General
Information
Duration
8 days (7 nights) or 10 days
(9 nights)
Season:
April to October, but your selected dates must fit
in with the tides on the crossing to and from Lindisfarne.
This means that you need to check with us to make sure that
your dates are feasible. Alternatively the tide timetable is
available on www.northumberlandlife.org/holy-island/default.asp
Starting
point: Melrose
End
of tour: Lindisfarne (normal route) or Dunstan, near
Craster (on the extension).
Nearest
major cities: Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Nearest
airports: Edinburgh,
Newcastle, Teeside, Glasgow International, Prestwick
International.
To reach starting point
From
Edinburgh airport bus/taxi to city centre bus station,
then bus to Melrose; from Newcastle airport Metro to
Newcastle central station, then train to Berwick-on-Tweed,
then bus (not Sundays) from train station to Melrose.
From Glasgow airport bus to Edinburgh
bus station then bus to Melrose; from Prestwick train
to Glasgow central station then train to Edinburgh and
bus to Melrose. It is about 15 minutes walk or a short taxi
ride between Edinburgh Waverley train station and the
central bus station in St Andrews Square. From London
airports, train/underground to London Kings Cross train
station, then train to Berwick-on-Tweed, and then bus from
train station to Melrose (not Sundays). We provide times of
the Berwick-Melrose bus service in the route notes, subject
to availability.
End of tour
From
Lindisfarne you can take a taxi to Berwick Upon Tweed
railway station for about £16. If you are on the extension,
from last accommodation near Craster either take a taxi to
Alnmouth train station for trains to Newcastle, London,
Edinburgh or Glasgow. Some local buses may also fit in with
your itinerary.
Your accommodation
Accommodation
is on a bed and breakfast basis throughout.
There are pubs serving bar meals at or near all of
the overnight stops. A packed lunch can be ordered from most
of your night stops; alternatively there is in most cases a
grocery shop nearby where picnic materials can be obtained.
Please
note that below we describe our usual accommodations. If
they are not available for the dates that you book we will
endeavor to use alternative accommodation of a similar
standard:
q
Night 1: Melrose. We stay in comfortable (three
star tourist board) accommodation offering ensuite
facilities near to the town centre and abbey.
q
Night 2: Ancrum. Just off the route we stay at a
small B&B in the centre of the village with modern
rooms: also a 3 star establishment.
q
Night 3: Morebattle. We stay in a small town inn
here, on the route. The
rooms are ensuite, newly refurbished with tea and coffee and
there is of course the bar!
q
Night 4: Kirk Yetholm. In this border village we
stay at a very pleasant traditional cottage B&B just off
the village square.
q
Night 5: Wooler. We use a small family run
guesthouse on the high street in this pleasant market town.
This is a tourist board 4 star establishments with
well-appointed rooms with a rustic charm and lovely
furnishings. Laundry and drying facilities are
available.
q
Night 6: Lowick. This village is off the route, but
you will be collected from Fenwick, which is on the way. At
Lowick you will stay in a lovely Inn, 4 diamond grading, it
was originally built in the 17th Century. The pub still
retains a great deal of old charm and the original beams are
visible in the snug bar. The spacious dining room leads off
the bar and offers a wide range of home cooked food prepared
from as much local produce as available. Ensuite rooms.
q
Night 7: Lindisfarne (Holy Island). In the only
village on Holy Island, your guesthouse will make you more
than welcome.
Extension
accommodation:
q
Night 8: Bamburgh. Our hotel is a grade II listed
building overlooking the village green that is dominated by
the walls of Bamburgh Castle. Formerly a country inn, the
modernized hotel retains the atmosphere and charm of a
bygone era. Almost all rooms have en-suite facilities. TV
and tea-making facilities are standard.
q
Night
9: Near Craster.
A village famous for its smoked kipper, we spend our final
night in a good quality country house hotel.
|
Outline
Itinerary
q
Day 1: Arrive
Melrose. An opportunity to explore the town and visit the Abbey
church, a 12th century foundation that is now a magnificent ruin. Recent
discoveries at the site include what is thought to be the heart of
Robert the Bruce, buried in a lead casket. Dependent on your time of
arrival it may also be possible to visit Sir Walter Scott’s former
home at Abbotsford 3 miles away, using taxi or local bus service. If you
arrive early enough it is also possible to do the first part of the Day
2 walk over the Eildon Hills as far as Newtown St Boswells, returning to
Melrose by bus or taxi in the evening. Melrose to Newtown St Boswells 5
miles.
q
Day 2: Melrose to Ancrum 14miles. We start
with the longest day! Walk over the steep-sided Eildon Hills (402m and
404m), which provide panoramic views of the Tweed valley. We descend to
Newtown St Boswells and follow the banks of the Tweed. Just across the
River Tweed and accessible by a footbridge is Dryburgh Abbey, another
superb ruin and the site of Sir Walter Scott’s grave.
From St Boswells we continue along the riverbank footpath for
about 4 miles to Maxton, and then strike off along Dere Street (an
ancient Roman roadway) towards Harestanes, where we need to bear off the
route a bit to reach our accommodation at Ancrum.
q
Day 3: Ancrum to Morebattle 12 miles. We
need to return to Harestanes and then cross the River Teviot. At Jedfoot
bridge we join the old Roman Road of Dere Street for a few miles until
fairly near to the hamlet of Crailinghall. Next the trail passes the
tower of Cessford Castle, which was built in the 15C by the Ker clan and
abandoned in the 17thC. Then we reach the neat Borders village of
Morebattle for our overnight stay.
q
Day 4: Morebattle to Kirk Yetholm 6.5 miles.
Today is only a relatively short day, but has a steep ascent. From
Morebattle the route crosses the Kale water river before ascending
steeply to Wideopen Hill 369m where the views are literally wide open!
Shortly we descend to stroll alongside and then cross-attractive Bowmont
Water. We then come to our
next night’s stop at Kirk Yetholm, just at the northern end of the
Pennine Way, Britain’s first long distance trail.
q
Day 5: Kirk Yetholm to Wooler 13 miles. Today
we cross the border into England. The terrain becomes hillier, the
trail steeper and the views wider as we traverse the northern sector of
the Cheviot Hills within the Northumberland National Park, crossing the
beautiful College Valley, before descending to Wooler, a market town
since the 13th century.
q
Day 6: Wooler to Fenwick 12 miles
(Transfer to Lowick 3.5 miles by road) The route crosses the
rolling terrain of Westwood and Football Moors, passing St Cuthbert’s
cave, where the saint’s body was taken during the flight of the monks
from Lindisfarne in 875AD after a Viking raid. You then descend through
forests and agricultural land to reach Fenwick near the main road (A1).
There is a phone box here to enable you to phone the Inn where you are
staying tonight in order to transfer you to Lowick.
q
Day 7: Fenwick
to Holy Island 5.5 miles. In
the morning you will be transferred back to Fenwick, from where you
gingerly cross the main roads before taking the appropriately named
‘Fisher’s Back Road’ down to the causeway across the sands to
Lindisfarne. The causeway is covered by the tide for up to 5 hours in
every 12, so correct timing is essential. This should be preplanned when
you book your holiday (we can inform you of the timings). While
exploring the island you should visit the Priory ruins (12th to 16th
century), and between April and September, the 16th century
castle, which is filled with Flemish furniture and featured in the films
‘Macbeth’ and ‘Cul-de-Sac’ by Roman Polanski.
q
Day 8. Depart after breakfast. Ideally take
a taxi (not included) to Berwick Upon Tweed for national rail
connections.
Extension
q
Day 8: Holy Island to Bamburgh 13 miles The
next stop of the tour is back on the mainland at Bamburgh, in the
designated Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From
Lindisfarne you can travel part of the way with the baggage and then
walk from Belford to Bamburgh, or, wind and tide permitting, it may be
possible to go by boat instead. There is however no scheduled boat
service between Lindisfarne and Bamburgh. The Castle of Bamburgh looms
large on the coast and is very well preserved. Henry VI tried to rule
his disintegrating kingdom from here for some time.
q
Day 9: Bamburgh to Craster / Dunstan 12 miles.
Today you can either follow the coastal path past the
impressive ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, which got wrecked in the
English Civil War in the 1640s. You then head to the village of Dunstan
near to Craster, famous for its kippers (smoked Herrings). If you
are staying an extra day in Bamburgh or if you want a change from
walking you will have the opportunity for a boat trip from Seahouses to
the Farne Islands National Nature Reserve (price not included and
dependent on the weather and tides), a haven for seals and seabirds.
Then get a bus or taxi from Seahouses to Craster and walk to your hotel
at Dunstan.
q
Day 10: Depart:
Taxi to Berwick or Alnmouth Station (not included) and depart to London
via Newcastle, or Edinburgh via Berwick.
Included
Bed
and breakfast with ensuite facilities where available.
Luggage transfers from Inn to Inn.
Full route notes and map package.
|
