And on the Hexhamshire
Distance: 5.5 miles,
Minnimum Time: 3hrs 30mins,
Difficulty: Moderate,
Description:
It was AD 674 and the Romans had been gone over 200 years. Their wall lay crumbling on the green hills to the north, high above the valley of the Tyne. These were the early days of Christianity, when the first monasteries and abbeys were established. Queen Etheldra of Northumbria gave Bishop Wilfred land by the river and here, at Hexham, he would build his priory. Wlifredâs Priory Wilfred had travelled far and wide, including to Rome, and had been impressed by the splendour and majesty of many European churches. His would be a magnificent one with âcrypts of beautifully finished stoneâ¦ walls of wonderful height and lengthâ. Many of the stones in his great building were Roman, removed from the fort at Corbridge. The monastery became a cathedral and a renowned centre of learning. However, these were dark days and places like this were rich pickings for Viking raiders. The priory was attacked on many times, but in ad 875 Halfdene the Dane, who had ransacked much of the county, finally burned it down. It wasnât until 1113, when the Augustinians were awarded the land and started the present abbey, that it was restored to its former majesty. The abbey buildings survived Henry VIIIâs dissolution of the monasteries of the 1530s because they were was also used as a parish church. Instead of being demolished, Hexham was embellished and extended. The original crypt was retained intact too, and is now surely one of the finest Saxon structures to be found anywhere in Britain. While the nave and transepts date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, Dobsonâs East End and Temple Mooreâs nave were constructed between 1850 and 1910.
The Riot Act. In the shadow of the abbey, and also constructed with the help of Roman masonry, are the 14th-century Moot Hall and also the Manor Office, which was the first purpose-built gaol in Britain. The two buildings will be the first points of interest youâll see on the walk. Through the arch of the Moot Hall you come to the Market Square, which in 1761 became the scene of a major tragedy. Angry lead miners from Allendale, who were objecting to their conscription to the local militia, descended on Hexham in protest. On this spot they were read the Riot Act. Fighting broke out and, by the end of the day, over 300 miners were injured and 50 were killed. The North Yorkshire Militia subsequently became known as the Hexham Butchers. View of the Town. Past Bensonâs Monument the walk comes to the edge of the old part of town and side-steps most of the new by climbing the southern hillsides along a wooded dell, known as Cowgarth Dene. The little stream here provided water for the monks of the priory. At Black House youâre at the top of the walk and can see Hexham and the valley that Wilfred inherited.
While you're there: Great Chesters, known to the Romans as Cilurnum and set on the banks of the North Tyne near Chollerford, is a wonderfully preserved cavalry fort with a fine museum founded by keen archaeologist John Clayton.
What to look out for: St Wilfridâs Seat, a 1,300-year old frith (sanctuary) stool from the original priory was sculpted from a block of stone and survived the Danish attacks. Some believe it to have been the coronation throne of the early Northumbrian kings, though it may well have been a bishopsâ throne. Youâll find it in the middle of the choir in Hexham Abbey.
Where to eat and drink: At the County Hotel on Priestpopple in the heart of Hexham you can dine well at their Cromwell Restaurant where they use prime produce, sourced wherever possible from local farms.
Directions:
From the car park (not the supermarket end) take the exit between the tourist information centre and the cafÃ© to follow a narrow street past the Old Gaol. Go under the arches of the Moot Hall and enter the Market Place. Take a tour of The Sele, the park grounds surrounding Hexham Abbey, before aiming roughly south-west across them to the Queen Hall on Beaumont Street.
Turn right along here to reach Bensonâs Monument, then continue straight ahead on an unnamed street. After taking the first turning on the right, ignore Elvaston Road on the left, but instead go straight ahead on a tarred lane that leads to the foot of Cowgarth Dene.
When you get to a bridge, turn off into the woodland where the now unsurfaced track crosses a footbridge and climbs out to a little park at the edge of a modern housing estate. Follow the woodland edge, then a track past a water treatment works and some new houses.
Turn left through a gate before you reach the estate proper into the Wydon Water car park. Turn right along a grassy ride, dipping left through the hedgerow after 100m to round the head of the reservoir. When you reach a lane, turn left, following it up the hill, where it becomes unsurfaced, past a house.
Emerging on a road, turn left then, at Intake farm, turn right along a path that leads into the thick woodland of Wydon Burnâs upper reaches. A narrow path continues through the woods to reach the lane at Causey Hill where you turn left past the campsite to a junction with a road known as The Yarridge. The modern building here is part of the Hexham Racecourse.
Across the road go over a ladder stile and follow a path across the first of many fields. The Hexham (National Hunt) Racecourse circuit and its buildings lie to the right. Through a gateway, cut diagonally right across the second field to a step stile in the boundary fence. The path heads south across two more fields, then follows an unsurfaced lane to the farm at West Peterel Field. Now you can see the Hexhamshire hills, which rise from the long, narrow wooded dene of Dipton Burn.
Beyond the farm the path follows a fence on the right as it descends towards the dene. After crossing a stile in the last field, the path changes to the other side of the fence, before raking down into the woods. At the far end of a clearing double back along a clear track which soon re-enters the woodland of the Peterelfield Plantation. There are many paths through the woods - stay with the main one that never strays too far from the burn. It emerges at the roadside close to ivy-clad Dipton Mill Inn - an ideal stop for lunch. Across the road follow a track past an old mill building before continuing along a burnside path. At the paddocks, ignore the gate on the left but follow the perimeter path over the stile on the right - a recent diversion. Opposite Hole House turn left, following the path to the right of the cottage. Bear right over a footbridge, then climb through woodland.
At the top gate the route climbs across fields at the woodland edge then continues north past Queenâs Letch and a derelict farm building. The Battle of Hexham Levels had ended in defeat for the Lancastrians. Queen Margaret of Anjou was fleeing with Edward, Prince of Wales, when her horse slipped on these slopes (a letch meant a slip in those times). They were befriended by a robber, who guided them to the Queenâs Cave, 2 miles (3.2km) upstream.
Meet the road and continue over a stile which marks the start of a downhill, cross-field path into Hexham. Beyond a step stile the path veers right to round some gorse bushes before resuming its course alongside the left field edge.
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