Ingram is one of the most picturesque villages in the Northumberland national park, and also the start and end location for the Cheviot Goat ultra marathon, which Sam ran in March this year. We drove up the day before so that he had plenty of time to get to the race registration in Ingram the day before, and as it was a beautiful spring day with blue skies and no wind, we decided to take a short walk from the village before heading back to our base for the night. As Sam was about to run 55 miles we didn’t want to go too far, so we opted for a short circular stroll around East Hill, a small hill located (somewhat unsurprisingly) to the East of Ingram.
The route we followed was this circular of just over five kilometres which makes a circuit around the base of the hill. We parked in the national park car park just outside of Ingram, which is free, and is at the end of a short track you can follow to get to the cafe in Ingram. This cafe is wonderful and has a great choice of snacks and treats, as well as a wonderful gift shop with lots of locally made products.
Setting off on the walk we headed steadily uphill, before following a grassy track to curve around the foot of the hill back towards the village. The path was quite indistinct in places, so it’s one for a sunny day or confident navigators!
The Northumbrian countryside in the national park is lovely, and very quiet compared to the coast (which itself is quieter than most outdoor destinations). The views on this walk are pretty tame though compared to if you head out of Ingram towards the Breamish valley: although slightly more strenuous, the Breamish Hillfort Trail definitely wins the prize for the best views in the immediate vicinity. Still, for an easy afternoon stroll to chill out before an evening in front of a log burner, this was a decent walk.
As with every walk we do from Ingram, we finished off with a trip to the cafe for a hot drink – they always taste so much better when you’ve got icy fingers and your cheeks are rosy!
Dog friendly rating – 3/5. The nice thing about this walk is that, aside from a short section in Ingram, there’s no road walking. There were also no stiles – although Coal is slowly learning how to clamber over them without us having to bodily lift him!
Keep your eyes peeled for livestock and keep dogs on leads if you see any, especially around lambing time. We didn’t see any but hills like this are prime locations for turning a corner and finding the only sheep in a ten mile radius starting back at you! On a hot day you may need to take extra water along for your dog, as there’s not really any water or shade, so it could get pretty hot pretty quickly.
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