Finally, we’ve been making good our intentions to spend more time exploring the North Pennines AONB. After a slightly grey but still enjoyable trip to Cockfield Fell, we headed north again on the early May bank holiday in an attempt to avoid the crowds. Our original plan had been an out and back wander down the Pennine Way to High Cup Nick, but if anywhere in the North Pennines is going to be busy on a bank holiday, we thought it would probably be here. A last minute change of plan saw us heading up to the Durham/Northumberland border instead – and we were so glad we did.
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As with last week, this was another route from our new Pocket Mountains guide. A roughly five and a half mile circular from the village of Allenheads, we arrived shortly before 9am and were just the second car people to arrive in the car park. Parking where we started is fairly limited, but I think there are other parking options along the route. If you don’t have or want the book, there’s a similar route on All Trails.
Initially the walk climbs reasonably steeply up out of the village, passing on its way an old mine shaft. The hole is now covered, but at 77 1/2 fathoms deep, peering over the edge still made me feel a bit funny! It wasn’t long before we left the road to continue climbing on a rough grassy path, traversing a few boggy patches, before we emerged onto a much nicer, flatter track. The good news is, this climb gets nearly all of the uphill out of the way at the start of the walk.
At this point, the highest part of the route, the clouds rolled in and the rain started (boo). We did still get some nice views though, and on a sunny day I think they would be upgraded to cracking views. Plus, the rain did at least manage to mostly keep to a fairly light smattering. Despite the weather we could see for miles in all directions, including the trajectory of the track we were on – it’s always reassuring to see that it stays a good track.
Walking along here felt so remote and removed from civilisation, despite the fact it had taken us less than an hour to get up here. Even with the freezing wind and rain (I was very glad I’d put my mid-layer on at the last minute) we both still thoroughly enjoyed this part of the walk. The bank holiday crowds certainly seemed a million miles away.
As an aside, I really do love my mid-layer. Sam bought it for me as a Christmas present and I’ve worn it nearly every week since: warm enough to keep me toasty in colder weather, but not so thick that I get all hot and sweaty on a more strenuous walk. It’s also thin enough that I can layer it under my waterproof to have warmth and still stay dry. Highly recommend!
Even the descent was enjoyable, with a gentle grassy track gradually dropping back down to the road level. Don’t you love it when the downhill doesn’t set off jelly legs? I feel like we need to do more walks like this! From the road, a walk down a quiet lane leads to a riverside path, where we had fluffy ducklings to the left and tottering lambs to the right, all under a vibrant canopy of green: it really does feel like everything has woken up over the last few weeks.
It’s a reasonably long stretch along the river but it was so pleasant that it felt like no time at all. Close to the end there’s a slightly wobbly but still functional picnic bench, which would be a nice place for a stop. The final fifteen minutes or so was along a quiet road – with the 30 mph speed limit, I was quite happy to take the flatter road option than the hillier looking footpath! Having worked up a decent appetite, we stopped off for lunch at The Hemmel: Allenheads’s dog friendly cafe.
Dog friendly rating: 3/5. There are a couple of stiles at the start of the walk which fall into the category of ‘you might need to help your dog out’, and the moorland section crosses access land which has a dog ban, so you need to stick to the public rights of way. The river is accessible in a few places for dogs who like to swim: just don’t let them bother the ducks!
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