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An area enjoyed by Sir Walter Scott and Daniel Defoe

Harthope Valley is the starting point for many inspiring walks up onto the Cheviot Hills.

It lies south-west of Wooler.  The contrast of low-level burns and high hills around it give it drama and wildness. It’s a favourite spot for birdwatchers and walkers alike. Here, you might spot an adder on the track, or birds such as curlews, stonechats, meadow pipits, whinchats, skylarks, buzzards and possibly merlins.

There are no villages in the valley, just isolated farms accessed by the single road, which climbs as high as Langleeford. The three highest Cheviot Hills lie in the upper reaches of Harthope Burn. From Langleeford, there is a steady climb up the Cheviot, which is Northumberland’s highest hill at 815m.

 

Harthope Burn

The Harthope Burn which cuts the Harthope Valley is a long beck cutting a deep valley in the Cheviot Hills, in Northumberland.

The stream rises high up on the southern slopes of the Cheviot. Gathering the waters of many minor burns as it goes, the Harthope Burn carves a deep valley almost in a straight line north-eastwards down towards Wooler.

A river runs through the Harthope Valley which is lush and green with foliage.

The burn tumbles over the Harthope Linn and down to Langleeford Hope and Langleeford, where the public road begins.It continues down to join the Carey Burn above Skirl Naked, below which the joined streams form the Wooler Water, a tributary of the River Till. The Burn is wholly within the Northumberland National Park until the meeting with the Carey Burn.

Perfect for walks and picnics

The valley has always attracted walkers as visitors, most notably the eminent 18th Century writers Sir Walter Scott and Daniel Defoe.

The burn that runs along the bottom of the valley is fringed with alder woodland with wide grassy areas alongside, making it an ideal place on your walk for a picnic spot.

A Cheviot hill rises over the green Harthope Valley.

 

Getting there

By Car

Park on the wide grass verge on the right, just before the metal bridge that spans the Carey Burn.

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