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Another one of those afternoons spent walking nearer to home with no access to any of the bigger hills, but a pleasant walk nonetheless. I hopped on a bus at Newcastle as far as Hexham then changed for the short ride to the little village of Slaley, from where it was an easy walk/jog down across farm fields and up into Slaley Forest. The low-lying fields were quite badly flooded following the recent rain and storms, so within just a few minutes I had wet feet and had slipped several times on deep mud, but once in the forest the tracks were excellent, and before long I emerged onto the open moor, and up ahead the trig point on the modest hill that is Warlaw Pike. I say modest, but the views across to the larger North Pennines, and East to nearby Derwent Reservoir, were grand.
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
I could hear the rumbling of thunder approaching, and took-off on the excellent (though flooded) track across Acton Fell, enjoying the colourful summer heather and the views across the moor. At the B6306 it was northwards again, a little bit of road walking taking me first down and then quite steeply up Winnows Hill and to the Coalpitts Plantation. I noticed a trig point marked on the map, but this whole landscape has been reshaped due to forestry processes, so the area up to the trig is all rough ground, remnants of felled trees, and obstructive branches. It made for a tough little detour to find the hidden trig (itself actually surrounded by new trees), before climbing over a pile of old branches onto a new track, and back to the road.
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Once away from the 'high' ground it was back down towards Slaley via some rough, neglected paths alongside farm fields, with many a nettle sting and prickly thorn to contend with. There being no more public transport from Slaley today, I had to head onwards a few more miles to Corbridge to catch a train home, which took me into Dipton Wood and a path along the crest of the surprisingly steep Hollin Crags. After crossing a stream, it was up a very steep little path and just as steep a road to Prospect Hill, and with thunder rumbling behind me I jogged down the sloping farm fields and short zig-zagging roads to Corbridge station.
Warlaw Pike by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
