masterpiece, and our greatest gift to the world. And in their introduction, the authors take the optimistic view that a book celebrating the ideas that saved it must, to some extent, mean that it has been saved.


‘If anything, we should be trying to extend the Green Belt’


But the introductory essays by people as diverse as Kate Adie and Tony Robinson; Simon Jenkins and Max Hastings, prove that this is anything but the case, and that the need for eternal vigilance and vigorous defence is as strong as it ever was. Take Joan Bakewell’s strident take on litter, for example. She appeals for more education to teach children that it’s just wrong. “Litter is a blight we can defeat. And we must,” she says. And comedian Jo Brand is equally forthright about cutting the clutter of garish advertising which is strewn along our rural roads. TV wilderness guru Ray Mears


reckons that the provision of Green Belts around our cities was one of the most successful acts in the history of conservation. But he adds: “The moment you dig at it, you put a hole in the dyke, and you can’t put it back… If anything, we should be trying to extend the Green Belt.”


Others... New and revised editions of the


following books have also recently been published:-


WALKING THE COAST TO COAST PATH Terry Marsh | Cicerone, £16.95


WALKING BEN NEVIS AND GLEN COE Ronald Turnbull | Cicerone, £14.95


WALKING THE MONROS: VOL. 1 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND WESTERN HIGHLANDS and WALKING THE MONROS: VOL 2. NORTHERN HIGHLANDS AND THE


CAIRNGORMS Steve Kew | Cicerone, £14.95


WALKING THE SPEYSIDE WAY Alan Castle | Cicerone, £16.95


The St. Cuthbert’s Way S


David Taylor follows in the path of a northern saint


t. Cuthbert is one of the most important figures in the history of Christianity in Britain. The exact date and location of his birth is lost, though it’s probable that he was born in Dunbar at the mouth of the Firth of Forth to a reasonably well-to-do Anglo-Saxon family. What is known about the saint’s early life is that he joined the monastery


in Old Melrose in AD650 when aged about sixteen. St. Cuthbert spent most of his life in what is now the Borders region of Scotland and Northumberland, first at the monastery in Melrose and then later on the island of Lindisfarne. The St. Cuthbert’s Way walk starts in Melrose and ends sixty-two miles later on Lindisfarne, and is generally walked over four days. Along the way, the route passes through charming border towns and villages, past many interesting historical sites and across much spectacular landscape. Leaving Melrose means immediately confronting the Eildon Hills. The


three peaks of the Eildons dominate the southern views from the town and are the first of many steep climbs that must be faced before the end of the walk. From the Eildons the walk passes through several border villages before reaching the River Tweed, which is crossed at Mertoun Bridge. The walk continues along the Tweed to the village of Maxton. From the village the path then follows Dere Street, the route of an old Roman road that eventually led to York, and on to Harestanes. From Harestanes the walk leads to the foothills of the Cheviot Hills. On the way, the route passes Cessford Castle. Although the castle is now unsafe to enter, it’s still an impressively grand structure.


On this stretch the curious can visit St. Cuthbert’s Cave...


Wideopen Hill has the distinction of being the highest peak on the walk (368m) as well as being the half way point of the walk. This milestone is generally reached on the second day and is a welcome marker on the way to the village of Kirk Yetholm, where most walkers spend the night. Kirk Yetholm is the last stopping place in Scotland. About half an hour from the village, the walker reaches England, marked by a slightly disappointing border fence. Hethpool is the first English milestone. The village lies at the head of the


College Valley, the most northerly in the Cheviot Hills. The walk then passes Yeavering Bell hill, the site of a well-preserved Iron Age fort. The third night is usually spend in the town of Wooler. In 1107, the


first Baron of Wooler noted that Wooler was ‘situated in an ill-cultivated country under the influence of vast mountains, from whence it is subject to impetuous rains’. The town is far more cheery than that rather grudging description would suggest. From Wooler, the St. Cuthbert’s Way crosses Weetwood Moor before


dropping down into the River Till valley. On this stretch the curious can visit St. Cuthbert’s Cave, where Cuthbert’s body was allegedly kept safe during the 9th century when Vikings raided the coast of Northumberland. Completing the walk involves crossing over to Lindisfarne. Twice a day at low tide the sea retreats and the island is joined to the mainland by a flat plain of sand and mud, and since 1954, a tarmac road. Although the road is the official route of the St. Cuthbert’s Way there is an older marked crossing that was the original path for pilgrims who wished to visit the holy sites of the island. Known as the Pilgrim’s Way for that reason, a line a tall staves marks the route across to the island. However one reaches Lindisfarne, there is a sense of achievement in completing the St. Cuthbert’s Way. Not as long as the Pennine Way nor as dramatic as the West Highland Way, it is a walk of small pleasures. And who could fail to be moved by the idea of following in the footsteps of a saint who shaped the history of Northumberland and of English Christianity?


spring 2017 | Outdoor focus 5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16