St Gregory’s Church, Kirknewton

If you do not want to climb WestHill take the path to the right and followit to the stile at the head of the field wallby the burn.

From here you can either take the pathback down to Kirknewton, joining ontothe main track that you came up andturning right, back to the village.

Or you can climb St Gregory’s Hillwhere you will find the ramparts ofanother hillfort. The ramparts on this hill-fort were more elaborate on the side facing West Hill, perhaps to impress theneighbours!

Come down the hill along the way-marked track around St Gregory’s Hill,and return to the village along the road.

This publication includes mapping data licensedfrom Ordnance Survey © Crown Copyright and/ordatabase right 2009. Licence number 100022521.

Grade: Moderate Distance: 3 miles (5 km) Time: 2 - 3 hours Map: OS OL16 1:25000 The Cheviot HillsKirknewton Hillfort Trail

Start at St Gregory’s church - theheart of the village for more than 800years. Follow the track through the village, past the Old Smithy. Keep to thetrack following it uphill past the ruinedshepherds cottage on your left.

Keep to the left track, as it curvesaround the hillside to the sunnier southernside of West Hill. People have probablylived here for over 5000 years.You can see that the ground is marked by ridgeand furrow and other signs of early fieldsystems.

Follow the track through a gateand continue past the ruined cottageon your left, to a stile. Cross the stile.

Take the path on the left up to thetop of West Hill where you will find theremains of an Iron Age hillfort. Retraceyour steps from the top back down torejoin the main path at point E. Hillfortswere built by Ancient Britons over 2000years ago during the Iron Age. Each hadramparts of earth or stone enclosing anarea where timber roundhouses oncestood. At West Hill you can see the foot-ings of stone roundhouses built duringRoman times, long after the hillfort wasabandoned.

A

B

F

G

C

E

D

Start OS Grid Ref: NT 913 302 Parking: Kirknewton Village Hall

Nearest National Park Centre: Ingram Nearest Toilets: Kirknewton Village Hall

Local Services: Wooler and Milfield

Terrain: Footpaths and tracks, may be muddy, some short steep inclines

Note: This trail follows permissive footpaths across working farmland, please keep to the path

*

E

D

C

B

A

F

G

Please use an OS map on this walk

w w w . n o r t h u m b e r l a n d n a t i o n a l p a r k . o r g . u k

*

Kirknewton Hillfort Trail

Wooler

Bellingham

MORPETH

ALNWICK

HEXHAMHaltwhistle

KIELDER WATER& FOREST

A68

A68

A696

A1

A1

A69

A1

A697

Kielder

Rothbury

NORTHUMBERLAND

NEWCASTLE

Alwinton

Ingram

Elsdon

A696B632

0

B634

1Byrness

Otterburn

Powburn

Ingram NP

Rothbury NP

Once Brewed NP

Kirknewton

NP

Hadrian’s Wall

NorthumberlandNational Park

National Park Centre

This publication includes mapping data licensed from Ordnance Survey © Crown Copyright and/or database right 2009. Licence number 100022521. Kirknewton and St Gregory’s Church

They are attributed to theIron Age, though there isno absolute dating evidenceavailable for either.You canfind out more about hill-forts and the people wholived in them from the Cheviot Centre(TIC) in Wooler and from the NationalPark Centre at Ingram.

WildlifeLook out for the wild Cheviot goats roamingthe surrounding hills, they can usually beseen near Yeavering Bell.You may also seehares lying low in the long grass as you walkup the hillside. Kestrel can often be seenhovering overhead whilst buzzard circle highin the sky. Skylark and curlew can be heardand seen on the hillsides.

Wild Cheviot goat

National Park Centre at Ingram

Local FacilitiesThe village of Kirknewton lies at the head of the River Glen, which is formed by theconfluence of two rivers - the College Burnand Bowmont Water.There are no servicesin the village. Milfield, 4 miles north east hasa Country Café and Store whilst Wooler,6 miles east has a wider range of servicesincluding petrol, doctors and small super-market as well as a Tourist InformationCentre (TIC) in the Cheviot Centre.

The National Park Centre at Ingram has refreshments, gifts and local tourist information, it is also an ideal base forstarting out on a number of walks.Thecentre is home to a fascinating display oflocal archaeology with interactive exhibitsand examples of complete Bronze Agepottery vessels excavated from theBreamish Valley. Entry is free.

w w w . n o r t h u m b e r l a n d n a t i o n a l p a r k . o r g . u k

Archaeological plan of the hillfort remains on West Hill

View from Kirknewton

© English Heritage

Local HistoryLook inside St Gregory’s Church, inKirknewton, for its greatest treasure, atwelfth century carving of the Adoration ofthe Magi. Notable people buried in thechurchyard include Josephine Butler (1828 -1906) the Victorian campaigner for women’srights, and Alexander Davison (1750 - 1829)a close friend of Admiral Lord Nelson.Thereare also memorials to twelve British, Canadianand New Zealand airmen killed in the Cheviotsduring the Second World War.The obelisk onthe hill across the valley was built by AlexanderDavison’s son William as a memorial.

West Hill and St Gregory’s Hill overlookKirknewton village, and have both been thesubject of recent surveys by English Heritage.

Hare

Getting thereKirknewton is 6 miles north west of Wooler.Follow the A697 north, at Akeld turn left ontothe B6351 which goes through Kirknewton.Please park carefully on the roadside verge.Please do not block any gates or the road.

This trail has been produced in partnership withthe people of Kirknewton

Public Transport

Part financed by theEUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL GUIDANCE AND GUARANTEE FUND