|
| 
|
|
Northumberland-Walks.co.uk - photographic walks in Northumberland.Deadwater - Saughtree Circular Walk.Introduction This walk starts in Northumberland then crosses the border into Scotland before returning back to England. The walk starts on a tarmac road then follows tracks and footpaths onto open moorland with no marked paths, before returning onto tracks and a tarmac road. This walk should not be tackled by anyone not capable of route finding on open moorland, possibly in fog or snow. Distance - 6.5 miles approx. Parking - Limited roadside parking at England / Scotland Border. Toilets - None - nearest at Kielder Village near castle.
Walk 1) We started this walk at the border between England and Scotland. From the border we walked south along the road to Deadwater.
2) At Deadwater we turned right down a track to Deadwater Station on the disused Border Counties Railway. The platform and trackbed remain and the station building is now a private house.
3) At this point we turned right along the trackbed and through a gate then crossed the border into Scotland.
4) We took a left turn very shortly onto a track through a forest. Continuing through the forest we shortly reached another gate. The track then led out onto open ground.
5) From here the track became steeper as we walked up towards some ruined farm cottages and a disused quarry.
6) We followed a path to the right and past the largest of the ruins, a house that must have had fantastic views across the valley to Deadwater Fell.
7) After the house the path started to become less clear and a bit of judgement and guesswork led us to turn to our right onto open moorland at the point where the path continued left towards Thorlieshope Pike which was not on our route.
8) At this point, although the OS map shows a path, there was no clear path on the ground and it was necessary to find our own route over the open moor towards Windy Knowe. There were boggy sections to pass through here and it was hard going at times through deep grass and reeds with potholes ready to catch us out.
9) After awhile we reached the highest point of this walk then Thorlieshope Farm and Saughtree came into view down in the valley across the top of the fell a small herd of cattle appeared ahead of us looking as if they were standing guard, all in a line. Then, as we approached they all turned and ran down into the valley - we never saw them again!
10) From here we were able to pick up a path as we walked downhill towards Thorlieshope Farm which turned into a track as we approached the farm buildings.
11) After passing through the farm the track became a single track road that led down into the valley, crossing Liddel Water before reaching the road from Newcastleton to Kielder.
12) On the left are some cottages on the roadside, near the junction with the main road. We turned right here and walked along the road which stays close to the river. Heavy lumbar trucks use this road and some of them weren't hanging around either, so care was needed along here.
13) After awhile the Cadroun Burn is reached and to the left before the bridge is a popular little picnic spot. Up to the left is the embankment and bridge of the old Border Counties Railway whose trackbed we crossed earlier at Deadwater. We could actually have started this walk here as parking is good and it is a very pleasant place which we have visited before.
14) From here we followed the road through the forest where care was needed to watch for oncoming traffic around some of the bends. The road then emerged from forest and crossed the Border Counties Railway trackbed again before reaching the border and back into England and Northumberland where we started.
Notes
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
