Featured Walk – Circular from Steel Rigg

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Steel Rigg car park is a short distance from Layside, and a great place to start and finish a circular walk. Whereas most choose to head east following Hadrian’s Wall towards Sycamore Gap and Housesteads, this morning we chose to head west. Following the road from the car park, walking west takes you past Melkridge Common with Winshields Crags and Hadrian’s Wall to your left. The paved surface of this little-used road makes this part of the walk easy going and relatively flat with wide verges for well behaved dogs to roam off the lead. On reaching the T junction, turn left, and after a short distance the road meets the Pennine Way. Turning left will take you back towards Steel Rigg following the Roman wall, and although this part of the walk is moderate with the odd strenuous (but short) climb, you are rewarded with spectacular 360 degree views of Hadrian’s Wall Country and beyond. We allow 1.5-2 hours for this circular walk, which gives us plenty of time to stop and enjoy the dramatic and picturesque landscape!

    

    

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Walk the Wall for Charity

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Coco Charity team up with North East Guides for a Walk the Wall challenge taking place on Sunday 29th April. To take part in any of the three challenges, visit http://www.coco.org.uk or contact jess@coco.org.uk.

There are three challenges available, differing in length so you can pick a distance to suit you, and all start and finish points are easily accessible from Layside should you wish to relax with us before or after the event!

Challenge 1: Walltown Quarry to Chollerford – the full 17.5 miles.

Challenge 2: Walltown Quarry to Housesteads roman Fort – approx 8.5-9 miles.

Challenge 3: steel Rigg to Housesteads Roman Fort – 4 miles.

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Britain’s Favourite Walks

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Our best loved walk from Steel Rigg (5 minutes from Layside) to Housesteads Roman Fort was voted in at no. 18 of “Britain’s Favourite Walks” by over 8000 enthusiasts. Facing some stiff competition from the Highlands of Scotland to the Lake District and Snowdonia National Park to name but a few, we are incredibly proud to have this gem on our doorstep. If you are thinking of walking just a part of the Roman Wall, this is the walk of choice, and one can enjoy one of the richest parts of the country for Roman archaeology whist appreciating the stunning surroundings and the impressive Whin Sill that the Wall was built on. It also takes the walker through Sycamore Gap, and past the tree made famous due to its appearance in “Robin hood Prince of Thieves”, and the 2016 winner of the Woodland Trust “Tree of the Year”. This walk is enjoyable in so many ways, but one of its greatest advantages is that despite the numbers of people visiting the area, there is always an opportunity to enjoy solitude and take in the incredible views whilst soaking up the history of rugged Northumberland.

We still believe this walk deserved the number one spot!

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A walk from Haltwhistle to Lambley Viaduct

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A short drive from Layside is the market town of Haltwhistle, claiming to be at the geographical centre of Britain. The South Tyne Trail can be accessed from behind the railway station at Haltwhistle, and follows the South Tyne River to Lambley Viaduct and beyond. There are some lovely views of the river as well as Hadrian’s Wall Country, and plenty of opportunities for your four-legged friends to cool off in the water. Salmon can also be seen jumping upstream in Autumn as they migrate to their breeding grounds. This part of the trail is roughly 4.5 miles one way to the viaduct, and requires some sturdy footwear in parts! Comprising of a series of elegant stone arches, Lambley Viaduct is approximately 850ft long and once carried the Haltwhistle to Alston railway which opened in 1852 to haul coal from the Alston mines, and was closed in 1976. It is a particularly elegant example of Victorian engineering: the river is crossed by nine 56 ft wide arches 105 ft above the river. This is a favourite walk of ours and loved by Archie – stopping at the viaduct for a cup of tea and a sausage roll before turning back.

           

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A short walk from the door

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There are a number of short, medium and long walks to be enjoyed from Layside. On a clear day, even a stroll around the block provides some exhilarating views of the Tyne Valley, Hadrian’s Wall and beyond.

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