Better Than The
TOURING – NORTHUMBERLAND Better than the If you prefer your rugged landscapes without an outdoors shop round every bend, Northumberland is your county. Where Hadrian’s Wall marks ancient divides, you’ll find a sociable seclusion... and plenty to entertain you WORDS Gary Blake PHOTOGRAPHY Gary Blake & Wendy Johnson Cheviot Hills Kielder Water Hexham Newcastle Walking the Wall is a challenge NORTHUMBERLAND but don’t forget to simply sit and stare for a while Photo credit: istock | 48 Go caravan www.go-caravan.co.uk part of | September 2011 49 | TOURING – NORTHUMBERLAND The bustling beach at Agay BUSY DAY Forest adventure The National Park around Kielder Water (www.visitkielder.com ) has so much to offer. The Canadian-style adventure forest is home of Calvert Trust, whose outdoor adventures for disabled people include exhilarating sailing, abseiling and high wire ropes, with able-bodied friends joining in. Kielder’s forest paths goad mountain bikers to go faster n my mind, I’m in a scene from The Eagle, the Hollywood blockbuster about the Romans’ Ninth Legion, lost in Northern Britain. I’m here on the wall, marching eastbound to the Walk the wall To enjoy Hadrian’s Wall, get a free garrison of Housesteads Fort and along the iconic I Kielder Water’s Lewisburn Bay, viewed from the road. circular walk map from ‘Great Wall of China’ section of Hadrian’s wall, on the It gets even better on foot Northumberland Parks Centres. The dramatic escarpment of Steel Rigg. From the high AD 122 bus plies the Wall in summer so you can walk bits, taking in the ground of the wall, it’s easy to imagine the barbarians Vindolanda Roman Museum as (the rebellious Scottish tribes) being kept at bay by the Commission’s Kielder Water, as well as a spectacular walk Canterbury.
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