There
are two hills either side of Rothbury, the larger is called Simonside. It is a very popular walk and at this time
of year the car parks were pretty busy.
However
we do not drive to the start of the walk, we walk from the house. It is about two miles to Simonside, making
the total distance just under 11 miles.
We
started with a clear sunny sky, but it gradually clouded over throughout the
morning.
There
are two circular walks from the main car park.
One is about four miles long and level all the way. The second is about twice as long, and is
not at all level. We did, of course,
opt for the second one.
We
were quite surprised to find that the well signed tracks were really busy, more
like the Lake District in summer rather than a local Rothbury walk.
Most
were walking in small groups, and all had coloured tags on their
haversacks. All were walking in the same
direction as we were. It did not take us
long to discover that they were talking part in an organised walk.
There
is a local walking group called Shepard’s Walks who offer regular guides walks
of 6-8 miles for £12-£15 per head. They
also organise challenge walks, and we choose the day when they offer the 15
mile Coquet Valley Challenge Walk at £25 per head.
They
had started the walk from Rothbury and up Cragside before following our route,
so they had already got a few miles more in than we did. So we were walking at about the same pace and
only noticed how many there were when we had a water or photo stop.
By
lunchtime the sun had disappeared and there was a strong, cold Northern
wind. We were determined to have our
picnic with a view, but did not sit for long.
Most
of the other walkers were wiser than us.
Being local they knew to avoid the high and exposed peaks and have their
lunch on the way down sheltered by one of the many large rock formations
Having
completed our circuit of Simonside were then had a long, pleasant, downhill walk
back to Rothbury.
On
the way we passed this picturesque isolated tower in the middle of
nowhere. It appeared to be a typical
English folly, though it was in very good condition.
We
were pleased that it had this plaque with a description of its history and
aim. It struck us as very English that
the Rev Sharp had built it “for the relief of unemployed local stonemasons” No mention of when it was last used as an
observatory.
Despite
the weather, and the larger than normal number of walkers, we enjoyed the
day. According to my satnav there was a
total ascent of 780 metres. It took us
six hours at a very gentle pace, and we finished with an ice cream by the river
in Rothbury.
