Otterburn's Battlefields
Distance: 4.5 miles,
Minnimum Time: 2hrs,
Difficulty: Easy,
Description:
Until the mid-19th century, Otterburn was a hamlet hidden away in the Northumbrian moors. The main coach route from London to Edinburgh passed through Wooler and Coldstream. By 1841, the Newcastle to Jedburgh road had been extended to Edinburgh, and Otterburn became an important staging post on that route. The Battle of Otterburn. The fame of Otterburn, however, rests on the battle fought there in 1388. This period was characterised by unrest along the Scottish border and frequent incursions by both English and Scots. In response to an invasion by the English three years earlier, a force of some 50,000 Scottish soldiers crossed the border in two divisions. The main force crossed near Carlisle. A smaller, diversionary force of 300 cavalry and 2,000 foot soldiers, under the earls of Douglas, Moray and Dunbar, attacked through Northumberland. Having reached as far south as Durham, the eastern division, laden with plunder, returned north. At Newcastle, they engaged in a series of skirmishes with a force led by the Earl of Northumberlandâs son, Sir Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur because of his lightning raids against the Scots. During one of these encounters, Douglas captured Hotspurâs pennant and threatened to raise it on his own castle.
Harry Hotspur. To avenge this gross insult, Hotspur pursued Douglas northward and caught up with him at Otterburn. Heavily outnumbering the Scots, Percy attacked their position on the moonlit night of 19 August. During the battle, Douglas was mortally wounded, but the Scots fought so well that Percy was captured and held to ransom. An estimated 100 Scots were killed compared with more than 1,000 English. Otterburn became known as the battle that was won by a dead man. It inspired the ballad Chevy Chase, one of the earliest poems in the English language. Harry Hotspur, together with his father and brother helped depose Richard II and replace him with Henry IV. He later turned against the King, and died at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. He is also a character in Shakespeareâs plays, Richard II and Henry IV. Todayâs Warriors Modern warfare also finds a place at Otterburn. In 1911, the War Office bought 19,000 acres (7,695ha) of land to the north for use as an artillery range. The Otterburn Training Area was extended during the Second World War and now covers 58,000 acres (23,490ha), about one fifth of the total area of the Northumberland National Park. It is the largest firing range in the UK. The walk touches the south-west fringe of the range, but is well outside the perimeter for live firing. Access to the main training camp used to be through Otterburn village, but since the introduction of training for mobile heavy artillery units has been moved to a less intrusive route direct from the A68 to the north-west.
While you're there: Five miles (8km) north of Otterburn, in the village of Rochester, is Brigantium, a reconstruction by archaeologists of many of the Stone-Age, Iron-Age and Romano-British remains to be found in Northumberland. This is well worth visiting, particularly if there are children in your party. Just above the site is the Roman fort of Bremenium.
What to look out for: The site of the Battle of Otterburn is not known, but is thought to be somewhere near the second field you cross after leaving the village. The remains of Percyâs Cross, which commemorates the event, can be seen in the small conifer wood at the bottom of this field, to your left, where the field adjoins the A696. There is a car park in the wood.
Where to eat and drink: The Percy Arms in Otterburn once offered hospitality to stagecoach passengers travelling between Newcastle and Edinburgh. It continues to provide excellent meals in a very pleasant atmosphere. The Otterburn Tower Hotel and Otterburn Mill are also worth a look.
Directions:
From the car park, walk through Otterburn. About 100yds (91m) after passing the Church of St John the Evangelist, turn right on to the road to Otterburn Hall. At the top of the incline, go on to the public bridleway on the left, past farm buildings and into a field. Follow the bridleway alongside the wall and through a gate into the next field. continue, now with the wall, which gives way to a wire fence, on your right.
Go through the next gate and, keeping in the same direction, cross the field to a gate through the opposite wall. Go through the gate and across marshy ground past a small plantation, now mostly cut down, to a junction with a metalled road. Follow this to the right, across a cattle grid and around the bend to the left, up a gentle incline.
About 100yds (91m) after the bend, follow a grassy track across the hillside to the right, past a sheep pen. This leads to a gate, beyond which is a military warning notice. Go through the gate and continue across moorland, gently downhill. The ground is boggy and the track indefinite in places, but it leads to a better track, which follows a fence on your right to join a metalled road at Hopefoot farm.
Follow the road to the right, crossing a bridge over the stream, then through woods, to join the old main access road to the army camp at Hopefoot Cottages. Turn right and follow the road past Doe Crag cottages and across a bridge to the entrance to Otterburn Hall. Go through the gate opposite this on to a footpath, signposted to Otterburn and leading across a field.
Follow the track, passing a sports centre on your right. At a bend in the wire fence, the track forks. Follow the left fork downhill, across two small footbridges, through a kissing gate and along the river bank. The track may be muddy and overgrown at times. After crossing a stile, the track brings you into Otterburn, just opposite the Percy Arms. Turn left and return to the car park.
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