Byrness Church, Catcleugh and the Three Kings

Last weekend I gave my coastal adventures a break, and headed instead for the lands beyond Otterburn on the road to Carter Bar. We had initially considered Kielder for our day trip, but decided in the end to go for Byrness and its environs.

The last time I'd been up that way was ages ago. I thought I remembered there being a little car park next to Byrness Church, but there wasn't; so we instead pulled onto the grass verge as best we could and headed into Redesdale Forest. The idea was to follow the Pennine Way south along the River Rede, angle off to have a gander at Hindhope Linn, loop round the forest tracks for a few miles, then call in at the Three Kings Stone Circle on the way back.

Now I was, as usual, the walk leader, famed, as I am, for my wrong turns, dead ends and accidentally extended excursions into the wilds. And so it proved again. As per usual I blamed my out-of-date map, but there was another 'extenuating circumstance': I could not believe the amount of damage to the forest following on from last winter's storms. Acres and acres of flattened timber, blocking paths and tracks and blighting the landscape for miles around. Forestry workers had cleared a great deal of the debris in order that rights of way (esp. the Pennine Way itself) could be negotiated, but due to my regular off-piste wanderings we found ourselves scrambling 'aal ower the shop' over this, that and the other, adding a good hour or two to the adventure.

Storm damage

Hindhope Linn. Barely worth the effort, really.

Anyway, we eventually got to see Hindhope Linn (one-way dead-end, as it turned out), then circled around without incident to the Three King's Stone Circle (this latter landmark was a bit tricky to find amidst the wreckage of a felled forest). Then I called in at the aforementioned Byrness Church to soak in some of the backstory to the dramatic and noteworthy construction of nearby Catcleugh Reservoir (for more info, see my old blog post here).

Three Kings Stone Circle

Byrness St.Francis'

Internal shots below, including the Catcleugh Reservoir commemorative window and plaque to those killed during construction

Just to top off the day, I directed the party a few miles up the road (past the reservoir) to call in at the famous border crossing point at Carter Bar. As the chilly north-easterly lashed our tired bodies, we queued patiently at the refreshments van for a few bits and bobs, then directed our car homeward. An interesting day.

If you want to know a little bit about the famous skirmish of 1575 near Carter Bar, see here.