ROMAN CONNECTIONS & THE BORDER LINE
The River Coquet, Northumberland`s finest river, rises
on the upper slopes of Brownhart Law little more than the toss of a spear from
the Roman military complex of Chew Green. The
Climbing Deel`s Hill away from Coquetdale
The Walk
1. There is a small parking area (GR NT824107)
less than half a mile west of Blindburn, where the Buckham`s Walls Burn enters
the River Coquet, 9 miles from Alwinton, along a twisting, single track road.
It is a journey to whet the appetite. In his splendid 1950 booklet `A Guide to
the Cheviot Hills`, F. R. Banks
wrote, “…..the road ends at Blindburn, and a cart-track continues thence,
fording the now-diminished river at the foot of the Buckham`s Walls Burn”. A
bridge now spans the river and the road continues to Fulhope, Makendon and
beyond. There is a two fingered signpost alongside the car parking area
indicating `Border Ridge 3` on one finger and `Deel`s Hill 1½ Border
Ridge 2¾` on the other one. Your route heads towards Deel`s Hill so leave the
car parking area at the rear, crossing a wooden bridge and a five bar gate. The
gate is marked on one side with a yellow and blue `Public Bridleway` sign and
on the other side with an `Archaeological Area` sign. Head steeply uphill on an
obvious and good green track which, as you gain height, is punctuated by two
five bar gates. Across the narrow valley, to your left, the
long ridge of Fulhope Edge stretches out above the River Coquet, separated from
the dark, heather clad summit of Thirl Moor by the deep valley of the Fulhope
Burn. Both lie within the
2. Return to the track and continue in the same
general direction and after losing a little height, ignore the track turning
off to the left. Keep following the directional fingerposts and when, after a
short while, the `Public Bridleway` bends away to the right (GR NT796098) head straight on, rising
gently uphill towards the border fence. Once you reach a three fingered
signpost, take the faint track, diagonally to your left, which heads uphill
alongside the fence in a south westerly direction, to the summit of Brownhart
Law (GR NT787093). This hill is slap
bang on the `Border Line` and, standing at a height of 508 metres, offers
superb views. To the south lies the Roman military complex of Chew Green
consisting of a fort, two fortlets and two camps all served by
The memorial stone on Brownhart Law
3. Keep with the Pennine Way for just under ¾
mile and, on reaching a five bar gate through the border fence (GR NT788105)
just beyond the summit of Black Halls, go through and continue along a rough
track signposted `Dere Street Trowford 3` with the fence now to your right. You
have stepped onto Scottish soil, en route to the farthest point of the walk,
Woden Law, a 4 mile return journey from this point. Meriting barely a mention
in James Logan Mack`s 1924 book `The Border Line`, a more recent traveller to
these lonely parts, the well known writer and broadcaster Eric Robson,
recommended, in his 2006 book of the same title, that Woden Law was `worthy of
a detour`. Indeed it is. After some 600 metres the track breaks in two and your
outward route follows the thin path which cuts away to the left, high above the
Gaisty Burn. Another 500 metres on and it is time to make the short diversion
via a thin trace on your left to the 459 metre high summit of Gaisty Law (GR
NT780111) from where there are superb views down to the Hindhope Valley. Return
by the same route except, when the path splits in two, be sure to follow the
left hand fork. Back on course, the path contours the dizzy, south western
slopes of Blackhall Hill and when you are parallel with Hunthall Hill, just
before your way forward passes through a metal five bar gate (GR NT776117),
turn to your left and make the short journey to the unmarked 420 metre high
top, returning the same way. With four tops now in the bag, pass through the
gate and continue downhill across the `neck` of land rising between White Hope
and Twise Hope. Just before the path begins to bend away from the fence, turn
left through a gate in the fence (GR NT772121) and head towards the summit of
Woden Law on an obvious quad track. At the top of the first steep climb, just
before the track drops downhill, cut across the pathless top of the small hill
to your right to reach a post and wire fence. Climb over, turn left and keeping
with the fence head towards a five bar gate further up the hill. Go through the
gate and turn half right to cut diagonally up the last remains of the slope,
along a barely discernible trace, to reach the extensive summit earthworks of
Woden Law (GR NT766123).
4. In his 1936 book `The Rambles of Vagabond`, Frederick A. Wills enthused “…..all around us lay deep and luscious valleys of pastures……rounded hills stretched away towards the Cheviot“ adding, “ascending the perfectly impregnable camp on the Law we focussed the glasses on Oxnam, Jedburgh, St. Boswell`s, the Eildons and Melrose”. More than 70 years on, see for yourself as you `potter` about this fascinating vantage point. Standing at a height of 422 metres, “the Law” is named after the god Woden, leader of the Wild Hunt and the Anglo-Saxon version of the Norse god Odin. It is strategically situated and was the location of an Iron Age hillfort. Eventually, the hillfort was used by the Romans for military siege practice, much like the Otterburn Ranges are now used by the MoD. Strange how history repeats itself! Retrace your steps to the small gate in the fence leading back onto Dere Street, turn to your right and begin your journey back up uphill towards the border fence. On reaching the metal five bar gate, encountered earlier on your journey and on this side bearing a notice `Dere Street Chew Green This Way`, do not go through. Instead, take the track on your left which climbs uphill, initially close to the fence, and eventually you will reach another five bar gate with a small rocky outcrop straight ahead. Pass by the rocky outcrop, known as Greyhen Rock (GR NT781119), and in less than 100 metres follow the quad track which heads to your right to the 481 metre high summit of Blackhall Hill close to a post and wire fence. This is your sixth and penultimate top of the day. Now turn left and stay with the fence until you reach the next five bar gate. Pass through. Now with the fence firmly to your left head straight on over rough ground with only the hint of a path to ease the way. As you ramble along keep a keen eye out for a particularly boggy patch which can catch you unawares. Eventually, you will rejoin your outward route and now it is a simple matter of following the clear track of Dere Street to the gate just short of the 463 metre high summit of Black Halls. Pass through, turn left and, once again on English soil, your journey for the next 2¼ miles follows, step for step, the route of the Pennine Way.
The path across the dizzy slopes
of Blackhall Hill
5. First suggested in
1935 by Tom Stephenson it took another 30 years of patient negotiation, supported
by legislation, before more than 2,000 people could, on the 24th
April 1965, gather on Malham Moor to finally celebrate the completion of the Pennine Way. It was to be another 40
years before the much broader and long fought for `Right to Roam` was finally
achieved. The path, paved in two places, heads in a northerly direction across
the slopes of Blackhall Hill before bending, like a boomerang, towards the east
as it first crosses the head of the Buckham`s Walls Burn and then the source of
the Rennies Burn. This area is particularly boggy with ground cover consisting
mainly of heather, mat-grass and purple moor grass. The views continue to open
up. On the Scottish side lie the lush lowlands of the
6. You are now heading across the gentle western slopes of Yearning Law and when you begin to draw parallel with the summit the track, which now leaves the course of the `Public Bridleway`, bends to your left heading towards the 477 metre high rocky and prominent top (GR NT817118). From here there are extensive views across the great sweep of grasslands stretching back towards the high border ridge. Leave the summit and rejoin the track you arrived on. Turn left and stay with this track as it contours the south eastern spur of Yearning Law giving you tremendous views down to the valley of the Blind Burn. In time, you will merge once again with the `Public Bridleway` which now makes an easy descent towards Coquetdale and the farm of Blindburn (GR NT829108). The area around Blindburn is littered with the `footprints` of those who passed this way before us and who lived their lives on the edge of existence in this remote part of Northumberland. To the west of the present farm, along your return route to Buckham`s Walls Burn, lie the remains of a cairn known as `Devil`s Mothers Grave`. This was excavated in 1970 but revealed no evidence of any burials. A second cairn, which was dug away in 1826 to build a farm house and other buildings, was found to contain burnt bones and ashes inside a broken decorated pot. The cairn undoubtedly marked the position of a Bronze Age burial site. Further up the Blind Burn is the site of a former illegal whisky still, consisting of the remains of a rectangular building and a corn drying kiln. During the 18th and 19th centuries whisky was secretly distilled at a number of locations in the Cheviot Hills and there was a brisk trade in this fiery liquid in the Upper Coquetdale area. The immediate area also contains traces of a medieval or post-medieval period settlement. As you approach the valley a rough track will lead you down past the farm buildings and back onto the narrow, single track road. Turn to your right and follow the road for the short distance to Buckham`s Walls Bridge and the end of your short trip to the wild and windswept northern edge of the Roman Empire.
The view north eastwards from
Woden Law
Distance |
19.7 km (12.25 miles) |
Total Ascent |
540 metres |
Grading |
Moderate |
Start & Key Grid References |
Buckham`s Walls Bridge, Upper Coquetdale (NT824107),
(NT796098), (NT787093), (NT788105), (NT780111), (NT776117), (NT772121),
(NT766123), (NT781119), (NT804128), (NT817118) & (NT829108) |
Time |
5.5 hours |
Nearest Town |
Rothbury |
Terrain |
Generally clear tracks and paths, some rough and boggy, some
sharp ascents and descents, two short paved sections of path and a final
short section of tarmac |
Maps |
OS Explorer 1: 25000 OL 16. Harveys Superwalker (1: 40000)
The Cheviot Hills |
Accommodation |
Rose & Thistle Public House Alwinton (limited), Clennell
Hall (including caravan park) otherwise Thropton and Rothbury |
Public Transport |
None (except Thropton & Rothbury) |
Tourist Information |
Rothbury National Park Centre Telephone 01669 620887 |
RETURN TO HOME PAGE |
Devised, written &
photographed: Geoff Holland 2007