Description
Rothbury Carriageway
The Rothbury Carriageway walk takes in the best bits of Rothbury and provides some spectacular views over the Coquet valley.
Details
| Hills: |  |
Some hills |
| Distance: |  |
Medium distance |
| Grade: |  |
Moderate (Hills) |
| Map: |   |
|
| This walk is on OS maps 332 Alnwick & Amble and OL42 Kielder Water & Forest. Click on map image to buy this map. | ||
| Declaration: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. | ||
Start
We start in the same place as for the Christmas Walk, Haugh Car Park, on the South bank of the Coquet. From here we cross the footbridge and head into the village.
Crossing the green we wind up through Hillside, along the lanes. Eventually, we will reach Blaeberry Hill. No doubt this was named after the blaeberries or bilberries that grow here.
At the top of Blaeberry Hill there is a path up onto the fell and to the Carriageway Drive.
The Carriageway
The Carriageway Drive was once part of a long drive around the Cragside Estate. Lord Armstrong would take his visitors on the drive to show off his Estate.
The reason Lord Armstrong brought visitors here is the reason we are here. The views are outstanding. The distinctive outline of Simonside can be seen across the valley and the River Coquet can be traced up the valley to its source in the Cheviots.
As we walk round the Carriageway we come to some peculiar shapes in the moorland. There are lots of zig-zags dug into the ground. These are WWI practice trenches and were used to train troops in trench digging, before they were sent to war.
Primrose Cottage
We continue on, through some lovely but sparse woodland and round to Primrose Cottage. This is a former lodge of the Cragside Estate.
The original Carriageway route is over private land, so we can’t follow it any further. So, here we turn right and head into the woods for a short distance, before crossing a stile into open moorland. This path takes us back towards our starting point but we will not finish here. We will head into the beautiful Addycombe Woods.
Addycombe
Addycombe is arguably the prettiest part of the walk, especially when the rhododendrons are out. There are incredible views over Rothbury and the surrounding area.
We follow a winding path along another section of the Carriageway Drive. At the end of this we jin the path heading down towards Rothbury.
Back to Rothbury
The final stretch is along Hillside Road and then down, on a path, into Rothbury.
Hope to see you there.
Julie and Martin x
Gallery – Rothbury Carriageway
Home | Blog | Walks | Sign-up | Contact
Strolls with Poles – Nordic Walking for Fun and Fitness