A three-mile walk from Wooler takes you out of the town, passing through the quiet hamlet of Humbleton. From here you are able to join the hillfort trail which climbs steadily to the top of Humbleton Hill.
On a clear day, the panoramic views from the top of Humbleton Hill are superb. With steep slopes all around, it is easy to see why our Iron Age ancestors chose this particular spot to build a hillfort, overlooking the low-lying Milfield Plain and the North Sea beyond.
From the top you can look down on the site of a bloody medieval battle, made famous by Shakespeare (Henry IV Part One). With just sheep and the wind for company you can relax in this now peaceful place and let your imagination carry you back through the centuries.
One of a series of impressive Cheviot hillforts, second in size to Yeavering Bell, the impressive remains include a central ‘citadel’ which contains the remains of a series of hut scoops and an outer encloser.
Humbleton Hill and the surrounding area have been shaped by glaciers. During glacial periods in northern England, the ice was thought to have been a mile high. Water at the base would have been under great pressure and scoured out the ground below. The Trows to the south of Humbleton Hill show the result of this action well.
Near Humbleton is the site of the Battle Homildon Hill where Harry ‘Hotspur’ Percy and the Earl of March routed a Scottish army with the longbow in September 1402.
At the time, the Borders were hotly contested with frequent skirmishes and family feuds. Immortalised by Shakespeare and Border Ballads such as Chevy Chase, the conflict became personalised in the histories of the Percy and Douglas families.
It was one of the most significant defeats of the Middles Ages. In this one battle the Scots lost a great number of gentry and about 1,000 men to the superior tactics and weapons of the English.
