Maps
Four Ordnance Survey Landranger maps cover the Reivers Way at a scale of 1:50,000. The relevant sheets are 75, 80, 81 and 87. Extracts from these maps are used throughout the guidebook, with an overview (pages 8 and 9) to show the full course of the Reivers Way. For greater detail, and to see the extent of designated access land, five Ordnance Survey Explorer maps cover the route at a scale of 1:25,000. The relevant sheets are OL16, OL42, OL43, 332 and 340.
How to Use this Guidebook
The main feature of this guidebook is a continuous route description, illustrated with OS map extracts. Alternative routes for Days 5, 7 and 8 are described at the end of the main route descriptions, with further OS map extracts showing the variant sections of route in blue.
Waymarking and signposting on rights of way is usually quite good, but keep your eyes open for markers
Some daily stretches are longer than others, and there are long stretches without access to food, drink or accommodation. If a day’s walk seems too long, then check to see whether it can be broken halfway, whether accommodation is available, and whether public transport allows a detour off-route.
Even when facilities are mentioned, bear in mind that they are subject to change. Hotels and bed and breakfasts may not always be open, and they may not always have a bed available, so it is wise to book in advance.
Food and drink may not be available on long stretches, so think twice before passing a shop or pub, and be sure to read ahead to discover where the next ones are located.
If relying on public transport to travel to and from various parts of the walk, check timetables in advance, using the contact details given in this guidebook. If you need specific, up-to-date information about facilities along the way, contact the relevant tourist information centres and ask for advice (see Appendix 3).
Equipment
If you are approaching the Reivers Way as a series of one-day walks, then all you need is your normal day pack, containing the usual waterproofs, food and drink for the day, small first aid kit, maps, compass – and the ability to use them.
If you are walking the route as a continuous long-distance trek and planning to use hotels and bed and breakfasts, then only a little more kit is needed. A complete change of clothes for the evenings is desirable, so that walking clothes can be washed and dried wherever facilities are available. It might be a good idea to pack a couple of spare pairs of socks, which could prove useful if crossing boggy ground in wet weather, day after day.
Campsites are infrequent along the Reivers Way, so if you do plan to carry a tent, sleeping bag and cooking equipment, then it is likely that at certain points you will need to ‘wild camp’. Wherever possible, ask for permission, but if this isn’t practical, then camp unobtrusively, pitching late and leaving early, taking care to leave absolutely no trace of your stay. If you are camping and cooking, then the availability of shops along the way needs to be borne in mind, and remember that the choice may be limited in a small village store.
RESCUE SERVICES
The emergency services – mountain rescue, police, ambulance, fire brigade or coastguard – are all alerted by dialling 999 (or the European 112). Be ready to supply full details of the nature of the emergency, so that an appropriate response can be made. Keep in contact with the emergency services in case they require further information or clarification.
DAY 1
Corbridge to Allendale Town
| Start | Corbridge – NY989643 |
| Finish | Allendale Town – NY836557 |
| Distance | 27.5km (17 miles) |
| Maps | OS Landranger 87 or OS Explorer OL43 |
| Terrain | Fields, forests and riverside paths are followed by moorland tracks, including some that can be wet underfoot. |
| Refreshments | Plenty of choice at Corbridge. Pub off-route from Peth Foot. Plenty of choice at Allendale Town. |
| Public Transport | Regular daily trains, as well as Arriva and Stagecoach buses, serve Corbridge from Newcastle and Carlisle. The Hadrian’s Wall bus serves Corbridge daily through the summer, linking with all parts of Hadrian’s Wall, as well as Newcastle and Carlisle. Tynedale and Tyne Valley buses serve Allendale Town from Hexham daily, except Sundays. |
As with any long-distance walk, the golden rule is not to burn yourself out on the first day. This is a long day’s walk, with fiddly route-finding all the way through the valley of Devil’s Water, followed by a long moorland crossing that can be wet and boggy on its higher parts. If it seems too much, then break the journey using one of three accommodation options before the halfway point, and cover this initial stage over two shorter days.
CORBRIDGE
Spend time in Corbridge before starting the Reivers Way – if possible try to arrive in the afternoon and stay for the night, or at least arrive early in the day just to be able to stroll round the streets before leaving.
When the Romans pushed Dere Street north through Northumberland, they crossed the River Tyne near Corbridge, linking with the coast-to-coast Stanegate. The Roman fort of Corstopitum stands at the junction of these two roads, pre-dating Hadrian’s Wall. There is a splendid museum on site, as well as a café. There is an entry charge, and the site is open daily from April to October, and at weekends through the winter, tel 01434 632349, www.english-heritage.org.uk.
The parish church in the middle of Corbridge – a village that has seen centuries of warfare and strife
The fort guarded the Roman bridge, though masonry from the bridge is now inconveniently located on the opposite bank of the river. The river has shifted since the bridge was built, and to spare the massive stone building blocks from damage, they were lifted, moved and rebuilt away from the riverbank.
There are plenty of fine old buildings around Corbridge, such as St Andrew’s church, with the Vicar’s Pele Tower alongside. There is another pele tower where the old Newcastle road leaves town, built into Low Hall. These towers are features of reiver country – places where cattle could easily be driven inside on the ground floor, while people took refuge above in time of strife.
There was plenty of strife in this area. Ethelred, King of Northumbria, was slain here in 796AD, and it is also where Regnald the Dane defeated both English and Scots armies in 918AD. King David I of Scotland occupied the town in 1138, while King John sacked it in 1201. Corbridge suffered three burnings, by William Wallace in 1296, Robert the Bruce in 1312, and King David II in 1346.
There is accommodation in Corbridge, plenty of pubs and restaurants, shops, a post office, two banks and an ATM. The tourist information centre, tel 01434 632815, offers a leaflet called ‘A Walk of Discovery around Corbridge’.
Leave Corbridge by heading downhill from the Angel Inn, once an important coaching inn. Cross the bridge over the River Tyne. A ferry and ford at this point were replaced by a bridge in 1235, but the present bridge dates from 1674. This was the only bridge on the river to survive a devastating flood in 1771. Keep left to follow the B6529 past the railway station, which could be used as a starting point, and is handy for the Dyvels pub, an Indian restaurant and Fellcroft bed and breakfast.
Cross the bridge over the railway, then, as soon as the road bends left, exit to the right up a few steps behind traffic mirrors. A path leads up a wooded slope and a stile leads into a field. Walk straight ahead alongside