Cheviots Walks
Dunmoor Hill & Hedgehope Hill
Date: 6th August 2013
Distance: 9.4 miles
Ascent: 2385 feet
Time: 6 hours
With: On my own
Start Grid Ref: NT976162
Walk Summary:
A fine expedition from the Breamish Valley on to Hedgehope Hill via Cunyan Crags and Dunmoor Hill returning via Great Standrop and the spectacular waterfall of Linhope Spout.
Route Summary: Hartside - Greensidehill - Cunyan Crags - Dunmoor Hill - Hedgehope Hill - Little Standrop - Great Standrop - Linhope Spout - Linhope - Hartside
Photos: Click on the photos below to enlarge.
Video:
Walk Detail: Having enjoyed my first drive down the scenic Breamish Valley I parked the car at the end of the public road, just before the house at Hartside, before walking a short way back along the road to Greensidehill.
Shortly afterward I had to do a slight re-routing of the route to avoid some cows and crossed Willow Burn by the sheepfold rather than following the bridleway shown on the map. After crossing a large grassy area I picked up a path climbing up through the bracken to Cunyan Crags.
A collection of rocky outcrops Cunyan Crags provided a number of fantastic vistas of the nearby hills and out towards the Northumbrian coast. After spending some time exploring the crags I followed a fence on to the top of Dunmoor Hill. The summit itself was set some way back from the fence and consisted of a very small outcrop of rocks.
The next hill on the day's itinerary was Hedgehope Hill, the second highest summit in the Cheviots. It is almost impossible to reach without a steep final climb and this was the case on this walk too. In addition I also had to carefully make my way across some juicy bog on the col with Dunmoor Hill.
The summit of Hedgehope Hill provides some of the best views in the Cheviots. Unfortunately on this occasion it had also been invaded by wasps who were all over the summit cairn. Leaving the summit to the wasps I ate my lunch by a cairn just to the north which had a fantastic prospect of the Harthope Valley.
Following lunch I followed a thin path down on to Standrop Rigg visiting the small outcrop of Little Standrop and the much more prominent twin outcrops of Great Standrop. By this time the blue skies of the morning had been replaced by grey cloudy skies and the temperature had dropped noticeably. The views from Great Standrop were still impressive, especially over High Cantle towards Cushat Law.
A largely pathless descent from Great Standrop brought me to the track that runs above Linhope Burn. From there I accessed the popular path leading to Linhope Spout. A spectacular waterfall and popular picnic spot on my visit it was also the scene of several young men leaping off the surrounding rocks into the deep pool at the foot of the waterfall. It looked extremely risky and not something I would recommend doing.
This was a great walk, every time I visit the Cheviot hills I fall in love with them even more.
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