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.

Contains OS data, copyright. Crown copyright and database right 2026

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