St Cuthbert's Way - Part 5

Julia Ewart

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We leave Kirk Yetholm and share our path with the Pennine Way for approximately a mile, as we leave the road and cross the burn before climbing up over moorland towards the border fence. Crossing the border (passports at the ready!) we descend down through a valley to Elsdonburn, where we follow the burn to a sleepy hamlet of Hethpool, the gateway of the beautiful College Valley.

Here we leave the valley and cross the College Burn to skirt beneath the Newton Torrs, with an optional excursion to Hethpool Linn. Along this section the feral goats that roam the Cheviot Hill range may also be seen; their ancestors originally made home here in the Middle Ages.

Our route now takes us over moorland, passing the Yeavering Bell where once stood an Anglian palace at its foot, dating back to the 7th Century, named Ad Gefrin (the place of the goats). This was the home of King Edwin of Northumbria, who later gave his name to Edwin's Burgh, now called Edinburgh.

Further on we pass Humbleton Hill, where a major Iron Age hill-fort stood and was the site of the battle of Homildon in 1402 between the English and the Scots.

Our final descent takes us down into the woodland of Wooler Common, before walking down the road into Wooler Marketplace and the end of this section.

Scotland - South Scotland - Scottish Borders - Cheviot Hills