Winter walks; ancient art; family adventures

Walking is such a great way to get the family outdoors, and Blawearie at Old Bewick Moor has something for everyone from ancient rock art and Bronze Age cairns to stunning scenery, bouldering crags, WWII history and a pillbox, a ruined homestead, tree swings and hillfort earthworks.

After Caroline’s year of cancer treatment we have a lot of outdoor time to make up. She is raring to go so we didn’t even need the excuse of Christmas over-indulgence to get outside on a frosty Boxing Day morning!

Child in blue coat, wellies and black hat crossing stepping stones over stream on moorland

‘Operation re-energise’

In early December Caroline had her final (hopefully) operation under general anaesthetic, to remove the central Hickman line which was inserted in her jugular in March. Her energy and walking capacity is fast returning.

The discovery of new places plays a huge part in my attraction to countryside exploration, especially when there are mini-adventures to immerse our wild kids in along the way.

We’ve found an absolute gem of a wild outdoor playground on Northumberland’s stunning Blawearie moor, at Old Bewick.

Old Bewick Moor

Our neighbours told us about this walk and we met them at the tiny hamlet of Old Bewick, Northumberland, parking on the road outside a farm (OS Grid Ref NU 067215 lat/long 55° 29′ 15″N, 001° 53′ 45″W) to take the public footpath onto the moor.

Snow on the distant Cheviots caused great excitement! The soft, snow-capped vista made up for the mere sprinkling on the moor itself, although there was more than enough to end up with ice down my back during snowball fights in the heather..!

Distant snow capped hills behind green fields, dry stone wall and bare winter trees in foreground
Cheviot view from the parking spot at Old Bewick

The footpath follows a gently rising farm track to the side of Bewick Hill, through two or three gates onto the high moor which is mainly open access land. Peppermint-cool air, sunshine and cloudless skies made for a near-perfect wintry experience.

My usual joy at being anywhere in the great wide open is doubled at the moment by the wonder of seeing Caroline alive, energetic and grasping life at every opportunity. Just looking at her breaks me into a heart-bursting grin.

Group of adult and child walkers hiking up a muddy track with green fields and snow capped hills in distance
Gentle ascent from Old Bewick with the Cheviots behind
Woman with walking poles and child in blue coat walking on muddy track with huge moorland landscape behind
The high moor
Two men walking along muddy track with girl jumping in ice puddles on moor with wide vista and ruined house in background

Cat-ice on the puddles

Breaching the moorland plateau is akin to touching the edge of another dimension without quite being aware of it. The landscape flattens to treeless, dessicated heather interspersed, on our visit, with a dusting of crushed-ice-like snow. The track was sometimes muddy, sometimes cat-ice which Caroline (and the dogs) delighted in cracking.

Black dog sitting next to ginger dog in snowy heather moorland
Black dog sitting on boulder in snowy moorland next to girl in blue jacket and black hat with one foot on same boulder

A circular cairn comes into view to the left of the path and ahead stands the ruin of an old shepherd’s dwelling. Built on a craggy outcrop within a splinter of trees it stands misplaced in the surrounding flatness.

Muddy track over moorland with stone cairn to left and ruined house in trees and crags on right

Cairn to the left

Ginger dog sitting in light snow in front of large crag with moor and hills behind

I should say here that you could wander the Old Bewick moor area for hours, and miles, so I haven’t included a specific route. Use OS Explorer Map (332) Alnwick and Amble

Small black dog in front of boulder on rocky outcrop with bare trees behind

Blawearie shepherd’s house

Blawearie is a ruined homestead requisitioned from the Rogerson family during WWII after which the owners chose not to return and the house fell into disrepair. It is an enchanted spot, a natural children’s playground with walls, trees and crags to climb, hiding places galore, ancient (or is it?!) rock art and even rope swings in a tree.

As it is now, I could stay at Blawearie for days on end to immerse in the mysterious atmosphere and it’s hidden wild treasures, natural, spiritual (and otherworldly?!)

Two gable-end stone walls of ruined house in triangular shape against skyline with bare trees to right
Ruined house on skyline of hill with black dog in front, trees to left and children sitting on ruined wall barely visible
Ruined building viewed from rocky crag in foreground with bare trees around and moor in background

The name Blawearie, evocative in itself, may mean ‘Tired of the Wind.’ This captivating description was wholly inappropriate in the mid-winter stillness of our visit. It requires only a minor twist of imagination to conjure what must have been the soul-sapping reality of family life during high wind or deep winter in the years before the homestead became the exposed ruin it currently is. The Rogerson children, whose names are noted in the former Old Bewick school log book (according to Tony Hammond’s account here), would have tramped up and down this hill on a daily basis whatever the weather. Hardy Northerners for sure!

Woman in jeans, wellies and santa hat with girl in blue coat both on rope swings on a tree on open moorland

 

Child in blue coat standing on broken wall of ruined stone cottage with bare tree behind, light snow on ground and

Child in blue jacket scrambling in rocky crags with light snow on ground

Woman and child on rope swings hanging from a bare tree with dog and man on lightly snowy moorland

We bumped into the lovely family who had installed the rope swings, learning from them the story of a local farmer who allegedly ‘stole’ the hearth stone from the homestead ruins, resulting in so much bad luck that he returned it to Blawearie quick smart! Enchanted indeed.

Bronze Age cairn, Blawearie

The 3,000 year old cairn with five burial cists inside a circular rock wall lies a few yards of off-roading from the main track. Archeological excavations have unearthed everything from spent WWII bullets to flint knives, an amber pendant, shale and jet beads, a food vessel and a blue melon bead, all of which now reside in the British Museum.

(Cists are stone slabbed chambers used for containing burials, cremations, and sometimes grave goods)

Circular ring of stones 3 or 4 blocks tall forming prehistoric burial cairn
Four ancient stones forming rectangular burial cist in mossy ground

Ancient rock art, Bewick Hill

Approaching Blawearie from a different path to the right of the hamlet, a steep, and I mean steep, scramble up the north face of Bewick Hill leads to the nerve-wrackingly named Hanging Crag. It looks like it could roll off the cliff at any point but given the name I assume it has been like this for some time.

Child on hillside sitting on large boulder under with huge overhanging rock with trees and blue sky in background
View from large rock overlooking steep hill with trees on slope
Steep hillside with pine tree silhouettes on ridge top and Hanging Crag rock in centre, aircraft trail in the sky

More cairns – there are up to 20 within a half mile radius of Blawearie – and the outline of a smaller homestead can be seen on this summit as well as the impressive earthworks of two ancient hill forts. Full of deep, mossy heather the earthworks are perfect for picnicking.

Look out for an incongruous WWII pill-box, great for climbing on too.

Child in blue coat standing and child in pink coat rolling on grassy roof of WWII pillbox with hills in background
Woman and two girls in winter gear sitting in heather with a picnic
Heather-covered earthworks of ancient hillfort on moorland plateau under blue sky

Beyond the summit, a little awkward to find, are some huge chunks of rock smothered in ancient carvings and cup holes. As enigmatic as all rock art, one can only imagine the purpose and significance of these ancient messages.

[What3words started after I wrote this so I’ll pop them on here next time we visit]

Who could ask for more on an outdoor day with the kids?

Tired of the wind on Old Bewick Moor? Not us.

Ancient spiral carving in grey rock with lichen
Ancient cup hole and carvings in grey rock
Large grey rock with multiple ancient spiral and circular carvings
Grey rock in heathland with cup mark carvings
Large rectangular rock with several round carvings

Check out more Northumberland rock art on another family-friendly walk, chasing waterfalls.


Wild wishes to you all for many magical family walks to the moors and beyond!

Two children jumping over grassy ditch with blue sky in background
Child in red jacket and child in blue jacket sitting on large rock looking at moorland view

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More family walks

If your kids struggle to stay motivated when walking, look at the ideas in how to make walking with kids wonderful.

And if you need inspiration yourself, why not read how to become the best outdoor parent in the world!

For more Northumberland walks read here or try a New Year’s walk to the standing stones at Duddo, the Stonehenge of the North!

Woman, two children and dog at sunset standing on metal gate with hill view behind

Adult and two children silhouetted against sunset

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For more on Caroline’s cancer journey read Caroline’s Rainbow

Wide landscape at sunset with puddles on winding downhill track with hills, silhouetted trees to left and misty lowland in distance

Homeward bound