Kirknewton – Wooler.

The return up the lane to rejoin our route seemed easy this morning – in our hostess’s car!  She told us to look out for feral goats on the slopes of Yeavering Bell as we passed by, we saw none but there was a buzzard above and a kestrel hovering. The hilltop of Yeavering Bell, 361m, is encircled by a pre-historic stone wall clearly visible from a distance. The remains of many stone huts are to be found inside the hillfort. Shame we didn’t have the time or energy to visit. We reached the col between Yeavering Bell and Hare Law relatively easily and the visibility was good. At some point we must have entered The Northumberland National Park as new signs appeared depicting the elegant, and in these parts boisterous, Curlew.Open moorland walking was a delight today though at times boggy. We made the small diversion up to the trig point of Gains Law 319m for a snack stop and a chance to survey the Cheviots. The Cheviot summit at 815m seemed to overshadow everything else. Nearly every hill in the vicinity seemed to have a hill fort. Also In this area of moorland are some impressive examples of glacial meltwater channels. Soon the town of Wooler was spread out below us, but it took some time to reach. We dropped into woodland and a country park on the edge of the town, but then the way took us up in an arc into more forest before eventually following lanes to the main street of Wooler, a traditional market town. A welcome café on the corner of the High Street was our first point of call, The Terrace Café. Our B&B in the High Street was previously a bank with the manager’s living quarters above – lovely large rooms. A curry and some local beer were consumed.