3 Nights in the Cheviots Northumberland

Returning to one of OutdoorLads' favourite bunkhouses in a remote part of Northumberland for THREE nights, this will be a get away from it all weekend. This is a Friday to Monday trip!

Our venue is located 4 miles from the nearest public road, deep into the Cheviots, along the College Valley. It lies less than 1/2 mile from the Scottish border, sandwiched between the border ridge and the Cheviot (815m).

It is surrounded by beautifully rounded Northumberland Hills, close to the northern end of the Pennine Way, with deep, wild valleys, and dramatic gullies created at the end of the last ice age. 

This will be a remote, away-from-it-all weekend, where phone signals and wi-fi are unlikely, which is a magical chance to connect with OutdoorLads pals and the spectacular scenery that surrounds us. We'll spend two days getting out and exploring on foot - walks are necessarily going to involve some steep climbs and there are no "gentle" options - but you'll be rewarded for your efforts with spectacular views! 

The evenings will be filled with hearty, home-cooked meals, and socialising with fellow OutdoorLads - board games and star gazing are likely to be high on the list of evening entertainment. It will be a fantastic weekend of comradery, great food, and genuinely getting out more! 

The Hills

The Cheviot Hills are a range of rolling hills straddling the Scottish Border with Northumberland. The English section is within the Northumberland National Park. The range includes The Cheviot (the highest hill), plus Hedgehope Hill, Windy Gyle, Cushat Law and Bloodybush Edge.

The hills are sometimes considered a part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland as they adjoin the uplands to the north. Since the Pennine Way runs through the region, the hills are also considered a part of the northern Pennines although they are separated from the Cheviot Hills by the Tyne Gap, part of which lies within the southern extent of the Northumberland National Park.

Some of the gems are in between the hills. Hen Hole is one such place and it makes a wonderful route to the top of the Cheviot from the Hostel. It was created at the end of the last ice age, by meltwater, creating a deep gully with waterfalls, leading up to an amazing basin underneath the Cheviot summit. With some very easy scrambles, it makes a fantastic route to highest point in this whole range of hills.

Wildlife in the College Valley (not that we're guaranteed to see it all!)

The valley is well known for its population of feral goats and is home to around 150. Rumour has it that they were released in medieval times by the monks on Holy Island. This primitive British breed would have died out completely if they hadn't escaped into the wild. As farming changed there was a swing to foreign breeds which produced more milk. The goats can often be seen on the Newton Tors along the eastern side of the Valley. However they can pop up in the most unexpected of places! Over the years many goats have been re-homed to help manage environments elsewhere in the UK and this has helped to ease the pressure on local vegetation. 

Roe deer are present throughout the valley. Whilst they are beautiful they also bring their own challenges with damage to trees so their numbers are carefully managed.

The valley has a healthy population of red squirrels. Hazelnuts are a great source of proteins for the squirrels. With care and quiet you could be lucky and see one of these lovely little mammals.

Adders, Britain's only venomous reptile are also present in the valley. Slow worms, which are really burrowing limbless lizards (commonly mistaken for snakes) are also common. They have been granted protected status along with all other native British reptiles.

Otters are present along the College and Lambden burns. 

There is a good population of rabbits, hares, voles, fox, stoat and weasels. These can be seen throughout the valley.

College Valley Estate has spent a lot of time and effort reintroducing black grouse, a marvellous bird at risk of imminent extinction in the UK. Black grouse UK, part of the UK Biodiversity plan, is dedicated to reversing this trend towards extinction. In 1995 the Wilderness above Mounthooly was planted with over 55000 broadleaves. This became the largest new native woodland in England. Black grouse were initially quite successful but bad weather has affected recent breeding seasons and numbers have declined.

There is a healthy and well managed population of red grouse on all the heather areas in the valley; shooting for these remarkable birds provides a significant income for the estate. The sound of them telling one to 'go-back, go-back, go-back' is one of the sounds of wilderness areas.

Dogs. This event is not suitable for dogs.

Photos. All photos taken by Rob Mitchell, OutdoorLads and used with permission.

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