Walk 3 – Three/four miles.
- Leave the Old Playground, crossing Church Lane, down the path and over the Packhorse Bridge keeping the church on your left.
- Continue to the main road, crossing by the Wellington Inn, head left then first right, following the road to the Station and Station Cafe.
- Cross the railway by the footbridge, then proceed under the bridge to the far end of the platform and enter the wood via a kissing gate.
- Follow the permissive path down to the river where it joins the public footpath and turn left heading upstream alongside the river.
- Continue to follow the path through the wood, crossing two small wooden bridges, eventually leaving the wood behind in favour of more open ground.
- The path heads slightly left now to a fence which marks the gravel pit boundary. Continue ahead again, keeping the fence to your left.
- After crossing a dilapidated dry stone wall, the path becomes a grassy track. Continue ahead ignoring gates and paths off to either side.
- Follow the path until the wood opens up to give an excellent view west up the river valley towards Corbridge. This is where the path used to climb up Farnley Scar but it is currently closed following significant flood and erosion damage around the time of Storm Desmond in 2015. After admiring the view and the force of nature return the way you came to point 4 and continue back to the village.
Extension 1: Please do not try to do this walk after heavy rain or when the water levels are high.
Instead of walking up to the railway station, continue along the bank of the river until it joins the mouth of the Riding Burn. Follow this round right then left to the stepping stones. Cross these taking care not to slip (do not attempt to cross if the water in the Burn is high or in spate). Up the steps, then follow the path back to the river and round right to the open section of river bank (a good position to watch river life). Then follow the track steeply up hill to the Broomhaugh ‘Street’. Along this then turn right onto the A695. At the Wellingon Inn follow the path back to the Old Playground.
Extension 2:
Instead of turning right at the A695, cross ahead and follow the narrow road over the railway bridge to a T-junction. Turn left and at the end turn right and follow the path steeply uphill until the path passes through a kissing gate. Continue up the field with the Wentworth Grange Nursing Home on your right. Turn right at the top of the grounds to join the path across the field. Go through another kissing gate (Point 2, Walk 2). Follow the path steeply down to Whiteside, turn right then left into the Old Playground.
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