Copper Snout and Clennel Street – 2022
It was a true Autumnal day when we met at Alwinton.
After a short stretch along the road, we had our first climb, up Pass Peth.
From the summit we came across some Cheviot Sheep, the native breed of Northumberland and we were treated to, in my opinion, one of the best views in Northumberland, looking up the Coquet Valley.
We dropped down steeply and just before Shillmoor we headed North, climbing Saugh Rigg and then the iconic Copper Snout. After skirting around the edge of Saugh Hill we reached the old drover’s road of Clennel Street.
Clennel Street is an old drover’s road that linked Kelso with Morpeth, many head of livestock will have passed along this route for decades on their way to the English market of Morpeth. Morpeth livestock market was the main market in the North East of England with many of the Newcastle butchers coming out to Morpeth to purchase livestock.
When Newcastle opened their first livestock market in 1830 it did lose a lot of its trade but it makes you realise how important the old drovers road of Clennel Street was before this time.
For the first section that we walked along Clennel Street it was within the Kidland Forest, before dropping out and experiencing some wonderful views to Kindlandlee to the North.
We continued to descend and we were back in Alwinton my mid-afternoon, a good time was had by all.