Alnham to Hartside Farm

[JonetCol]

Alnham is only a few miles from the A697, but the journey is slow because the roads are narrow and badly signed from Whittingham. The walk started a few metres W of the Church, turning N up a steep boggy path to bear NE to join the 'orange' track for 50 metres to reach a waymarker. Here I turned left to join the Salter's Road. Being used to the vehicle track which is the SR from Bleakhope to Shank Burn, I was shocked to see it as such a faint path from this end!

A fab walk across a wide high moor followed, with grand views to the hills of the W and N, led to Ewartly Shank with even better views down to the Shank Burn and W to Hogden Law and N to Shill Moor. After leaving the farm, the now 'hardcore' track descends steeply to the Shank Burn then ascends equally steeply to Shill Moor via Little Dod. After lunch at the gate near the peak of Shill Moor I headed steeply down the valley between Cushat Law and Shill Moor to reach Low Bleakhope. From there I took the tarmac farm road along side the river Breamish to climb up steeply Eastward up Shill Moor's N flank and the long, gradual descent to Alnham Moor farm. From here I crossed the bridge over the Breamish walking a further 2k, including a short steep stretch, to the finish at Hartside