Author Topic: Ravenber Way with alternate end in Lindesfarne;Trip Report  (Read 2197 times)

czelnick

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Ravenber Route Notes from our walk done in September 2016:

General: Its a winter blizzard here today in Maine, so time to dream about summer walks!
We are Americans (please don't hold that against us) who love to walk in Britain.  We have completed Offas Dyke, Pembrokeshire Coast Path and Pennine Way before doing the Ravenber.

The Ravenber Way is NOT FOR A FIRST TIME long distance walker.  Over half of the route consists of a knitting together of public footpaths, often through countryside, moor and forest where the track is ill defined or invisible. The Ravenber is much harder to way-find than the Pennine Way, or Offa’s Dyke or Pembrokeshire.  Also, the track is much harder to walk in many areas, particularly the forests.  Some days we would have to bushwack through brush or deep heather, taking an hour to go ½ mile, or slog through wet bog with no defined path and have to make our own way.  There were days that we were very glad to join a more used and better marked track, like joining  St. Oswald’s Way in the forest,  because the going was much easier.

 The Ravenber guidebook is best used as a rough introduction.  We found the strip maps in the book not very helpful, and very hard to correlate with the OS maps.  To be blunt, if we had not had a good GPS unit with someone else’s fairly reliable Ravenber Route loaded into it, we might still be lost in the forest.

We used a Garmin Oregon 650, and I loaded it ahead of time with a .GPX file of the Ravenber that I found online.   Also loaded St. Cuthbert’s way, and some alternate routes (Alwinton to Wooller) that we planned ahead.  I bought the “Talky Toaster” maps for the UK which are excellent, as well as the GB Discoverer Maps.  I bought a subscription to Garmin BirdsEYE satellite maps and downloaded a strip of satellite images for each days walk.  All of this took quite a bit of preparation but I was extremely glad I did that when trying to find the stiles crossing the Eden Valley, and especially walking through the forests and moors between Dufton and Rothbury.  The forests, particularly, can be very confusing and hard to navigate, especially in fog or rain.  We also had blowing mist on top of the Roman Road from Troutbeck to Askham, and would have fallen off a cliff I think without the GPS, as the top of the fell is a maze of little paths running every which way through the bog. Also, had fog above Rothbury on the moors, and no visible landmarks beyond 100 feet.  I can’t recommend this type of preparation enough.

We had excellent raingear.  We both had Paramo rain coats and Marmot rainpants.  Even with “waterproof” boots we got our feet wet most days.  Pack extra dry socks in your waterproof bag.  Another essential is a flask for hot tea. I was glad we had emergency rations and gear in our bags when the path disappeared in blowing mist on the fells, which will happen at least once on a trip this long.

Of all the walks we have done, this had the least people. Many days on the moors and in forests we saw only 1-2 people all day.  The solitude amidst the beauty of the countryside is amazing, considering  the walk is in such a populous nation.  The flip side is to be prepared; should you have an accident on the Ravenber no one may come along for quite a while!

Day 0- we had a rest day in Ravenglass, rode the train to the end and walked the valley, did the waterfalls, etc. in good weather.
Day 1- easy walk, ease into the trip from Ravenglass to Boot. Only route finding problem is near Muncaster Head, the path disappears in a field of bracken.  We just had to push through it, being careful not to fall over the rocks; then we missed the turn to Boot and had to double back- the way-marker on the gate is only visible coming from the opposite direction you are headed.
Day 2-  Boot to Old Dungeon Ghyll over 3 Tarns pass.
This was a beautiful walk.  Pretty easy to find the path most of the way.  The last part is a hard vertical climb.  Unfortunately, the visible path disappeared in the last 2-300 meters below Three Tarns, into a large steep field of car-sized boulders, boggy watery sluices and sinkholes.  We had quite a struggle to climb up to the top, and on reaching it and looking back down, could see no clear, used path that we had missed.  We met other people looking for the way down, but no one could find it- it is just “find your own way”.  I looked at some other maps on our return and there is a path that went more to the north of our GPS route, but I sure could not find it on the ground.
Day 3-  The “Apple Pie” is a good place to stop for lunch/tea in Ambleside.  Highly recommended, and on the route if you take the path that brings you into the north end of town.
Day 4- Troutbeck to Askham- As above, very glad to have GPS in blowing mist.  Our glasses fogged up so badly we had to take them off to see better!  Missed views going up and on top, but sky cleared on the way down. You can’t have fabulous views every single day or you would not appreciate them.
Day 5- Askham to Dufton.  This is a very LONG day-it was 18.9 miles on my GPS!  It was hot the day we did it, beautiful sunny weather but we actually ran out of water even though we carried a lot.  None of the inns or shops in the little villages were open till we got to Merryvale Bakery in Long Marten.  It is a fiddly day and the stiles and paths are not well maintained.  At one point the path takes you through a rubbish tip that is quite dangerous, with large pieces of broken cement and bottles, etc. and barbed wire to dodge.  Stiles are often very hard to find, and it’s easy to get on the wrong side of a fence.  Lots of mucky cow pastures, too.  Pretty countryside, but at the end we were exhausted-  much more so than climbing the fells the day before or after!  This was unexpected, but I think the poor footing over many of the pastures and walking on hard roads and tracks was actually tougher than walking on the fells.  Also, the path almost takes you in circles in some places, so it feels like you are not making progress.  Our least favorite day on the trip.
Day 6-Dufton to Garrigill- even in foul weather a fun walk over Knock Fell.  The stream going down – Trout Beck towards Moor House should be crossed early on- at or before NY 72872 31971  and stay on the North Side.  It was raining the day we went down and the stream swells very rapidly.  We got downstream too far, realized we could not cross safely and had to backtrack upstream to a better spot to ford.  There is a ruin on the north stream bank a ways before you get to the turnoff for Moor House that is a good windbreak and was a nice place to stop for lunch and a cup of hot tea.
Day 7 & 8- Garrigill to Allenheads, to Hexham. Lovely walks over the moors.  Easy to navigate for most part.  On the way to Hexham, when you come off the moors, there is a parking area and the route goes west past a woodlot towards Gair Shield.  Follow the advice in the book and don’t be a “purist”- take the road on the southwest side of the woodlot (in blue, right)  rather than going past the woods and slogging through what looks like a very boggy nasty pasture with no definite path.  There are more than enough boggy pastures to cross after this section between the moors and Hexham.  Again, no place to stop on the route either day, be sure to take enough water.
Day 9 Hexham to Wark- In Sept 2016 DETOUR:  once you cross the South River Tyne, there is a walk along the road and at first it didn’t seem bad, so we didn’t take the advice to take the alternate route up over the hill (High Warden) which was a mistake.   We had hoped the path along the river had been fixed from previous floods.   It had not. The road is narrow and curvy, there is no verge to escape to.  When we got to the railway and discovered we could not go down by the river, then we had the bad choice of continuing up the road or backtracking along the bad stretch we had already narrowly escaped.  We proceeded on and took the first chance to cross a gate and walk across a harvested grain field to leave the road (not a footpath).  Bottom line:  everyone should take the route over High Warden to Fourstones.
The walk up over Hadrians Wall is lovely, but on the other side, the book gives a “choice” about how to walk into Wark.  His explanation is very confusing, so we opted to follow the path in my GPS from a previous walker.  We took the route that PASSES Low Moralee and then angles off through the pasture down to the Warks Burn.  At first this looked ok, but then we crossed a stile into a mess of thistles and nettles, only to descend a bank and find that it was washed out.  By the time we got halfway down, almost falling except for our poles, it would have been very difficult to climb back up.  So we went to the bottom where the path disappears into weeds and brush.  We spent quite a long time looking for it and finally bushwacked to the burn, only to find there is no footbridge or even stepping stones.  The burn water level was high, so we went up and down the burn bank quite a ways looking for a place to cross, and were finally barely able to ford safely.  But, then we were caught between the burn and barbed wire.  There is a stile downstream, but we were not able to reach it due to more barbed wire.  So we climbed over the barbed wire into the cow pasture and then had to climb a steep hill to get to the road.  This was the worst area on the whole walk.  I strongly recommend that everyone leave the road BEFORE Low Moralee and take the footpath to cross the burn near Woodly Shield or some other path.

Day 10: Wark to Elsdon- This day started nicely, some of the most beautiful pastures full of sheep; but the Way gets very rough once you enter the woods near Birney Hill.  The first forest section had NO path and we were literally fighting our way through grass and brush for quite a while.  The footing is rough in the forest  and slow going.  Its marginally better after Luna Crags, but on Scald Law, we got on the wrong side of the wire and had to climb over (Stay to the west!).  The area where they are installing windmills has a detour marked through it- it involves some bushwacking through marsh and tussock and some walking over area of felled trees but it was not too bad.  Don’t be scared off by the confusing “path notices” in this area- just push on the route and go down the roads and detours when you see the signs for bridleway detour, etc.  There is new road not on the map in the area to walk down and the maps and GPS are confusing because it shows trees where they have been cut down.  You just mentally have to put the trees back on the stumps when looking for landmarks and keep heading north.   
Day 11- Elsdon to Rothbury.
Well, this was navigationally the most challenging day.  We had a hard time getting out of Elsdon.  The book totally messed us up with the description of how to find the path.  See the screenshots,  the problem is getting over Elsdon Burn. We came down the field and spotted a “stile” that was a false path and then proceeded to walk into a bog.
The correct stile is in the far southwest corner of the field- you have to get across the fence there, walk thorough tall weeds east along the burn bank to find the footbridge which is NOT visible when you first come over the field out of Elsdon.  I hope this map would save someone else the 45 mins we wasted trying to find that stile.
Once in the forest, there are a lot of rides going in all directions, and the path often disappears.  If no GPS, I hope you are good with map, compass and dead reckoning.
This day was long and hard going underfoot.  The area where they are cutting wood has a plowed /cleared section that is not hard to walk across if you look for it and some woods road to walk down.
The section after Manside Cross is very rough footing and hard going.  In the first half, stay on the North side of the fence. There was a faint track which helped.
 In the second half of the Manside Cross ride, go to the South side between the fence and forest for better footing.  There is a barbed wire fence in the middle of the second half of that ride that is not visible until too late- so even though there is stile at the far end of the ride, if you don’t cross outside the fence once you complete the first half you will will have to cross the barb wire or go back! 
Once we took the turn to the north, we joined St Oswald’s Way and followed those waymarkers.  The Ravenber takes off back into the forest on some very dodgy ground without a clear path- I don’t think they are walked much! So we stuck to the St Oswald’s and footing was much better into Rothbury.
Day 12-Rothbury to Alwinton.  A delightful day. Two minor notes
-The carriage road above Rothbury is so wonderful we walked on past the turn off to Physic Lane, which is easy to do.  The turnoff is not marked and the stile is hard to see from the carriage road.
-Once you cross the river at Sharpeton the book/path recommend you recross the river at a ford.  The river was high, we elected not to try as it was a sure wade at least ½ way up to knees!  (the book says “its paddling time” and he is not kidding).  We kept walking up the road to Harbottle. This road has a verge and little traffic, so its not scary like after Hexham.  In Harbottle, before you get to the Inn, if you take a right and follow the lane back down, there is a foot bridge over the river which is quite nice and gets you off the road and back on a footpath into Alwinton, also past a nicely restored lime kiln.
Day 13 Alwinton to Wooler: This is a long day.  We had fabulous weather but I wouldn’t want to have to do it in driving rain.  We got very lucky.  The walk up Clenell Street is a UK gem, one of the best walks ever.  It’s easy up the Pennine way then to the Cheviot summit.  Beyond, the way down to Scald Hill is  “EEEP!” steep! But doable.  Once beyond Scald Hill we elected to go straight along the fence over the bog at the source of New Burn, which is not bad at all.  Once up on Broadhope hill, the path disappears into heather. The paths on the OS map are not visible on the ground.  We went down the fence a bit then  had a hard but short bushwack across the heather to find a 4 wheel drive track that took us nicely into Broadstruther.  From there it’s easy- follow the bridleway to St. Cuthbert’s Way and into Wooler.
Day 14/15 Wooler to Holy Island on St. Cuthbert’s is a doddle.  Fenham Farm is easy to find.  Be aware the walk across the bridge and road involves a LOT of traffic if you go just after the bridge becomes passable, as it seems all of Northern England drives onto the island at bridge opening and then back off just before closing.  We did not try the Pilgrims Way as people told us we would be well over mid calf deep in sand and muck.
At the island end of the Pilgrims Way there is a path along the beach we took, which gave a great view of the seal colony in the morning light, and then you grab a rope and climb up the bluff back into town.  Such fun!

Our Booking Agent was: Wandering Aengus- made all recommendations/accommodations bookings and did a great job; highly recommended.

I have graphics that show how not to get lost in the tricky areas above, and I will also email a zip file with our daily tracks to anyone that wants them.
Overall this was a great walk, so many fun things to see and do: churches, ruins, the Roman Wall, beautiful moors and the Cheviot on blue September day is as close to heaven as we will ever get.  Highly recommended for those tough enough to handle it.

Islandplodder

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I Enjoyed your walk report. I'd never heard of the Ravenber way, but it looks an interesting one.

Slogger

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Thanks for that a cost to coast to consider.

old geezer

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What is the Ravenber Way.Excuse my ignorance.


dittzzy

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Interesting, I've never heard of it before, hard work it seems.  it's nice to hear from American forum members and get an idea of what you think of our walks.  Thank you.  O0 O0 

snoopdawg

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I too had never heard of this, could be this summers walk!

 

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