What the Project Achieved

College Valley The Cheviots

The Hillfort Heritage project secured public access to 10 hillforts and adjacent archaeologically sensitive areas, previously not open to the public, under 25 year long management agreements. Even with the implementation of the CROW Act in 2005 some hillforts are only accessible to the public through the management agreements set up by the Discovering Our Hillfort Heritage Project.

In total around 650 hectares of landscape are now protected, and negotiations are continuing to secure two further agreements.

It produced new research results and data from several previously unstudied areas of the National Park. Such a case occurred with the College Valley Estate where it was known from the valuable work of Peter Topping in the 1980s that an extensive archaeological landscape survived but with many areas as yet unrecorded. In 2000 Tim Gates, an experienced archaeological aerial photographer, was commissioned to undertake an aerial survey of the College Valley Estate, some 49 sq kms of the northern Cheviot landscape. The results far exceeded expectation and have led to a twofold increase in the number of recorded sites in the Valley. This work has also vividly demonstrated the complexity and extent of surviving early field systems in the Valley.

This information enabled the project to establish those landscape areas of greatest importance, and to include these areas within a single management agreement for the College Valley Estate.

Working in partnership with the Estate also allowed a number of hillforts and adjacent landscapes to be surveyed in detail for the first time. This work was undertaken by English Heritage (York office) as part of a wider programme of hillfort surveys undertaken by the project.

The importance of detailed information cannot be underestimated in helping the National Park Authority to interpret the archaeology to the public. It has allowed us to create a series of heritage trails throughout the northern Cheviots, which link many of the most important sites in a coherent way, enabling visitors to gain the most from the experience. And of course these trails are enjoyable walks in their own right with breath-taking views over Northumberland and the Borders.

Visitor information panels have been installed at a number of appropriate locations. In addition, the rich heritage of the College Valley has been recognised with the production of a booklet containing four hillfort heritage trails entitled 'A Beautiful Highland Place'. These allow visitors to explore the archaeology and history of the valley from prehistory through to the Second World War.

Preserving and enhancing our cultural heritage is one of the most important roles of National Park Authority's and one of the many ways of achieving this is through imaginative educational initiatives for the children of today who will hopefully develop in to the conservation-minded citizens of the future. One such initiative has been the production of the 'Lost Palace' Educational Resource Pack that is aimed at National Curriculum Key Stage 2/3. Based on the story of Yeavering as seen through the eyes of the wild goats that live upon Yeavering Bell, it covers the Iron Age hillfort, the Lost Palace of King Edwin, and the excavations of the late Dr Brian Hope-Taylor.

Related Links

• Yeavering - The Hill of the Goats can be obtained from our on-line store.
• The 'Lost Palace' Educational Resource Pack can be downloaded from our Educational Resources web page.