Lambley & The Wall
Sunday 2nd August 2026 | I’d come up with this feature-packed hike as a (hopefully) comfortable means of increasing the challenge of terrain and distance. Having noticed its possibilities several months earlier I’d been waiting for the stars to align, so to speak. Given the long spell of dry weather we’ve enjoyed this summer, cooler conditions would be optimum for a route so exposed.
Its principal advantage is that it splits neatly into three sections of about 6 miles each with decent hospitality options at each stop – Greenhead and Haltwhistle. Walking clockwise means that the most challenging terrain and gradients come in the first half of the route.
It’s almost entirely on way-marked trails some of which are National Trails. The short section that isn’t way-marked on the ground is marked on the map as the Pennine Journey trail. I decided to start and finish at a quiet (free) car park off the A689 above Lambley so that Haltwhistle could be used as a hospitality stop. However, Haltwhistle would also work well as a ‘non-driving’ start/finish given its bus and rail links.
In addition to Hadrian’s Wall and the fortifications associated with it, there are many sites along this route sharing the theme of conflict: three medieval castles (plus a fourth, a little further off the route), several buildings incorporating medieval bastle or strong house features and a WWII prisoner-of-war camp. Elsewhere are the sites of abandoned industries together with the disused transport links that serviced them.
The dominant geological feature is the Whin Sill. Iconic exposures of this volcanic intrusion stretch diagonally across the North East from Teesdale to Dunstanburgh on the North Sea coast. In our case, it underpins Hadrian’s Wall at Walltown Quarry and over the ‘Nine Nicks of Thirlwall’.
Play the interactive map on Plotaroute by clicking on the arrow below
GPS and other file formats can be downloaded direct from our Plotaroute account where many other routes are also available
Stats at a Glance
Distance 28.7 km/17.8 miles | Elevation Gain 575 m/1186 ft | Maximum Elevation 285 m/935 ft (Blenkinsopp Common) | Profile Very undulating before Haltwhistle; mostly flat afterwards | Terrain Moorland; farmland; urban; woodland | Going Mostly firm (when dry); potentially (very) muddy & (very) boggy in places on trail, road, track, upland pavement, duckboards | Exposure Mostly (very) exposed before Haltwhistle | Navigation & Waymarking Mostly distinct; indistinct/indiscernible in places; Pennine Way; Hadrian’s Wall Path; River Tyne Trail (South Tyne Trail); generic | Maps & GPS OS Explorer OL43; Landranger 86); GPS FILE | Hospitality & Services Greenhead (Acc; Bus; Ca; PH); Haltwhistle (All) | Start & Finish CP on A689 at Lambley, Northumberland CA8 7LH; NY671584; W3W:///stored.insulated.amber | Grade Challenge
Stats-at-a-Glance Definitions (PDF)
Stats-at-a-Glance Abbreviations (an asterisk * indicates special, inconsistent or seasonal hours where known): Acc (Accommodation options); All (all or most of the facilities listed – large towns typically); BC (Bike Centre); Bus (Bus services – remote locations typically); Ca (Cafe/Tearoom); CPp (Car Parking – pay); CPf (Car Parking – free); CS (Camp Site – tents); GS (General Store – varying sizes); PH (Public House/Inn); Rf (Refreshments – mobile or kiosk); RS (Railway Station); WC (Public Toilet); YHA (Hostel)
More photos may be available on the Plotaroute map.
Lambley to Greenhead (10.5 km/6.5 miles)
The first of the historic sites on this feature-packed route is our preferred starting location. The quiet car park on the A689 outside Lambley lies directly on the eastern boundary of a significant Romano-British homestead. I didn’t take the time to inspect it myself but it’s marked on the map and fully documented in the online historic record.
Until the 1960s Lambley was known as Harpertown, a name that seems to have dissolved slowly rather than having been formally substituted. Much longer ago, in the c12th, a small convent of Benedictine nuns was founded close to the site of Lambley Farm (the farmhouse itself may previously have been part bastle).
While there a few ways to start the walk we chose what looks like the most direct. Turning left out of the car park we followed the A689, for a half-mile or so, during which time we crossed the line of the Maiden Way, a former Roman supply road. At around 20 miles long, it spans the Pennines, linking forts at Kirby Thore (Bravoniacum), Whitley Castle (Epiacum) and Carvoran (Magnis) on Hadrian’s Wall.
A Pennine Way finger-post points off the road to the right, towards an A-frame stile leading onto the moor. Just beyond the wall is the track bed of what was generally referred to as the Brampton Railway or, locally, as ‘Lord Carlisle’s Line’. It served the former Lambley Colliery of which some buildings can still be seen. One of several collieries working the small Midgeholme coalfield, it opened in 1846. Like many it suffered mixed fortunes and closed for good in 1958.
Despite helpful sections of upland pavement, the trail over the moor looks like it might get a great deal boggier than it was for us. Beyond High House there’s a steep descent to a footbridge over the Hartley Burn and an even steeper ascent at Foxhole Cleugh just afterwards (FYI a ‘cleugh’ is a steep-sided valley or ravine unlike a ‘heugh’ which is a steep crag).
Over the next ridge, after 2 miles, there’s the farm at Ulpham where we paused our journey to pass a fascinating half-hour talking to the farmer mainly about how things were on the fell in his father’s day. Departing the farm, you descend on the trail, across fields, to the Kellah Burn then back uphill on a track to and through another property at Greenriggs.
The trail over Hartleyburn Common, beyond Greenriggs, is somewhat indistinct. We found ourselves slightly off the route here but still heading in the general direction. Nevertheless, I felt the need to correct it and find the actual trail in terrain that is fairly featureless. Again it looks like, in wet weather, it could get very boggy indeed and, if visibility is poor, some sort of navigational aid might prove helpful.
In an extensive section of marsh where the Glencun Burn rises there’s a handy footbridge to cross the burn itself. Beyond that – at around the 4-mile mark – comes a steady ascent onto Blenkinsopp Common, the highest point on the route. In decent visibility you’ll get a distant panorama of the section of the day’s route after Greenhead – the bit along Hadrian’s Wall.
Off the reverse side of Blenkinsopp Common you’ll have plenty of time to contemplate the Tyne Gap below you, and the busy A69 Newcastle-to-Carlisle road that runs through it. Away to the right of the trail, where you cross the wall, Reay Crag gives its name to a rather obscure colliery, the site of which is a bit further down the hill. The only visible structure that might have been associated with it appears to be a building known as Gap Shields Fan. Whether it ever had a fan inside it – for mine ventilation perhaps – I can’t say.
The route continues to descend to a track on which you turn right. It may have been the bed for a railway that serviced quarries, clay pits and colliery shafts; whatever it was, you follow it to the end. At this point the Pennine Way departs downhill to the left on the more inviting track.
The Pennine Journey trail, which this route follows, isn’t way-marked and crosses the fence via a small stile nearby. An indistinct, sometimes indiscernible trail leads downhill across a rugged field full of reeds, tussocks and thistles. This is where the GPS file will come in handy. It should be accurate enough to deliver you within sight of a gate from where steps lead down through a narrow wood to the edge of the A69. The road is fast and busy but can be crossed safely with patience and care.
On the other side of the road I made a mistake identifying the trail and ended up back on the roadside. Rather than retrace our steps we decided to continue left at the junction and walk into Greenhead – as if we’d been driving. In retrospect I’d advise following the generic way-mark – just off the roadside – to a large gate into a nearby field. From here the trail appears to head diagonally downhill, across fields, into Greenhead.
Greenhead to Haltwhistle (8.9 km/5.5 miles)
We’d planned to stop for a beer at The Greenhead Hotel but found that it seemed geared more towards dining. To avoid awkwardness we took our drinks outside, sitting on some nearby steps, having failed to notice the seating at the top of them! There’s also a popular tearoom across the road but it’s closed on Sundays.
Leaving Greenhead past the tearoom and hostel there are a couple of route options either side of the Tipalt Burn. We chose to continue alongside the Newcastle-Carlisle railway as far as the crossing where the Pennine Journey, Pennine Way and Hadrian’s Wall Path merge. From this point until Great Chesters you’re following the National Trails’ acorn motif.
As soon as you turn away from the railway the most immediate feature is likely to be the hillside ruins of c14th Thirlwall Castle. We know it well so gave it a miss this time but I’d recommend taking time to have a look given how close it is to the trail.
The castle overlooks the Tipalt Burn where a picturesque footbridge offers a drier alternative to the ford. After a short ascent through woodland, a gate leads to the foot of a long hill with a ditch running its entire length. This is your introduction to Hadrian’s Wall of which the easily overlooked ditch is a significant feature along its entire length.
At the top of the hill you’ll find the location for Milecastle 46, the first of those fortifications situated at mile intervals along the wall (don’t confuse them with ‘turrets’ though). A couple of hundred metres to the south is the excellent Roman Army Museum at Carvoran. It stands on the site of the Roman fort of Magnis, one of the terminal points of the Maiden Way introduced earlier.
On the other side of the lane you enter Walltown Country Park where you’ll also find toilets. This nature reserve is based upon a former whinstone quarry that had operated for a century exactly when it closed in 1976. The rock –known as dolerite or ‘whinstone’ – was typically quarried for cobbles and kerbstones. It is so tough that the Romans could only use it as rubble within the wall rather than as tooled facing stone.
On the other side of the reserve you leave through a gate in the wall, by a bench inscribed ‘Walltown’. As far as our route is concerned this is where you finally encounter the wall itself, in steeply heaving terrain known as the ‘Nine Nicks of Thirlwall’ but there aren’t nine so don’t bother counting.
The payoff for the increased physical effort is an outstanding panorama plus many more features associated with the wall: Turret 45a; Milecastle 45; King Arthur’s Well (difficult to locate and no association with the mythical king); Turret 44b; Turret 44a; Milecastle 44 (near Alloa Lea); Turret 43b; Turret 43a (Cockmount Hill). A few hundred metres to the south is the Vallum, another linear earthwork, much more significant than the Ditch. It’s believed to be associated with the administration of the wall but was never a first line of defence.
Intermittently, the route follows the line of the Roman Military Way, another linear feature, in this case linking fortifications along the wall. Included are the forts at Great Chesters (Aesica) and Housesteads (Vercovicium) which the Military Way enters and leaves via the east-west gates.
To close out the list of linear features associated with the wall, there’s the early Roman road known as the Stanegate, and the B6318 Military Road – completed much later by General Wade in 1758 – which destroyed much of the wall further east.
Great Chesters is where the route leaves the wall, turning south on a track, past an altar through what was the south gate. Haltwhistle lies a couple of miles away – almost all of it downhill. Approaching the Vallum at the bottom of the hill, Cawfields Quarry is visible about a kilometre further to the east, identifiable by its distinctive, triangular whinstone crag.
The last two linear features referred to – the Stanegate and Military Road – are crossed next in quick succession. There’s little to indicate the Stanegate at this point, the line of which crosses the lane between Markham Cottage and the Military Road. Take care crossing the Military Road though; it’s another one where the traffic is frequent and fast moving
On the other side of the road, a track heads towards Lees Hall Farm. Out of the farm the track descends more steeply, eventually becoming a lane running alongside the wooded Haltwhistle Burn. There’s a sharp rise after the old brickworks before continuing downhill through streets into Haltwhistle, threading past Sainsbury’s into the Market Square.
Haltwhistle has a fascinating medieval history, particularly with regard to the lawless years of the c16th Border Reivers. Many of its buildings – including the laundrette – are former bastles and strong-houses. They retain distinctive architectural features associated with such a troubled period. Look out for the informative plaques on the walls.
Despite what I consider to be a somewhat Victorian appearance, Haltwhistle’s Church of the Holy Cross was built in the c13th for Arbroath Abbey when the ‘Liberty of Tynedale’ was held by the King of Scotland.
Nowadays, the town also makes a claim for being the geographical centre of Britain. This it pinpoints precisely with a large plaque set into the pavement of the Market Square around which you’ll find several hospitality options.
Haltwhistle to Lambley (9.3 km/5.8 miles)
The route leaves town via Black Bull Lane, past the Black Bull pub and Coronation Park, the Church of the Holy Cross, and Eden’s Lawn before crossing the main road (B6322). Interestingly, it’s thought that Eden’s Lawn may be derived from ‘Llan Aidan’ or ‘Aidan’s Church’, pre-dating its later dedication.
After passing under the Newcastle-to-Carlisle Railway the route arrives at the Haltwhistle Tyne Bridge known also as ‘Blue Bridge’ even if it’s no longer blue. The Grade II-listed, wrought iron structure was built in 1875, replacing an earlier wooden bridge dating from at least 1826. Financed by public subscription it was closed to traffic in 1972.
The bridge spans the River South Tyne which rises not too far away in the Pennines above Alston – England’s joint-highest market town. The River North Tyne – flowing from Kielder – joins at Warden, near Hexham where they both become the River Tyne.
Turning right, after crossing the bridge, a quiet lane leads under the A69 bypass on Bellister Haugh. Nearby is Bellister Castle, a Grade I-listed c19th mansion with stonework originating to a c13th hall house. Now owned by the National Trust it stands on the site of what may have been an even earlier Norman motte-and-bailey castle.
On the other side of the bypass you’ll find the River Tyne Trail (RTT) which I’d opted to use in order to follow the course of the river. The nearby South Tyne Trail (STT) offers an equally pleasant, but very different alternative, using the track bed of the former Alston Railway that once ran between Haltwhistle and Lambley Viaduct. The STT takes you over the viaduct (from where you’ll have to partly descend) while the RTT takes you to its foot.
I failed to spot on the map that the RTT pitches steeply up and down near the start, on a mile-long section of the trail through North Wood. This was slightly embarrassing as I’d promised the moosus an ‘easy’ finish. After reaching the road at Park Burnfoot the anticipated flat terrain finally kicks in persisting, more or less, all the way to the viaduct.
Apart from tracking the course of the river, the RTT offers several features not available to the STT, all of which are excellent distractions for tired feet. First is the steeply arched, Grade II-listed Featherstone Bridge. Built in 1780, it replaced one of many bridges destroyed across the North East in the catastrophic Great Flood of 1771.
Opposite is Bridge End House, built in 1840 and also Grade II-listed. We sat here for a few minutes in warm, evening sunshine watching a couple of Grey Wagtails doing their thing on the riverbank.
A bit further upstream is another bridge – Featherstone Footbridge (or ‘Castle Bridge’ as it’s known locally). In the woodland on the other side is a waterfall called Bishop’s Linn. It sits on the Glencun Burn which we’d crossed earlier in the day at its source on Hartleyburn Common. Had we had a bit more time I might have tried to find it. The bridge itself collapsed in 2014, again due to severe flooding but has obviously been repaired since.
Featherstone Castle tries hard to be the star of the show: it started life as a c13th hall-house although most of what can be seen today is early c19th ‘castellated Gothic’ style. It does however, retain some original features such as the SW tower on the right-hand side of the main building. Previously it was a public school but now operates commercially as a venue for conferences and wedding receptions.
Despite the castle’s best efforts, the most intriguing aspect of this part of the route for me is what went on in its grounds in later years. During World War II the park became the site for a prisoner-of-war (POW) transit camp holding Italian and German prisoners. In the months leading up to D-Day, it was converted to a training facility for US soldiers.
After the war finished in 1945, Camp 18 – as it was known officially – really came into its own, as a re-education centre for politicized German officers many of whom were ardent Nazis. An interesting plaque, installed on a surviving gate pillar in 1982, gives more information. Before its closure in 1948 the camp held around 4000 German officers and their orderlies. Several buildings and footings survive.
Beyond the camp you come to a road at Diamond Oak Bridge, built in 1975 to improve transport links in South Tynedale after the railway closed. Out of sight across the river, after the route returns to the riverbank, is Lambley Farm. It’s built next to the site of the c12th nunnery mentioned earlier and itself incorporates features of a medieval bastle.
All that remains now is a pleasant riverside ramble to the base of the soaring Lambley Viaduct. At 33 metres high with a 260 metre span, it opened in November 1852 to carry the Alston branch of the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway. In those days the design incorporated a wooden footbridge attached to the base of its pillars.
The present footbridge was constructed in 1992 and is the second to have been moved further downstream. In this case it was to avoid the danger of falling masonry as the bridge declined after the line closed in 1976. Since 1983, the track bed has been used by the South Tyne Trail (walkers and cyclists) and the South Tynedale Railway between Slaggyford and Alston.
After crossing the river there’s a very steep ascent out of the gorge – aided by several flights of steps – to reach the track bed of the railway that once serviced Lambley Colliery. A gate above the track gives access to a trail that will take you back across fields to Lambley.
Conclusion
Of the many walks I’ve put together for us, this might be my best so far. It’s feature-packed historically and geologically; it’s challenging but not too extreme, with constantly varying terrain. The views for at least half the route are superb (weather depending) and, as I’ve said already, it divides neatly into three sections of about 6 miles with multiple hospitality options at each.
To get the best from it will require a reasonable level of walking fitness and a willingness to deal with changeable weather. You may even find yourself wandering off the trail to explore other locations. The easiest direction, in my opinion, is clockwise as we did it. Parking is literally free and easy where, unless this route becomes too popular, you’re unlikely to be the cause of overcrowding.