Clennell Street and River Coquet Circular from Alwinton

Park in Alwinton. As you enter the village there is some free parking opposite the Rose and Thistle, just before the road bends to the left. If this is full there is a National Trust car park in the village.

(S/E) From the parking opposite the Rose and Thistle. Take the bridge over the stream and turn left to follow the farm track which is part of Clennell Street. This leads uphill, through a gate and around the side of Castle Hills ancient hill fort. Go through another gate and follow the track up to where the path splits, with the right hand path heading off through a gate and into a young plantation.

(1) Keep on the left hand split. Walk upwards following the track where further iron age settlements would have be sited to the left. Descend to Cross Dyke and the walk upwards to walk behind a further iron age settlement site. (In April 2025 this part of the track had large piles of logs from forestry operations stacked beside the track.) Follow the track to a gate and muddy area from the forestry operations.

(2) The path splits at the gate. Go through and follow the path gently uphill, the forest to your right, marked on the OS map, has been largely cleared but you will clearly see the forest road above Kidlandlee Dean clearly. Keep following the grassy track to some wooden sheep pens. Walk with these on your left and then walk around so you follow the track with a fence on your left, this will lead to a gate.

(3) Go through the gate and keep following the track to pass through a second gate, next to a shed, and on to a third gate leading into the forest. Go through and follow the path between the fir trees up to a junction with a stoney forest track.

(4) At the junction with the track turn left and follow this until it exits the forest. Follow the track to marker post on the left and a narrow path.

(5) At the post turn left and follow the narrow path with a fence on your right, this leads to an obvious wooden gate, go through and follow the path to a second gate and stile.

(6) Go through the gate and follow the obvious green grassy track gently uphill to some great views of the surrounding hills. Then continue following the track down hill, passing a junction with a track on the left. The track becomes more defined as it heads downhill passing Copper Snout where there were two metal star shaped markers in 2025. Keep descending to a gate below Saugh Rigg.

(7) Go through the gate and head downhill to Shillmoor where the track makes an 'S' bend; just before it heads towards the farm look out for a marker post.

(8) At the post turn back on yourself and follow the lower path with the River Coquet below and on your right. Go through a gate and over a footbridge, keep following the path and cross tracks which lead down to the river, to arrive at a gate leading into a young plantation. (The young trees hide the path shown on the OS map so follow these directions.) Go through the gate and then cross the stream and up to a second gate. Go through this and follow the path to a metal gate.

(9) At this point there are two alternative finishes to the walk. The one described involves fording the river near the end, a dry alternative is provided in practical information.

After the metal gate turn right and follow the fence it will lead to a stile on the right where the path shown on the OS map leads through the young plantation but the planting of the trees has obscured the path. You can now pick up the path on your side of the fence; it leads leftwards to contour below the steep fellside above the river and towards Linbriggs. Below and on your right is the River Coquet and on the far side the site of a medieval village. (It is hidden beneath the grass but if you ever have time to park on the roadside and walk down you can make out the shape of some of the buildings which were once there.) Take care walking this section as the hillside is steep with some rocky sections below and the path is narrow. You will arrive at a section where you can see the bridge and there is a short wooden fence above a rocky outcrop.

(10) Here the path splits. Take the right hand, lower, path and follow next to the wooden fence to descend to a wooden stile in the corner of the field which leads onto the road next to Linbriggs farm. Walk along the road to a wooden finger post.

(11) At the post turn back on yourself and take the track to cross two bridges and up to Linshiels farm. It looks like you are going to enter the farmyard but look out a stile in the corner.

(12) Cross the stile and walk with the wall and then fence on your left until you can veer away and head for an obvious ladder stile. Go over this and down to a gate and stile.

(13) This next section needs care as the ground is muddy and broken and the path is not obvious. We followed a small path across the muddy section and then uphill through a young plantation, eventually with a fence on the left. It joined the path at the top just before a wooden gate which lifts and slides to the right. (If you are more careful than us you might pick up the path shown on the OS map, a good bet is to walk up to the MOD sign from the gate, you might pick it up here.)

(14) Go through the gate or over the stile and the follow the path in the field on the left with the boundary fence on your right. It will cross into a second field and you will now have the fence on your left. Walk downhill (marker posts) to the stone barns at Barrow. Walk between the barns and go through a gate. Turn left and walk to a smaller gate leading to the river bank. Go through.

In April 2025 the path from Barrow, Angryhaugh and Alwinton Bridge was closed; this option was not available so we had to ford the river. Note the path is scheduled to re-open at the end of October 2025 check here https://publicnoticeportal.uk/notice/traffic-and-roads/6629d3ecc9a59b67246b71cb as once the path reopens you have a second dry alternative.

From the gate onto the river bank walk eastwards (with the river on your left) and look out for a shallow place to ford. It can be done at the place marked on the OS map and across to Barrow Mill, where you can walk along the road back to Alwinton.

We walked further along the river bank to section where there is a narrow wood on the far side. Here there is a natural, 'gravel bar' across the river,  and the water is shallow. In summer you may get across wearing your boots but if it is deeper you might want to take them off to keep them dry. It is not far but take care.

Cross the river and walk towards the corner of the wood to pick up a path. Turn left and follow it into a field where you will then see a gate in the far corner. Walk across to the gate and pass through, onto the road. Turn right and walk through the village and back to your car. (S/E) 

Alternative, dry, finish from (9)

After the metal gate take the obvious green path that slants up the hillside above you, this Pass Peth on the OS map. From the top, follow the track down to the road and walk along the road back to Alwinton.

The latter part of this walk borders the MOD Otterburn Range. Please adhere to the warning notices and do not stray onto the training ranges.

Some of this walk is across open moorland and is exposed to the wind. Wear appropriate clothing and take a windproof/waterproof just in case.

You will need to wear boots for this walk. Some ground is boggy underfoot, even after a dry spell, some areas are rocky and uneven.

Take a small towel to dry your feet if you are going to wade bear foot.

Northumberland is an unspoiled part of the country and it has many ancient monuments, hill forts and iron age settlements. in addition to passing the hill fort at Castle Hills when you walk towards Cross Dyke, if you look to the right, you will see the site of the hill fort at the end of Clennell Hill.

Clennell Street was a trading route between Morpeth and Kelso, it is now popular with mountain bikers and walkers.

The Rose and Thistle in Alwinton serves refreshments after your walk.

Rothbury is not too far away and as a small town it has all local amenities.