Reivers Way

Follow in the footsteps of the notorious border 'reivers' and discover how they survived centuries of strife and warfare. The Reivers Way wanders for 150 miles through the wildest and most scenic parts of Northumberland, taking in the North Pennines, Hadrian's Wall, Tynedale, Redesdale, the Simonside Hills, Coquetdale and the Cheviot Hills. This wild and sparsely populated landscape includes a national park, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a fine heritage coast.

The Trail starts at Corbridge and crosses Hexamshire Common in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. After following the best stretch of Hadrian's Wall from Housesteads to Sewingshields a series of fine little towns and villages are visited, including Wark, Elsdon and Rothbury, as the route heads in and out of the Northumberland National Park. The broad and bleak Cheviot Hills are crossed on the way to Wooler. After catching a glimpse of Lindisfarne the route traces the scenic Northumberland Heritage Coast from Bamburgh to Seahouses, then onwards to Craster and Boulmer to finish at Alnmouth. It finishes by walking the finest stretch of 'Northumbria's lordly strand' from Budle Bay to the mouth of the Aln.

The guide divides the route into nine days walking, each precisely described and clearly illustrated with OS 1:50000 map extracts in full colour. Variants and alternative routes are provided for three of the day walks. This schedule involves some days with long distances and is really only suitable to experienced and fit walkers. A more leisurely itinerary of up to fourteen days may be more practical and the guidebook covers the practicalities of planning the walk and a route summary, accommodation list and useful contacts are given in appendices. For ease of access the route starts at Corbridge station, on the main Newcastle to Carlisle railway line and finishes at Alnmouth station, on the Edinburgh to London main line.

The guidebook itinerary of suggested day walk sections are as follows:
Corbridge to Allendale Town 17m
Allendale Town to Bardon Mill 11m
Bardon Mill to Wark 13m
Wark to Elsdon 18m
Elsdon to Rothbury 13.5m
Rothbury to Uswayford 20m
Uswayford to Wooler 15m
Wooler to Bamburgh 18m
Bamburgh to Alnmouth 19m

Details of all the services and facilities along the way are included, together with background information on local history and heritage. An introduction provides a brief history of the region and describes the geology, scenery and wildlife.

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