Snow alert

18th January 2010:

The snow is gradually melting from the high hills of Northumberland National Park, but this is creating lots of surface water on the roads. Visitors are asked to kindly keep farm access clear and drive with caution.

Along the Hadrian’s Wall corridor and North Tyne Valley, National Park Rangers warn that there is considerable water on the roads.

All of the sites and car parks are open, however Walltown still has a layer of ice covering the entrance and parking bays so care is still needed.

The majority of paths and trails in the area are open, some slopes still have compacted snow on them, these will require extra care especially when ascending and descending the slopes.

Visitors should also be advised that all areas of open water are still frozen or part frozen and need to be avoided at all times.

In the north of the National Park – the Rede and Coquet Valleys and the Cheviot Hills, snow is slowly thawing leaving flooding on roads, the Simonside access road is still very poor and the car parks are unusable except for 4X4s, the Breamish valley is still difficult to access with no parking places as the car parks are icy and poor. Paths are still covered in snow and ice but slowly getting better.