Haltwhistle Walking Festival "came of age" with the start of the 18th festival last Saturday 8th Ocotber. The weather was dull, overcast, drizzly, misty and miserable, nevertheless the first 25 walkers gathered at 8.30a.m. in Haltwhistle Market Place for a coach journey to Bewcastle.
Spirits were high as old friends greeted each other and new walkers to the festivalwere welcomed. This particular walk started at Bewcastle Church, with its famous 7th century cross, and then followed a route through farmland and forestry roads before climbing over tussocky moorland to Christianbury Crags. These crags consist of small tors of sandstone, eroded over the centuries into a variety of fascinating shapes. It is here that farmers used to collect strickle, small quantities of sand that lie between the rocks which they used to sharpen scythes and other blades.
On a good day the view from the crags is spectacular; on Saturday it was shrouded in mist. The walkers could just make out the line of the Galwegian fosse, all that remains of a long ancient ditch, whose original purpose is unknown. This is a wild and mysterious area, in the heart of the Debatable Lands and, if a band of reivers had appeared out of the mist, the walkers would not have been surprised!
The shorter walk on Saturday was "The Best of Haltwhistle". The 7 people on this walk enjoyed the town's coffee morning before leaving for a 6 mile walk which included Haltwhistle Burn, Cawfields Quarry and the Alston Arches.
On Sunday the weather was continued to be poor, nevertheless there were still 25 on the 14 mile walk from Bewcastle to Haltwhistle via Birdoswald. Good camaraderie is always generated when people help each other over swollen streams and through thick boggy areas!! Most of the walkers had survived the previous day's long walk and returned for more of the same. The weather improved briefly and there was no rain at lunchtime. From Birdoswald Roman Fort the route was along Hadrian's Wall Trail to Greenhead and then across fields and roads to Haltwhistle.
The shorter walk on Sunday was "Lord Carlisle's Railway". This 7 mile circular route from Hallbankgate followed the line of the original rail track to Forest Head and on to Tindale via disused quarries, limekilns and wagon ways. Walkers visited the Roachburn pit, site of the 1909 disaster, before returning to Hallbankgate and a visit Kirkhouse where the former major railway workshops are now farm buildings. Walks exploring the industrial past of the area are always very popular and 27 took part on this occasion.
The festival organisers are delighted to report that bookings at the beginning of the Festival had topped 400, an increase on last autumn. Two walks have been on offer every day and the festival continues until Sunday October 16th. Check the website www.haltwhistlefestival.org or phone 01434 322025 if you would like to join a walk this weekend.
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See More:http://walkingfestivals.blogspot.com/2011/01/haltwhistle-wlaking-festival.html
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