John Martin Heritage Trail (South)

This part of the John Martin Heritage Trail - on the south side of the River South Tyne - is by far the longest. It involves some very steep trail sections, lots of mud, and a bit of road walking. It's a mix of farmland and woodland with the latter providing plenty of shelter. On offer is the dramatic site of a ruined medieval pele tower overlooking the steep, wooded gorge of the River Allen, a peaceful tarn, another formerly ruined tower, rebranded as Langley Castle - now a hotel - plus huge panoramas up and down the Tyne Valley. All of this would have been equally familiar to the early c19th artist John Martin whose life and career is documented in a series of interpretation boards around the trail. We found out mid-way around the trail that the footbridge over the Harsondale Burn was closed and that there was no alternative route advised. We sorted our own out which involved a kilometre-and-a-half on the A696 but with the advantage of a really nice pub at a perfect point in the walk where otherwise there would have been none. Repairs to the bridge are projected to last until summer 2023. If you're not happy with walking on what is admittedly a fast road with no pavement then I'd postpone the circuit until after the bridge has been repaired. The official route is shown as a red dashed alternative on the map.