Cheviot Hills in Northumberland

I wanted to write this trip report to highlight a much neglected part of England up on the border with Scotland. The Cheviot hills form the major range of hills in the North East of England. The majority of the hills are in England but the border with Scotland runs across them. Our visit was to the College Valley which is the most northern of the valleys.
We rented a holiday cottage at the base of the valley during the second week in August 2009, it was called Hethpool Mill and you can see it here
http://www.northumbria-byways.com/collegevalley.htm

Transport is virtually impossible without a car, there is literally no other way into this remote valley. The nearest town is Wooler and the closest rail link is the north east line from London to Edinburgh ( local stop is Berwick upon Tweed).

But let me talk about the Valley and what is there.First thing is that this area is quiet, there are very few visitors, no crowds and what we believed was great tranquility.
You can see pictures of the valley here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/collegevalley/sets/
But what is amazing is what else is here
You have a prehistoric stone circle in the bottom of the valley complemented by hill forts on the top of the hills.
The valley is steeped in history with stories dating back to border reiver times.
In the 19th century it was owned by Admiral Collingwood. He was the second in command to Nelson at Trafalgar and took command of the English fleet when Nelsom was killed.
During WW2 the Valley and the Cheviots were used as a training area for the Royal Airforce. You can still find wreckage from crashes and there is a memorial to commemorate those who lost their lives on these remote hills.
And these are just some of the interesting things about the valley
You can read more here
http://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/collegevalleyhillforts

There is plenty of wildlife in the Valley from raptors through to a herd of feral goats.

Outside the valley there is also plenty to see. From the battlefield of Flodden down to Alnwick Castle which was used for the Harry Potter films.

Finally some additional links

Panoramio
http://www.panoramio.com/map/#lt=55.5486224&ln=-2.1681275&z=4&k=2

and

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Valley

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