sort of). Every night the villagers would gather their flocks and herds and drive them to a night fold called the Villains Bog. The fold was surrounded by a dyke and had a narrow entrance, the Avenue or Gap. The idea was to save the animals from packs of wandering wolves or squads of marauding Scots. One night a band of Scots arrived, planning to steal the animals and probably kill off the totally innocent villagers. However the villagers hammered the Scots who ran home and since then the village has been called Scots Gap.
Today we are a sextet; Me, Brian, Ian, Dave, Harry and John L.
Today's walk starts from Scots Gap. There is parking at the old National Trust office, now closed. To get to the village A1 north, turn off and drive through Morpeth, turn left at the top of the street for Mitford and keep going till you find Scots Gap. Go west through the village and after a couple of hundred yards there is an entrance to the car park on the right A useful map is OS OL Explorer 42 Kielder Water and Forest.
I forgot to take a photograph of the car park today. This is one I used a few years ago. I hate to disappoint. There were more cars parked today.
At the back of the car park there is a footpath, the beginning of the walk. You can just make out the yellow marker on the left hand post in the picture. After a few hundred yards the footpath joins the dismantled railway, nicely grassed and easy walking. Fairly soon we reached the junction of two dismantled railway lines and followed the right branch, crossing several burns, one of which is reputed to have been the site of a railway accident. At Delf Burn there is a marker on the left for "The Wannie Line". Steps lead down to a field and the path soon enters Delf Plantation. The footpath follows the stream through the wood, a few short up and down stretches and finally emerges into fields on Toot Hill.
Footpath through Delf Plantation.
We crossed a couple of fields, stopping to look at the lime kilns, before taking the track past Pump House and on in a westerly direction towards Fairnley.
Very impressive lime kilns.
Approaching Fairnley we stopped near a ford and decided the grassy bank above the stream made an excellent Herbie Spot, even though we had only come about 3.5 miles.
Lunch time. We shared Skinny Whip chocolate bars, ginger biscuits, almond slices and savoury buns from Mrs A.
We discussed the relative merits of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and also the relative merits of bus conductors' ticket issuing machines.
Moving on we came to the farm at Fairnley which is guarded by a gaggle of geese.
Fairnley Guardians
The path goes round the buildings and then across muddy fields along part of St. Oswald's Way to Catcherside North Plantation. Walking parallel to the wood we eventually found the left turn (the sign post was broken) through the woodland and walked the very straight track alongside Catcherside Plantation to Catcherside Cottage.
This plantation has been cleared, the old pines being replaced by deciduous trees, still in their protective tubes.
A future forest.
Beyond the cottage we split up, amicably. Dave and Harry wandered off in one direction and we four another. Slightly lost we wandered round the edges of several fields before spotting the dismantled railway. (Another one, there are several). We followed the line for a short distance until it was blocked. We crossed several fields near Coldwell before finding the gate back on to the railway. From this point we stayed on the old line, a well worn footpath, until we returned to the junction near Scots Gap. Back on the original we were soon back at the car park, Harry and Dave were already there.
Changed, most of us actually went home!
This walk is easy going mostly. Some of the fields were very muddy, especially near gates where cows love to assemble and churn up the ground.
The walk is about 10.5 miles.
Contains OS data. Crown copyright and data base right 2020
Not many photos taken today but here's a few.
Today's walk starts from Scots Gap. There is parking at the old National Trust office, now closed. To get to the village A1 north, turn off and drive through Morpeth, turn left at the top of the street for Mitford and keep going till you find Scots Gap. Go west through the village and after a couple of hundred yards there is an entrance to the car park on the right A useful map is OS OL Explorer 42 Kielder Water and Forest.
I forgot to take a photograph of the car park today. This is one I used a few years ago. I hate to disappoint. There were more cars parked today.
At the back of the car park there is a footpath, the beginning of the walk. You can just make out the yellow marker on the left hand post in the picture. After a few hundred yards the footpath joins the dismantled railway, nicely grassed and easy walking. Fairly soon we reached the junction of two dismantled railway lines and followed the right branch, crossing several burns, one of which is reputed to have been the site of a railway accident. At Delf Burn there is a marker on the left for "The Wannie Line". Steps lead down to a field and the path soon enters Delf Plantation. The footpath follows the stream through the wood, a few short up and down stretches and finally emerges into fields on Toot Hill.
We crossed a couple of fields, stopping to look at the lime kilns, before taking the track past Pump House and on in a westerly direction towards Fairnley.
Approaching Fairnley we stopped near a ford and decided the grassy bank above the stream made an excellent Herbie Spot, even though we had only come about 3.5 miles.
We discussed the relative merits of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and also the relative merits of bus conductors' ticket issuing machines.
Moving on we came to the farm at Fairnley which is guarded by a gaggle of geese.
The path goes round the buildings and then across muddy fields along part of St. Oswald's Way to Catcherside North Plantation. Walking parallel to the wood we eventually found the left turn (the sign post was broken) through the woodland and walked the very straight track alongside Catcherside Plantation to Catcherside Cottage.
This plantation has been cleared, the old pines being replaced by deciduous trees, still in their protective tubes.
Beyond the cottage we split up, amicably. Dave and Harry wandered off in one direction and we four another. Slightly lost we wandered round the edges of several fields before spotting the dismantled railway. (Another one, there are several). We followed the line for a short distance until it was blocked. We crossed several fields near Coldwell before finding the gate back on to the railway. From this point we stayed on the old line, a well worn footpath, until we returned to the junction near Scots Gap. Back on the original we were soon back at the car park, Harry and Dave were already there.
Changed, most of us actually went home!
This walk is easy going mostly. Some of the fields were very muddy, especially near gates where cows love to assemble and churn up the ground.
The walk is about 10.5 miles.
Not many photos taken today but here's a few.
Very entertaining and descriptive...thanks! My son and his wife are visiting there this weekend.
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