The Valley of the Upper Coquet, Northumberland

This Beautiful River Flows Through the History of England

Aug 28, 2009 Anthony Toole

Rising in the soggy bleakness of the Cheviot Hills, the River Coquet meanders through geological time zones and human history, to reach the North Sea at Amble.

Shortly before broadening into its estuary, the river curves around a long loop that encloses the village of Warkworth and its Norman Castle. Upstream, it wanders over coastal plains, through Felton and beneath two major roads linking Newcastle to Scotland. Near a double loop, at the former site of Morwick Mill, it washes the base of a small sandstone crag, the Jack Rock, where modern rock climbers inch their way past cup-and-ring markings, engraved by Neolithic inhabitants of the area, 5000 years ago.

Rothbury and the Simonside Hills

Continuing upriver, one passes tiny hamlets and farmsteads before reaching the small, bustling town of Rothbury, sheltering beneath the eastern edge of the Cheviot Hills.

The northern slopes above Rothbury are clothed by the woods of Cragside House, which peers over the trees and across the valley. To the south are the Simonside Hills, the distinctive outlines of which can be discerned from almost anywhere in the county, and from as far south as County Durham.

These hills, now a favourite venue for hill walkers and rock climbers, held great religious significance for the ancient peoples. At Lordenshaws, where the road from Great Tosson crosses the shoulder of Simonside, is one of the finest examples of Neolithic rock art in Northumberland. On a rise above this are a Bronze Age burial site and an Iron Age earthwork, the latter dating from around 350 BC.

At Great Tosson is the ruin of the Tosson Tower, built 600 years ago as a defense against marauding reivers. A few hundred metres from this is one of the best preserved 19th century limekilns in the county.

Lady’s Well at Holystone

West of Rothbury, the valley opens out for a few miles, where the river flows past Caistron Lake, a trout fishery and nature reserve, occupying the hollow created from a former gravel quarry. It closes in again at Holystone, a tiny hamlet that grew up around a mediaeval Benedictine convent. To the north of the hamlet is Lady’s Well, a natural spring and one-time place of pilgrimage, associated with early Celtic saints, Ninian and Mungo. On Easter Sunday, 627AD, Bishop Paulinus is said to have baptised 2000 converts here.

Harbottle Castle and the Drake Stone

At Harbottle, the hills again become dominant. On a partly man-made hill above the village, is the ruin of Harbottle Castle. Built in 1160, by Henry II and the Bishop of Durham, its historic importance in in the fact that the grandmother of James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England, was born there in 1515.

The most notable feature above Harbottle is the Drake Stone, a 2030-ton erratic sandstone boulder that crowns the hill to the west. This was carried here from a nearby crag, by a glacier during the last Ice Age. A short rock climb up the side of this brings one to the top of the stone, which is carved with names dating back to the early 19th century.

Geology of the Coquet Gorge

Moving upriver again, one comes to Alwinton, beyond which lies the Coquet Gorge, where the geology of Northumberland is laid bare. In the gorge itself, are the numerous layers of the cementstones, made up of shales, sandstones, chalk and limestone that were deposited from shallow seas 340 million years ago. To the south are the more recent fell sandstones, coarse-grained rocks, laid down in the delta of a vast river system that flowed from a North Atlantic landmass. And to the north are Northumberland’s oldest rocks, the Cheviot volcanics, formed more than 380 million years ago.

The valley now narrows, as it snakes around ridges that separate tributaries flowing down from the watershed that marks the Scottish Border. The southern roadside is the boundary of the Otterburn Ranges, used by the Ministry of Defence for the training of soldiers.

Chew Green Roman Fort

At the western limit of the valley, less than a mile from the source of the Coquet, the public road ends at a small car park. On the moorland beyond, and only a short walk from the car park, is the site of Chew Green Roman fort. Only the grassed-over outline is discernible, yet in its time, it was probably comparable in size to Housesteads on Hadrian’s Wall. It guarded the important Dere Street, which ran past it from York to the Firth of Forth.

The Otterburn Ranges

The road beyond continues over Ministry of Defence land. If the army is carrying out manoevres, this is indicated by the presence of a large red flag, and the road is closed to the public. If, however, the flag is not flying, visitors are allowed to drive over the range to Otterburn. As one might expect, this is one of the bleakest, loneliest regions of Northumberland, but undeniably also one of the most beautiful.

The copyright of the article The Valley of the Upper Coquet, Northumberland in U.K./Ireland Travel is owned by Anthony Toole. Permission to republish The Valley of the Upper Coquet, Northumberland in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Upper Coquet Valley from Chew Green	Upper Coquet and Cheviot Hills	Upper Coquet Valley
Cup and Ring Marked Rock, Lordenshaws	Harbottle Hills and Drake Stone