Hartside to High Cantle - 2019
It was a glorious September morning as we drove up the Breamish Valley to Hartside – our starting point for today’s walk. Mark welcomed everyone – in particular those walkers new to Shepherds Walks – and outlined the route for the day.
As we walked down to Alnammoor farm and began the steady ascent up Little Dod to join Salters Road lovely clear views of the surrounding hills were enjoyed. At a coffee stop Mark talked about the old drovers and traders routes which traverse the Cheviots and in particular Salters Road. We passed to remote farms of Low and High Bleakhope ( the latter now sadly unoccupied) and stopped for lunch at a sheepfold at the foot of High Cantle. Unfortunately a huge number of midges forced us to quickly vacate the area and climb out of the valley to a much more comfortable rocky outcrop. It was after this short but steep climb that ongoing discussions began regarding Mark’s definition of a climb, an incline and a hill!
The remainder of the walk over the moor via Rig cairn to Linhope was quite simply stunning with magnificent panoramic views and the mass that is Hedgehope and Comb Fell rising above us. Mark took the opportunity to give a very brief history of the Border Reivers and Border Law.
Before returning to the cars at Hartside we made the short detour to take in Linhope Spout which is always a lovely spot although today the aroma of several BBQ’s spoilt the ambience somewhat! Mark thanked everyone for making the walk so enjoyable and wished all a safe journey home.
Mark 8 Sept 2019
View all the guided walks we have coming up in Northumberland.