Yorkshire Walks

Setting off from the car park by Halter Burn up the hill to Kirk Yetholm

We actually walked straight from our cottage, but I am describing the route starting from a little car park about 1.5km east of Kirk Yetholm next to the Halter Burn at map ref. NT840276, on a path used by both the Pennine Way heading for Kirk Yetholm and by St. Cuthbert's Way heading across the Cheviots to Wooler on the English side of the border. From the car park we headed west along the road into Kirk Yetholm following St. Cuthbert's Way towards it's start at Melrose Abbey.

This week end we are having a short break in a holiday cottage with two of my wife's sisters and their husbands. It's something we have all done for the last few years. The three sisters go off sightseeing and shopping and the three brothers-in-law have a decent walk. To day the weather was fine and sunny with clear skies and quite a strong breeze. Our cottage is near Kirk Yetholm, the northern end of the Pennine Way in the Cheviot Hills.

The Bowmont Water valley on the way into Kirk Yetholm

Entering Kirk Yetholm

The river separates the town from it's twin called Town Yetholm on the other side.

We followed St. Cuthbert's Way through Kirk Yetholm to Bowmont Water.

Donkeys by the roadside at Kirk Yetholm

Bowmont water between Kirk & Town Yetholm

A cormorant at Romany Marsh nature reserve

The lake is a nature reserve with several benches to sit and watch the wild fowl and other creatures. We saw a cormorant sitting the lake a post in the lake, a pair of swans and one of last year's cygnets, a heron, several ducks and a pair of oyster catchers. That was just walking by the lake, we didn't sit on a bench.

We crossed river on the road bridge and then turned left off the road to continue across the fields along St.Cuthbert's Way. There is a wide track to follow but there is also a footpath that runs along the fence line one field back from the houses of town Yetholm. We took this path which brought us to a pretty lake about 500m from the road bridge over the river.

Romany Marsh nature reserve

Swans at Romany Marsh nature reserve

Looking back to the nature reserve

Ford across an old mill race

The lane led us across a ford over a small stream and the across a bridge over Bowmont Water. We followed the lane into a farm yard at map ref. NT 821270.

Beyond the lake our path rejoined the wide track and we followed this out to a road at map ref. NT818271, opposite a cemetery. Here we turned left to walk along a lane and down a steep slope with a hairpin bend through some holiday cottages.

St.Cuthbert's Way track

Bowmont Water between Duncanhaugh and Hayhope

Sheep ready to lamb at Hayhope

Town Yethom from the track up Staerough Hill

The track up Staerough Hill

At the wood we turned left to climb up the hillside through the wood and then up a field by the wallside to a gate in the wall at map ref. NT830268 at the top of the field that opened on to the open hill.

Here we turned left to follow a walled farm track climbing up around a hill called Staerough Hill. We continued along the farm track to a wood at map ref. NT828266.

Track from Hayhope towards Staerough Hill

The track up Staerough Hill

Looking southwest from Staerough Hill

Town Yetholm from Staerough Hill

From the trig point we continued along the path on the ridge for almost a kilometer to the road at map ref. NT832279.

Through the gate we turned left to follow the wall along the ridge to the trig point at map ref. NT828272. There was a wonderful view all round with snow still lying on the higher Cheviots.

Trig point on Staerough Hill

Kirk Yetholm from Staerough Hill

Looking east over the Cheviot Hills from Staerough Hill

The road back to the car park

From the car park we crossed the Halter Burn, but we did not follow the Pennine Way path, instead we climbed up a tongue of land just east of Halter Burn.

At the road we turned right to walk down the hill back to our starting point. At this stage we had walked around 7km and it was still quite early so we decided to add another little loop onto our walk.

Looking back to Staerough Hll from the road

Looking across Halter Burn to Green Humberton

The large rectangular feature is the boundary of the ancient farmstead

This is what we had come to see. It is possibly from the same era as the hill fort on top of a conical hill called Green Humberton just 1km north of here. We walked across the farmstead site and I tried to imagine what it would have been like to live in this wild place three or four thousand years ago.Across the farmstead site we came to Witchcleuch Burn. A pretty little stream tumbling down the hillside. We sat beside a little waterfall for a drink and a break in the sunshine.

At first there was a quad bike track to follow up the slope but this soon veered off to our left contouring round the hill. We kept straight on up to a little summit that we could see ahead at map ref. NT844272. From the little summit we continued straight ahead between two blocks of conifer plantation to the corner of one of thses woods at map ref. NT845269. Looking south from this point we could see a large rectangular area of low ancient earthworks that are marked on the OS map as a "farmstead".

Our break beside Witchcleuch Burn

A sheeps skull beside the burn

Following Witchcleuch Burn down to the road

It had been a very pleasant walk of about 10km in the spring sunshine and it had taken us almost four hours including our stops and a look at the farmstead site. The walk crosses farmland and open hill under the Scottish outdoor access code.

After our break we followed the burn down the hillside to the road at map ref. NT841268. We followed the road for about 1km back to the car park.

Following Witchcleuch Burn down to the road

Following Witchcleuch Burn down to the road