STRENUOUS Walk View from Kilham Hill

Kilham Hill Trail Start OS Grid Ref: NT 880 320 Distance: 3.5 miles (5.5 km) Time: 2.30 - 3 hours Map: OS OL16 1:25000 The

Parking: Kilham - Grassy parking area on right, approx 1/2 mile up road from Kilham Farm To To Kirk Yetholm Local Services: Wooler & Milfield Public Toilets: Kirknewton Village Hall Terrain: Road, tracks and footpaths - steep ascent up Kilham Hill Description: A challenging walk with steep climbs in the beautiful valley of the Bowmont Water, made possible by kind permission of the farmers Kit and Christine Collins. The route follows part of the old to Cornhill railway, then goes steeply upwards to the top B of Kilham Hill for one of the most breathtaking views in National Park! Bowmont Water Kilham A From the grassy parking area walk E Go through the gate and follow the Kilham back down the road you have just driven obvious track through the plantation. Go Farm Start up and on through the hamlet of Kilham through the gate and follow the path uphill to the main road. for a very short distance then turn right A C and follow the path as it contours the hill. B Cross the road and go through the F gate. Bear right over the field to the gate F Follow the path upwards the climb is J E D which leads onto the disused railway line. steep, but take your time and admire the views. I Go through the gate and turn right along G Continue up the grassy path to the the old railway line. Carry on along the Slightly indistinct stone cairn on the top of Kilham Hill. grassy path old railway line for approximately ¾ mile. H Just past the stone cairn follow the G C On reaching the fence which crosses track down to the right. Keep to this track the railway line turn right and follow the H until you reach the tall deer fence. path uphill through the woodland to a ladder stile over the wall. I At the deer fence turn left, go through the gate into the recently planted area and To D Go over the ladder stile and cross Kirknewton continue on. At the corner of the fence & Wooler the road carefully. Turn left along the road, turn right, heading downhill, keeping the and after a short distance go through the fence on your right. first field gate on the right, Kilham Hill lies ahead. Bear right, (the grassy path is J At the bottom of the hill turn right slightly indistinct) heading diagonally uphill, through the gate, follow the path over the to the gate in the wall into the plantation. burn and up to the gate. Go through the gate and turn right along the road back Please use an OS map on this walk © Crown Copyright and database rights (2014) Ordnance Survey Licence Number 100022521 to the parking area. Kilham Hill www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk Kilham Hill Trail

Getting there Points of interest Local facilities Wildlife From Wooler: Follow the A697 north out The view from the top of Kilham Hill Milfield 5 miles north, is a small village on the At the start of the of Wooler for approx 2.5 miles. At (1108ft/338m) is dramatic, 360 degrees of edge of the Cheviot Hills. Cafe Maelmin is walk look out for turn left onto the B6351, signed ‘Kirknewton. incredibly beautiful countryside. Looking open all day, everyday, serving coffee and Britain’s loveliest and Continue along this road for 5.5 miles to ahead over Kilham far below, the land cakes, meals and snacks, beers and wines. It easily identified Kingfisher Kilham. Turn left at the Kilham Farm sign by stretches north over the Tweed Valley into is also a Northumberland National Park songbirds: the blackbird, the row of white Farm cottages. Follow the the Scottish lowlands. Left, to the north- Information Point, with free WiFi. NE71 6JD wren and thrush in the single track road, past the farm on the left, west are the Eildons, three conspicuous www.cafemaelmin.co.uk rambling hedge banks for 1/2 mile to the grassy parking area on hills near Melrose in southern . To along the old railway Wooler 9 miles east, is a small town and the right. the right across the Bowmont Water, the line. The occasional River Till and the coastal plain, with the gateway to the Cheviot Hills, making it an kingfisher has been North Sea visible on a clear day. Yeavering ideal base for walking and cycling. spotted along the Kilham Bell, Newton Tors, The Schil and Coldsmouth Wooler Tourist Information Centre, with free Bowmont Water, as well as heron and oyster- Hill and the distinctive long back of The WiFi, is packed with information on what to catcher. The well established woodland, Cheviot itself can all be seen. do, where to go and where to stay in and between the railway line and the road, has around north Northumberland. NE71 6BL become a hunting ground for short-eared owls. The disused railway line that you walk along April to October - Open every day. In spring the woodland is carpeted with was once part of the Alnwick to Cornhill November to April - Monday to Saturday. bluebells. In summer the hillside is a profusion railway, opened by the North-Eastern www.wooler.org.uk of purple and blue as wild thyme, cross-leaved Railway Company in 1887 for goods and heath and harebell come into flower. passenger traffic. Like many other rural Kirk Yetholm 7 miles to the west, is a small lines it was never very profitable, mainly village. The Border Hotel is also a National Other birds such as buzzard, kestrel, lapwing because the communities it served were Park Information Point. Open daily for meals and curlew are common around the hillside. small and scattered. The last passenger train and drink, it also offers accommodation. Please keep dogs on a lead and under ran in September 1930 but goods were TD5 8PQ control - this is farmland. carried until March 1965. www.theborderhotel.com

Kilham - Farm Cottages The cairn on top of Kilham Hill Cafe Maelmin and National Park Information Point, Milfield Woodland and bluebells Wren www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk Wildlife Photos © North East Wildlife