St John’s Chapel to Allenheads – 23 September,2023
Hi Ho Silver. No, it’s not the Lone Ranger at Allenheads, it’s the largest silver mine in the world or it was up until 1896 when the last of the mines began to close in and around the North Pennines. The area we are walking in contained numerous lead mines the largest ones being at Killhope and Allenheads. There were many smaller mines where the lead ore was washed and crushed to remove waste material and then taken to places like Killhope and Allendale where the lead would be smelted into ingots ready for transportation.
All the routes start just over the Northumberland border in the Weardale valley. The 9-mile route starts at Wearhead which is where the River Wear forms from the Killhope Burn and the Burnhope Burn. This route follows the Killhope Burn until Killhopeburn Bridge where it starts to climb around the mining area above Killhope. The route drops down into the valley at Kiilhope Mine but then climbs the other side of the valley to reach the Carriers Way which leads down into Allenheads.
The 10.5-mile route starts at Ireshhopeburn and goes west crossing the dam wall of the Burnhope Reservoir and then follows the contour line above the Killhope Burn until the route reaches the Killhopeburn Bridge where it then follows the same route as the 9-mile route.
The 11-mile route starts at St John’s Chapel and follows the Weardale Way west towards Wearhead. It then follows a route that takes it past the small holdings of Blackcleugh and Green Pit before climbing the same way as the other two routes.
This is one area of the country that has so much detail on the map it is hard to make out the details of the routes. Disused quarries, disused mine workings, disused shafts and small water courses running down the hillsides that once fed the machinery of the mines. Not shown on the map are the lives of so many of the miners and their families who lived in this area not so long ago.
If you like the idea of walking in mining history and would like to visit one of the most southerly of places in Northumberland 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 one of the routes to Allenheads in September 2013.
