Post by mick on Mar 4, 2015 5:01:42 GMT
Terrain: - Mostly metallic, with a section of mud/stone track through woodland and a small section of dirt
Toilets: - none nearest at Wooler
Pub: - as above
Access: - by car 95% of this route
Brief description:-
This walk starts at the car park just past Hethpool, and heads off up the College Valley along the road, Once you come to Sinkside Hill turn right onto the forest track, (you cant miss the turning there’s a finger post) follow this track till you come to the exit at Trowupburn (farm) now this is where there is a section of muddy downhill (depending on the time of year) so take a bit of extra care here,! I will post a few photos of this section so you can see the ground.
Once past the farm its back on the road again this time heading round the back and side of Great Hetha.
Note:-There is a nice well defined grass path up to the top of Great Hetha from here; it is a much easer route to the summit than other routes, I will point it out with one of the photo’s on the walk, well worth the effort the views are spectacular, and there’s a hill fort up there as well if you are into that sort of thing.
We stay on the road till we come to a junction here we turn right and head towards Hethpool , here we join up with the road we drove up , its just a case of walking down the road back to where the car is parked .
Other useful stuff most of this walk is on tarmac if you are like me and hate walking on man made surfaces it is possible to walk on the grass verges most of the way , likewise there is no need to be concerned about traffic (there isn’t any).
And because I am full of useless information this walk will take you past four different burns
College Burn
Trowup Burn
Hetha burn
Elsdon burn
But most of all, this walk is one good way of seeing the hills and valleys without having to put to much effort in.
First photo taken from the car park looking up the Collage Valley and the route we are heading
Great Hetha if you look closely you can see a path heading up the side, there is a much easer route round the back which we will see later on, trust me I know I have done both routes up to the top
Looking up the Collage valley
Looking back
There is a footpath that runs around the back of Great Hetha we will walk straight past this one (it gets a bit too overgrown in the summer)
About to enter the woods last look back & across at Newton Tors
Woodland track
Trowupburn, now this is where the ground can get hard going depending on the weather
Ground shot
Looking back today it wasn’t a problem but when it’s wet its completely different
Same again
Just left the farm
Close up
Now speaking as an amputee if you have the desirer to climb to the summit of Great Hetha this is the way to go, just past the trees there is an excellent path all the way to the hill fort at the top, its grass so it won’t hurt too much if you take a tumble.
Now looking down the side
Looking up at the top
Looking back the way we have just walked (you can’t see the road)
Again looking back
Just about make out the stone circle of the hill fort (it’s a lot higher than it looks)
Looking back
Ahead
Sheep
Looking towards Easter Tor
As I wrote earlier if you are like me you don’t have to walk on the roads there is always a good grass path nearby
Back at the car park
I know that walking low level isn’t fun for everyone but this route should give you all a taste of what is out there , if you want to take the next step and walk on the hills rather than just looking at them it’s a good place to start.
Toilets: - none nearest at Wooler
Pub: - as above
Access: - by car 95% of this route
Brief description:-
This walk starts at the car park just past Hethpool, and heads off up the College Valley along the road, Once you come to Sinkside Hill turn right onto the forest track, (you cant miss the turning there’s a finger post) follow this track till you come to the exit at Trowupburn (farm) now this is where there is a section of muddy downhill (depending on the time of year) so take a bit of extra care here,! I will post a few photos of this section so you can see the ground.
Once past the farm its back on the road again this time heading round the back and side of Great Hetha.
Note:-There is a nice well defined grass path up to the top of Great Hetha from here; it is a much easer route to the summit than other routes, I will point it out with one of the photo’s on the walk, well worth the effort the views are spectacular, and there’s a hill fort up there as well if you are into that sort of thing.
We stay on the road till we come to a junction here we turn right and head towards Hethpool , here we join up with the road we drove up , its just a case of walking down the road back to where the car is parked .
Other useful stuff most of this walk is on tarmac if you are like me and hate walking on man made surfaces it is possible to walk on the grass verges most of the way , likewise there is no need to be concerned about traffic (there isn’t any).
And because I am full of useless information this walk will take you past four different burns
College Burn
Trowup Burn
Hetha burn
Elsdon burn
But most of all, this walk is one good way of seeing the hills and valleys without having to put to much effort in.
First photo taken from the car park looking up the Collage Valley and the route we are heading
Great Hetha if you look closely you can see a path heading up the side, there is a much easer route round the back which we will see later on, trust me I know I have done both routes up to the top
Looking up the Collage valley
Looking back
There is a footpath that runs around the back of Great Hetha we will walk straight past this one (it gets a bit too overgrown in the summer)
About to enter the woods last look back & across at Newton Tors
Woodland track
Trowupburn, now this is where the ground can get hard going depending on the weather
Ground shot
Looking back today it wasn’t a problem but when it’s wet its completely different
Same again
Just left the farm
Close up
Now speaking as an amputee if you have the desirer to climb to the summit of Great Hetha this is the way to go, just past the trees there is an excellent path all the way to the hill fort at the top, its grass so it won’t hurt too much if you take a tumble.
Now looking down the side
Looking up at the top
Looking back the way we have just walked (you can’t see the road)
Again looking back
Just about make out the stone circle of the hill fort (it’s a lot higher than it looks)
Looking back
Ahead
Sheep
Looking towards Easter Tor
As I wrote earlier if you are like me you don’t have to walk on the roads there is always a good grass path nearby
Back at the car park
I know that walking low level isn’t fun for everyone but this route should give you all a taste of what is out there , if you want to take the next step and walk on the hills rather than just looking at them it’s a good place to start.