Corbridge and Aydon Castle - Northumberland County Council

Walking around Hadrian’s Wall
N
Stamfordham
Corbridge and
Aydon Castle
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Chollerford
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Heddon-onthe-Wall
51/2 miles/9km
Corbridge
Hexham
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Line of Hadrian’s Wall
Location of walk
© Crown Copyright. All rights reserved.
Northumberland County Council LA076775/2001
This 51/2 mile/9km walk links the
ancient town of Corbridge and
the medieval castle at Aydon.
Away from the town, most of the
route is along quiet lanes and
public paths. The woodland
sections can be muddy in winter,
and there are some short, steep
slopes.
The walk can be followed in
either direction and can be
started at several points. You
should allow 3-31/2 hours to
complete the route.
Corbridge has regular bus and
train services, including the
Hadrian’s Wall Bus during the
summer months.
Similar Mesolithic, or Middle
Stone Age, sites have been
found elsewhere around
Corbridge, suggesting a
concentration of prehistoric
activity in this part of the
Tyne Valley.
Roads as we know them today
did not exist in Britain before the
Roman occupation. The
prehistoric inhabitants of the
Tyne Valley would have used a
network of tracks and “drift
roads” to move themselves and
their livestock from place to
place, carrying their goods on
pack animals.
Picture: Steve Ilston
Our Stone Age ancestors were
living and hunting in the Tyne
Valley thousands of years before
the Romans arrived in the North
of England.
Aydon Castle
Aydon Castle is a fine example
of a 13th century manor house.
Originally it was undefended,
but increasing tension along
the Scottish Border soon led
to fortification.
Despite this, Aydon Castle was
pillaged and burnt by Scottish
raiders in 1315.
Picture: Steve Ilston
Today the castle is in the care of
English Heritage.
Front cover: Aydon Castle – Graeme Peacock
For information about bus
services, including the
Hadrian’s Wall BusTraveline
Tel: 0870 608 2608
www.traveline.org.uk
Hadrian’s Wall
Information Line
Tel: 01434 322002
www.hadrians-wall.org
Hadrian’s Wall Path
National Trail
For more information visit
www.nationaltrail.co.uk/
hadrianswall
2,000 Years of Road
Building
Prehistoric Tynedale
When the A69 trunk road
was being constructed in 1973,
a Mesolithic flint-working site
was uncovered at Gallow Hill,
north east of Corbridge.
Contact details:
For details of opening times,
phone 01434 632450.
The Romans constructed hard
roads, such as Dere Street and
Stanegate, which made the use
of wheeled transport much
easier. But after the Romans left
Britain their roads fell into
disrepair, and packhorses once
more became an important
means of transport.
It wasn’t until the 18th and 19th
centuries that road building
began again in earnest. In 1725,
for example, the Aydon road was
extended north east to join the
Military Road and became part
of the main turnpike route
between Newcastle and
Corbridge.
Many of our modern roads still
follow the routes of the ancient
paths and tracks.
Obstructions
If a path is blocked by
vegetation such as nettles
or brambles it should be
reported to the County
Council who will arrange
for it to be cleared.
Overhanging branches and
trees fallen across a path are
the responsibility of the
landowner, but often the
Council will clear any material
which is directly obstructing
the right of way.
The landowner should ensure
that all gates and stiles are
usable and safe. Barbed wire
across a stile or a padlock on
a gate are classed as
obstructions and should be
reported to the Council.
You are entitled to remove as
much of the blockage as is
necessary to continue along
the path, but it is not
permissible to cut through
wire or break down a barrier.
Corbridge and Aydon Castle 51/2 miles, 9km Suggested starting point Corbridge or Aydon Castle
The area of this walk is covered by
Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure
Sheet 43 (Hadrian’s Wall) and Explorer
Sheet 316 (Newcastle upon Tyne).
Scale of map
Kilometres
Miles
1
2
1
N
A
E
W
S
7
Aydon
Castle
These impressive 19th century lime kilns served the limestone
quarries around Kiln House, on the other side of the road.
The limestone was burnt in the kilns and the residue used to
improve acid soils and to produce lime-wash for buildings.
The limestone beds around Thornbrough have also been mined
for lead.
Trials driven in the 19th century found little lead-bearing ore,
but they broke into much older workings which might possibly
have dated from the Roman period.
B
In the Middle Ages, Gallow Hill
may have been a place of
execution, and the discovery
in 1892 of a shallow grave
containing several bodies
seems to support this.
But in many place-names
the word “gallow” refers
not to gibbets but to the
Galloway ponies which
were widely used as
A69
packhorses. In this
context, a name like
Gallowgate, for example,
Pottery
could indicate an ancient
Kilns
track once used by trains
of packhorses.
Picture: Roy Deane
Aydon
5
6
Thornbrough Lime Kilns
4
Gallow
Hill
B
C
8
Thornbrough
Kiln House
Thornbrough
Limekilns
Take care!
fast traffic
A
© Crown Copyright. All rights reserved.
Northumberland County Council LA076775/2001
Corbridge
9
Key to map
Thornbrough
Church
1
✣
2
3
To
Railway
Station
1
A
Picture: Steve Ilston
Illustration: Andrea Roberts
C
Market Place, Corbridge
Corbridge Pottery Kilns
This bed of Carboniferous sandstone
was exposed when the A69 trunk road
was constructed in the 1970s.
These rocks were formed about 300
million years ago in a river delta, and
are part of the sequence of limestone,
shale, sandstone and coal which is
found throughout Tynedale.
The same beds were quarried for
building stone a short distance to
the west.
x2
x2
150
100
60
20
0
3
2
4
5
6
8
1
9
1
7
Corbridge
Kilometres 1
Miles
Thornbrough
2
1
3
Aydon
4
2
5
3
Aydon Castle
6
7
4
Gallow Hill
8
5
Key to gradient profile
Gate
Kissing gate
Step stile
Ladder stile
Signpost
Bridge
Seat
Corbridge and Aydon Castle – Gradient profile – slopes, structures and path surface.
Metres
200
✣
Main route
Other rights of way
Viewpoint
Slope
Access to road
Point of interest
Parking
Toilets
Tourist information
Telephone
Bus stop
Refreshments/Pub
Church
Corbridge
9
10
6
Path surface
Grass
Firm/even ground
Rough/uneven ground
Soft ground