Cheviots Walks
Kielder Stane Walk
Date: 16th July 2005
Distance: 12.7 miles
Ascent: 2376 feet
Time: 5 hours 25 minutes
With: Lisa
Start Grid Ref: NY631935
Walk Summary:
An excellent walk up on to the Border Ridge from the northern end of Kielder with a detour to visit the Kielder Stane.
Route Summary: Kielder - Lightpipe Sike - Deadwater Fell - Mid Fell - Kielder Stane - Peel Fell - Deadwater Burn - River North Tyne - Kielder
Photos: Click on the photos below to enlarge.
Walk Detail: Peel Fell is the highest fell in the Kielder area and Deadwater Fell is the most dominant viewed from Kielder Water itself so this walk was a natural choice for my first walk while camping the weekend in Kielder.
Despite not sleeping well due to the heat and threat of midgies we set off early in good spirits mainly because of the fantastic weather. The early walk in the forest was pleasant though things became more interesting when we had to begin climbing via the rather soggy and overgrown Lightpipe Sike.
Shortly after reaching more open ground we startled two roe deer out of the undergrowth. Amazingly this was the second walk in a row that we had seen deer. We then joined a wide track leading to the bizarre top of Deadwater Fell. In addition to a crumbling OS column there is also a mass of beacons, towers and balls.
On the northern edge of the summit there was a good view of Mid Fell and Peel Fell and here we stopped to eat our breakfast which consisted of an apple (one of the most refreshing I’ve had) and some crisps.
From there we walked down into the saddle where there was also located a small tarn. The summit of Mid Fell is decorated with a massive sprawling cairn or tumulus of ancient origin, of more recent manufacture was a small iron cross in a concrete block with the legend ‘Reivers Cross’.
Just shy of the summit of Peel Fell we followed Kielder Stone Cleugh to the massive sandstone block of Kielder Stane. Hall claims this mighty rock ‘explodes into view’. It actually does no such thing and from the path looking down it is actually quite an under whelming sight. It is only when one gets down to it that one can appreciate its size.
We chose this as a suitable place for lunch before heading back up to Peel Fell. Somewhat surprisingly our climb back up to Peel Fell seemed to take less time than our walk down to the stone. Along the way I amused myself by weaving in and out of the line of posts that marked the English/Scottish border.
Peel Fell is a fine vantage point for assessing the line of the Cheviots stretching away to the north east terminating in the The Cheviot itself.
From Peel Fell we headed down a relatively steep slope to the fringes of the plantations eventually going through the forest again on a pleasant path where we saw another deer. When we came out of the forest and crossed over the road we followed a dead straight flat path that had once been part of the Border Counties railway all the way back to Kielder.
This was my first experience of the Cheviots and and not only did I thoroughly enjoy it I would also rate it one of the best walks I did that year.
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