Victuals and Lodging – Eve of the Walk
Chesterwood itself is merely a collection of farm buildings, so we found accommodation at Haydon Bridge, on the banks of the South Tyne. Haydon Bridge is 254 miles (410 km) from London, which is the furthest we’ve travelled for a Chester walk, so we decided to make a weekend of it and stay two nights instead of our usual one.
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| The General Havelock, Haydon Bridge |
We weren’t sure what to expect at Haydon Bridge, but it was a pleasant place, with a couple of pubs and churches. We stayed at Shaftoe’s B&B, right beside the old bridge, where we had ‘well-appointed’ accommodation and a spacious room. We decided to have dinner at The General Havelock Inn, a quaint village pub on Haydon Bridge’s main street. General Havelock was an important player in 19th century British India and died at the Siege of Lucknow in 1857. I must admit, I’d never heard of him before, despite walking past his statue on Trafalgar Square many times.
Eat Drink Watch Movie
It just so happened that Friday night was cinema night at The General Havelock, which included some yummy Chinese food and Ang Lee’s movie, Eat Drink Man Woman. It’s a wonderful movie about a father and his three daughters and, if you’ve not seen it before, I’d definitely recommend it. The movie club is run by the Haltwhistle Film project (South Tyne Cinema Circuit), which moves around between Haltwhistle, Haydon Bridge, Slaggyford and other places. Being a rural area, most people travel to the events by car, so they encourage car-sharing. The car with most people is rewarded with a nice bottle of wine. It was a lovely evening and people were really friendly to us, as we were very obviously ‘outsiders’. If you live in South Tyneside, or you’re visiting the area, you should look out for the cinema club!
Haydon Bridge to Chesterwood – 1 mile
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| St Cuthbert's, Haydon Bridge |
After a hearty breakfast on Saturday morning, we set off across the bridge to St Cuthbert’s church and the Tourist office, so we could stock up on information about the local area. Haydon Bridge was the birthplace of the English Romantic painter, John Martin and they seem very proud of the connection.
It was no surprise to see that the local church was named after St Cuthbert. We last came across St Cuthbert on our Chester-le-Street walk, as we walked part of St Cuthbert’s way and his body rests at Durham Cathedral. After the church, we crossed the Newcastle to Carlisle railway line and followed the North Road, out of the village.
About ¼ a mile out of the village, we turned off on a small country road to Chesterwood, starting an ascent up the South Tyneside Valley that would eventually take us to Hadrian’s Wall.
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| Dead mole |
My abiding memory about Chesterwood is finding a dead mole lying in the middle of the road. Neither of us had seen a mole before, which is hardly surprising as they mostly live underground. We felt sorry for the mole and, not wanting it to become a squashed entity in the middle of the road, we used our walking sticks to move it to the verge. I’ve since found out that the word ‘mole’ comes from the Early Modern English mouldywarp, which basically means ‘dirt thrower’ – mould being the word for dirt, related to our modern English word ‘mould’.
Chesterwood to the Byway – 1.4 miles
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| Tree with a rainbow |
From Chesterwood we continued along the country lane towards Chesterfield, crossing the North road again and walking to the start of a public byway. It’s a lovely stretch of country and as we ambled along, BAM (Best Aussie Mate) told me about some charity work she has been doing with homeless people in London. Northumbria felt a million miles away from London and issues like homelessness. I admire her compassion and it’s humbling to think that it’s only a veneer of luck, family support and employment that keeps any of us from a life on the streets. Tramping around the countryside is incredibly liberating, but it helps when you know you’ll have some hot food and a warm bed waiting for you at the end of a winter’s day.
The Byway to Stonecroft – 1.7 miles
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| The Byway near Fell House |
The Byway is one of those roads marked on the map with a thick green line that looks a bit like a bicycle chain, according to BAM. I remember the byway on our Silchester walk which is, rather romantically, called ‘the Devil’s Highway’. Byways are quite pleasant to walk on, being slightly dilapidated country roads with hardly any traffic. This byway took us over a small hill, past Fell House and Cottage. Eventually we came down to the main Newbrough road. We crossed the road and went down through a steep field until our lunch stop at Stonecroft.
Stonecroft to St Peter’s Church – 0.4 miles
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| Stonecroft |
From Stonecroft it was a very short walk along a country lane to St Peter’s Church. We talked about the prospect of Scottish independence and how much tension there seems to be in Westminster right now, at the thought of a Scottish referendum. The future of Scotland has been on my mind a lot recently and this Chesterwood walk was an apt reminder of the troubled times of the past, when the English/Scottish border moved from North to South several times, before going North again.
St Peter’s Church to High Teppermoor – 2.1 miles
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| Teppermoor |
From St Peter’s Church we also headed north across some moorland, continuing uphill to reach the ridge that Hadrian’s wall runs along. This was the most difficult part of the walk, as the path was less well-defined and the terrain was still quite wet from the rain of the past few weeks. The weather also seemed to change, with the clouds darkening and the rain coming on. I remembered crossing Rannoch Moor in Scotland and how dark and oppressive moorland can be. But there’s also a silence in the moor, which is a relief after all the noise and stress of London.
Perhaps, it’s no coincidence that, as we picked our way carefully through the moor, our thoughts turned to Charles Dickens and this year’s centenary. This time last year, we walked across the Hundred of Hoo, just outside Rochester, at the heart of Dickens’ imagination; you could almost hear Pip cry out in terror at the groans of convicts being sent off to Australia.
High Teppermoor to Black Carts – 1.4 miles
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| Tree with clouds |
Coming out of the moor, the sun appeared once more and lit up the landscape around High Teppermoor, our first encounter with Hadrian’s Wall. Parts of the original Roman wall are still intact and we were lucky enough to see these, especially around Black Carts. When we first arrived at the road, we were struck by sight of the B6318, heading west in a series of dips and rises. I guess, in some ways, the 2nd century wall became a 20th century road. There is a path that runs the entire length of Hadrian’s wall, so we turned right on this path and headed back east, in the direction of Newcastle and Wallsend.
Black Carts to Walwick – 1.3 miles
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| Hadrian's Wall |
It’s amazing really that the Romans invested in a building project as ambitious (and expensive?) as Hadrian’s Wall. I guess it shows how threatened the Roman province of Britannia felt by their wild Celtic neighbours to the North. It’s quite moving to see these ruins still standing there, all these centuries later, at a time when the idea of an international border in Scotland is again a possibility. I also learned that there was another Roman wall, called the Antonine wall, further north, linking the Forth of Firth to the Firth of Clyde. I guess the northerly extent of the Antonine border was too ambitious and the Roman Empire later retreated to Hadrian’s border, a much more realistic proposition!
I’ve always wanted to walk Offa’s Dyke, another national trail that follows the border between England and Wales. I’m sure Offa’s Dyke was constructed with the intention of keeping the Welsh at bay, but by the Saxons this time rather than the Romans. In Roman times, the river Severn seemed to serve as a natural barrier between Roman settlements and Wales, as we discovered during our walk in Wroxeter. There is no equivalent of Hadrian’s wall in Ireland (that I’m aware of), but I guess the Irish Sea was enough of a natural barrier.
Walwick to Chollerford – 0.8 miles
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| Walwick |
We’d arranged to spend our second night in Walwick, but decided to walk on to Chollerford, which is on the banks of the North Tyne river, so we could pass the Roman fortress at Chesters. The weather had turned again by the time we got to Chollerford and, with darkness falling all around us, we turned at Chollerford and made our way back to the Walwick Farm B&B.
Lodging and Victuals – the Evening of the Walk
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| Walwick Farmhouse B&B |
Walwick Farmhouse is a beautiful 200-year old building, which has been open as a B&B for less than year. It’s run by a local woman called Maggie and her partner Paul, both of whom have worked for years in the catering industry. I have to say I really enjoyed my stay at Walwick Farmhouse and I would highly recommend it. The view from our bedroom window was entrancing and Maggie & Paul prepared a lovely evening meal for us, after which we read the I Ching and relaxed by the open fireplace.
Access for Wheelchair Users
The first part of this walk, from Haydon Bridge to St Peter’s Church (on Newbrough Road) would be accessible for wheelchair users. The hills are fairly steep and, although the country roads around Chesterwood are fairly quiet – I would advise caution at all times. The Byway was a bit rough and tumble, but fairly accessible. The main Newbrough Road was much busier so, again, I would advise caution when wheelchairing along this stretch.
The moor is inaccessible to wheelchair users, as is the part of Hadrian’s Wall path that we walked along (it has lots of stiles which walkers need to climb over). There are parts of the wall, especially near Black Carts, that are accessible, even if only to have a quick look.
Image credits:
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| BAM walking on the wall |
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