Last updated 12:31, Friday, 21 March 2008

Weekend Walk with Vivienne Crow

PUB WALK: Knarsdale and the South Tyne

MAP: Ordnance Survey Explorer map OL43, Hadrian’s Wall; or Landranger 86, Haltwhistle, Bewcastle and Alston.

PARKING: The walk starts from the Kirkstyle Inn in Knarsdale, Northumberland (GR NY678542). The tiny settlement of Knarsdale is on a back road just off the A689, a few miles north of Alston. There is some room to park on the road outside the pub or the church. Alternatively, start the walk in Slaggyford, where there is space for one or two cars alongside the bottle bank just to the south of the village.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: The 680, Carlisle to Brampton and Nenthead bus stops at Slaggyford (telephone 0871 200 2233).

REFRESHMENTS: Kirkstyle Inn in Knarsdale.

DISTANCE: 5.8 miles

TOTAL ASCENT: 800ft

TIME: 2½-3 hours

GRADE: Easy/Intermediate

OVERVIEW: Taking advantage of a lull in the miserable, wet weather that plagued us at the beginning of the month, I discovered a lovely bridleway in South Tynedale. Running parallel with the river just 200ft above the valley floor, it provides the walker with some lovely views up the dale for very little effort. Cutting straight across some relatively steep ground, it also manages to avoid the boggy ground on the felltops as well as the waterlogged fields below. Having followed the river for a couple of miles, I then returned to my starting point in Knarsdale via the disused Haltwhistle to Alston railway line, which is now a popular cycle and walking route.

THE WALK: With your back to the pub, turn left along the quiet road, soon passing St Jude’s Church. Passing and ignoring one turning on your left, the road drops down to cross Thinhope Burn before swinging right to cross the River South Tyne (0.8 miles from the start).

Immediately after crossing the road bridge, turn right along a wide, surfaced track (signpost reads: “Public Byway The Bog ¾”). Where this forks, bear right to cross the beck via a bridge. Once through the gate on the other side, the track climbs away from the wooded gorge. Although you don’t gain a great deal of height, you soon have some great views of the rolling countryside further up the valley.

There are waymarkers to guide you through the farmyard, but they are old and difficult to read. Simply pass to the right of the farmhouse and, when faced with two gaps, bear left to head up towards a large farm gate. Beyond this is another gate, which gives you access to open land.

The track, although no longer surfaced, is obvious. At first, you have field boundaries to your right, but these soon disappear as you walk along a pleasant, grassy terrace on the hillside. As you near the farm buildings at Parson Shields, keep right – as indicated by the waymarker – to descend towards the river, soon passing a lime kiln on your left. At the bottom of this slope, go through the gate and then head towards a gate near some farm buildings over to your right (2.25 miles from the start). Do not go through this gate; instead, turn left to walk with the wall on your immediate right until you reach another gate. Go through this and bear left to head uphill along a grassy track with a tiny beck to your left.

The climb eases as you pass through the next gate. Finding yourself in a large field, keep close to the fence on your right – and ignore the wooden gate. You enter an area of woodland via a tall gate and walk along a fenced strip of land between the trees. Once on the other side of the narrow strip of woodland, the grassy bridleway crosses some open ground and passes to the left of another fenced area of trees.

Eventually, you join a clearer track coming down from the left and begin to descend towards Williamston. This rather grand sounding place turns out to be an isolated farmstead. Once through the gate at the bottom of the track, head straight towards the large 17th century house and then bear right along a farm track (3.15 miles from the start).

On reaching the next minor road, turn right. You walk with the river on your left for a short while and then cross it to reach a T-junction (Slaggyford’s bottle bank and the alternative parking area are located at this junction.). Turn right to walk along the A689 for 0.4 miles. Be careful here and make sure you keep in to the side of the road.

On entering Slaggyford, take the next minor road on your left, just before you reach the phone box. Just after passing a converted chapel with an impressive stained glass window, turn right along a lane (signpost reads: “Public Footpath Greenhaugh ½, Knar 1¼”). Be careful that you don’t end up in someone’s front garden; towards the end of the short lane, walkers are channelled into a fenced alley and then have to turn sharp left to reach the old railway line (3.95 miles from the start).

Turn right along the flat, surfaced track, keeping left when it appears to fork in a short while. Having crossed the attractive gorge containing Knar Burn, the trail enters a more open area, allowing you views back across the valley to the bridleway you walked earlier.

Soon after crossing the viaduct at Burnstones – where you will see the recently renovated Knarsdale Hall to the left – you reach a tiny parking area. Leave the trail here and turn left along the main road. Walk under the viaduct and then turn left along a minor road. At the next T-junction, turn right to return to the Kirkstyle Inn.

POINTS OF INTEREST: The Haltwhistle to Alston railway was opened in 1852 to exploit the mineral wealth – including lead, coal and limestone - of Alston Moor. It was closed in 1976. Since 1983, the South Tynedale Railway has been operating narrow gauge passenger trains along a 2¼-mile stretch of the line from Alston to Kirkhaugh. There are plans to extend the line by another 2¼ miles from Kirkhaugh to Slaggyford. The disused sections of the line are home to the 23-mile South Tyne Trail, open to both walkers and cyclists.