Lambley to Alston – 17 February 2024
Covid stopped us going out may seem an odd title for this post but bear with it and all shall be explained.
The year 2020 started quite normally. We had a walking programme set up and we had already completed the first five walks of that programme. The last one was from Masham to Leyburn in the Yorkshire Dales. However, the news was reporting increasing cases of Covid breaking out across the country with talk about closing everything down. As nothing was definite we went out on the 14th March for a walk from Lambley to Alston.
It was a good walk in quite nice weather. The pub where we normally go in Alston is the Cumberland Arms and they are always welcoming. We talked with the pub landlady who was quite dismissive about the possible lockdown and said that she didn’t think it would happen and the pub would still be open.
We did not get out again until the 11th September 2021, around 18 months later when we walked from Longhorsley to Rothbury. Those first few walks of 2021 felt very strange but we have carried out many walks in the few years since then so walking down to Alston this time will hopefully not be the last for the club for some years to come.
We have three routes planned which are similar to the routes of March 2020. All three routes run south down the valley following the course of the River South Tyne and further south following the line of the South Tynedale Railway which runs out of Alston during the Spring and Summer months.
Both the 11.5-mile and the 10.5-mile routes start from the small village of Coanwood and walk down the disused railway path and across Lambley Viaduct. From the Viaduct the 11.5-mile route heads west to pick up the Pennine Way on the west side of the valley. This is also the course of a Roman Road now called the Maiden Way.
The 11.5-mile route follows the Pennine Way to Burnstones where it drops into the valley and continues along the South Tyne Trail which is the railway line path until picking up the Pennine Way again at Lintley. The route then skirts the edge of the Roman Fort at Whitley Castle and comes into Alston via Issac’s Tea Trail. Whitley Castle was once an important Roman Fort originally called Epiacum and is only now beginning to be investigated. To see more about the fort you can click on this link Epiacum Heritage and to see how it might have looked way back in those days click on this link Epiacum Fly Around.
From Coanwood the 10.5-mile route goes over Lambley Viaduct and along the South Tyne Trail and then turns east to go via Eals and Knarsdale Hall to cross back to the west side of the river. It then does sections of the Pennine Way and South Tyne Trail until it reaches the South Tynedale Railway station at Kirkhaugh. From the station, it then stays on the South Tyne Trail until Alston.
The 9-mile route starts on the A689 road at Bowden’s Banks and follows the South Tyne Trail for a short distance before turning east and walking south on footpaths and tracks as far as Kirkhaugh Bridge where the route crosses the river and continues on the South Tyne Trail into Alston.
All three routes provide lots of variety when walking down the valley from Lambley to Alston and we would love you to come out with us. You can get in touch with us from our Contact Page, you can also download the walk descriptions below and the GPS routes here.
The image for this post was taken on the 14th March 2020 as we walked to Alston and before Covid stopped us going out.
Whenever possible it’s good to show a video of our recent walk. This one was taken on our last walk from Hexham to Slaley. When you finish a walk you sometimes forget how nice it has been It may have been a bit wet underfoot now and again but just look at that sunshine filtering through the trees. Doesn’t it make you want to come out on a walk.
