Powburn to Glanton – 6 November 2021
In 1895, David Dippie Dixon, in his book called Whittingham Vale wrote that Glanton is a salubrious little village and has a commanding position with a magnificent panoramic view of many miles. So given that recommendation from David we are off to somewhere salubrious this Saturday.
Mind you, if David had been there some years before 1895 he may not have found it that salubrious. He might not have made it there at all. In 1824 the old turnpike road came south from Whittingham, through Glanton and down to Powburn. The whole road was in a really bad state of repair but in 1840 a new turnpike road was constructed which is on the line of the present-day A697. The state of this road soon became as bad as the original because turnpike roads were dependent on the toll revenue they collected. However, by 1862 things had improved but Glanton had lost its position on one of the main routes north to Scotland which meant many coaches bypassed it and went straight to Powburn.
Not that many coaches came that way because in 1849 a rail line opened from Newcastle to Berwick leaving Glanton even more isolated. The village did make a come back in 1887 when a branch line was opened from Alnwick to Cornhill. Whittingham and Glanton got their own stations, unfortunately about a half-mile away on the east side of the present A697. This is probably how David Dippie Dixon arrived at Glanton with a short horse and cart ride from the station into the village. Fortunately for him, he managed it before 1953 because that is when the section of the branch line from Alnwick to Wooler closed completely.
Fortunately for us, the A697 takes us smoothly along the road in our air-conditioned coach which David would have found even more salubrious. Had David been on our coach he would have a choice of three routes. The longest route is getting off before Glanton, just west of the farm complex at Thrunton. This 11.5-mile route is going west and then north and gradually circling back to Glanton. The shortest 8.5-mile route is going to get off in Glanton and head west to Glanton Pyke and the edge of the Cheviots at Ingram before coming east to Branton and back to Glanton. The third and 10.5-mile route is going further north to Powburn before getting off and heading west also into the Cheviots to go over Cochrane Pike and then northeast back towards Glanton.
Back in Glanton, we all finish at the Queens Head which is an old coaching inn and possibly the one that David stayed at all those years ago.
So if you would like to come somewhere salubrious with us you can get in touch using the Contact Page of our website and you can also download the GPX routes here.
The image for this post was taken on the top of Brough Law just to the west of Ingram on another of our walks a short while ago.