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INTRODUCTION

The Reivers Way is an ‘unofficial’ long-distance trail, wandering some 240km (150 miles) round the sparsely populated border county of Northumberland. While the popular Pennine Way and Hadrian’s Wall national trails run across Northumberland, the Reivers Way almost encircles the county, offering a wonderful opportunity to explore its wildest and most scenic parts. The route can be walked in nine days, and is suitable for an average walker, provided that they are reasonably competent with a map and compass. The route is not specifically waymarked beyond the usual public footpath and bridleway signposts, but the local authority has declared its intention to ensure that the paths are maintained in good order.

The trail starts at Corbridge and crosses Hexamshire Common in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. After following part of Hadrian’s Wall, a series of fine little towns and villages are visited, including Wark, Elsdon and Rothbury, as the route heads in and out of the Northumberland National Park. The broad and bleak Cheviot Hills are crossed on the way to Wooler. After catching a glimpse of Lindisfarne, the route traces the scenic Northumberland Heritage Coast from Bamburgh to Seahouses, then onwards to Craster and Boulmer to finish at Alnmouth. With an extra day to hand, walkers can include a boat trip to the bird reserves on the Farne Islands.

The Reivers Way is not based on any particular route used by reivers and ‘moss troopers’, but is simply a celebration of their memory, and a fine way to explore the land where they lived, and often died, in violent circumstances. When stripped of romance and glamour, reivers were little more than robbers and cattle rustlers living in a largely lawless society, but most of them had no option but to rob and raid in order to feed themselves and their families.

BRIEF HISTORY OF A BORDERLAND

Northumberland was forever destined to be ‘border country’ because of its position at the narrowest point of Great Britain. Evidence of human activity dates back 6000 years, and the region is well endowed with ancient settlement sites and ritual monuments. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by a noticeable level of strife, with many settlements built on defensive sites. A Celtic tribe, the Votadini, pushed southwards from Scotland, and was no doubt culturally distinct from other tribes already occupying the region.

The Romans reinforced any existing cultural divide when they constructed Hadrian’s Wall in 122AD

Roman legions marched northwards through Britain between 55BC and 77AD, confidently claiming a complete conquest. However, while southern Britain was gradually Romanised, northern Britain rebelled. Any existing cultural border was well and truly reinforced with the building of Hadrian’s Wall from coast to coast in 122AD. There was another push northwards, resulting in the construction of the Antonine Wall in 142AD, but the legions had to pull back to Hadrian’s Wall in 160AD. It seems the Romans paid the Celtic Votadini to keep the Picts at bay to the north.

Under pressure from many sides, the Romans withdrew from Britain in 410AD. While Hadrian’s Wall is now in ruins, there is still a tangible feeling of being in ‘border country’ while following it. The Celts and Picts suffered as much from internecine strife as they did from fighting each other, and they were both overrun by Angles and Saxons.

Ida ‘the Flamebearer’ was an Angle who established a base at Bamburgh in 547AD. From this longfortified rocky eminence he began to carve the foundations of a kingdom that became known as Northumbria, spreading far beyond current-day Northumberland. Successive Anglo-Saxon Northumbrian kings established a reasonable level of peace, while King Oswald encouraged Celtic Christian communities to flourish, spreading onto the mainland from Lindisfarne. Notable among the early churchmen were Aidan and Cuthbert. Danish invaders made incursions into the region, starting with an attack on Lindisfarne in 793AD. Later, the Scots also raided the region.

After the Norman Conquest another period of relative peace endured from the 11th to 13th centuries, with the Earls of Northumberland administering the region. Large-scale construction projects included castles and monasteries, especially along the coast and on the fertile lowlands. The death of Alexander III of Scotland in 1285, and the rise of Edward II of England, sowed the seeds of centuries of border strife. The local population found themselves under attack from all sides, with few they could truly call friends.

There was no convenient ‘border’ between England and Scotland drawn on the map, just a region of wild country that neither side could claim as their own, or hold against the other. Armies marched back and forth, demanding or appropriating provisions, so that the local population found itself reduced to poverty and starvation. They responded as desperate people always do, by going out and taking whatever they needed, from wherever they could find it.

The Borders were essentially lawless, but certain codes of conduct were observed, and the most enduring allegiances of all were bonds of blood between close family members. About one hundred surnames are recognised as ‘reiver’ family names, spanning the alphabet from Ainslie to Young.

The decayed drum towers flanking the entrance to Dunstanburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast (Day 9)

Despite England and Scotland being locked in a state of permanent warfare for over three centuries, both nations had to tackle border lawlessness, so the region was divided into three ‘marches’. In Northumberland the problem was not simply English versus Scots across a fluid border, but reivers from Tynedale and Redesdale frequently raiding the fertile plains of Northumberland. Each march had two wardens – one English and one Scottish – to oversee rudimentary law and order. Scottish wardens were generally appointed from the local gentry, so had a good understanding of local issues, but were prone to corruption. English wardens were generally appointed from outside the area, so were less prone to corruption, but more inclined to misunderstand situations.

Reivers rustled cattle in the remote and sparsely populated borderlands between England and Scotland

Peculiar border laws evolved, such as cross-border marriages being forbidden, on pain of death, without the agreement of both wardens. The tradition of ‘hot trod’ allowed, to someone whose cattle had been stolen, six days in which to recover his property. To do this he had to carry a burning peat on the tip of a lance and announce his intentions with ‘hue and cry, hound and horn’. This wouldn’t offer him any special protection, and he might be robbed, beaten, captured, ransomed or killed, but at least everyone knew why he was passing through. Anyone fleeing for their life could seek sanctuary in a church, while anyone who had committed heinous crimes could seek absolution at a monastery on payment of a fee! Protection rackets operated, and the English language derives words such as ‘blackmail’ and ‘bereaved’ from this era.

The Allendale ‘Tar Barling’, when ‘Old Year’s Night’ is celebrated with a stirring fire festival (Day 1)

The Borders saw centuries of complex and deadly feuding, sometimes between English and Scots, sometimes between neighbouring families, and sometimes between factions within the same family. The wardens had to deal with frequent ‘bills’ – or complaints – so ‘truce days’ were held every 40 days or so to resolve differences. It was often the case that someone might be hanged before their trial took place, and if rope was scarce, drowning would suffice! Imprisonment was rarely an option due to lack of facilities, though a prison was eventually built at Hexham. Gammel’s Path, high in the Cheviot Hills, was one of the remote locations where ‘truce days’ were held.

The 16th century saw the peak period of reiving activity, when even the wardens were involved in the business of robbery and revenge. ‘Moss troopers’, as the reivers were sometimes known, rode stocky ponies for speed over rugged terrain, and wore rudimentary armour consisting of a steel helmet and leather jacket. For weapons they carried a lance and a sword, later supplemented with a pistol or two. After centuries of law-breaking, hunting and being hunted, it was a way of life that people were born into.

In 1525 the Archbishop of Glasgow pronounced an exceedingly lengthy, and remarkably comprehensive, blood-curdling curse on Scottish reiver families (see Appendix 4). On the English side, the preacher Bernard Gilpin spent his summers evangelising with great success among some of the roughest and toughest Northumberland communities, becoming known as the ‘Apostle of the North’.

Following the Union of Crowns in 1603, England and Scotland suddenly found themselves ruled by the same monarch, in the person of James I of England and VI of Scotland. This paved the way for a complete cessation of hostilities between both nations, but initially had little effect where the reiver lifestyle was ingrained in the population. Drastic action was required, and even the use of the word ‘Borders’ was forbidden, being replaced by the term ‘Middle Shires’. Families who refused to obey the law were rounded up and evicted, resettling in Ireland or North America. Those who accepted the law were rewarded with land, so that a measure of peace and prosperity settled on the region. The Union of the Parliaments was achieved in 1707, but the Borders saw a little more action during the Jacobite ‘risings’ of 1715 and 1745.

Rousing Borders ballads and the romantic stories penned by Sir Walter Scott cast a rosy hue on what must have been a most bloodthirsty period. One can only rejoice at the peace and tranquillity of the Northumberland countryside today, but also occasionally succumb to a few moments of melancholy while remembering the strife and senselessness of those troubled times.

Much marginal land in Northumberland is used for forestry plantations so expect some clear felling

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY

The oldest rocks in Northumberland are seldom seen, but underlie the whole region. They are Silurian slates and ‘greywackes’, around 420 million years old. The Cheviot Hills were formed of two igneous rock types in the Devonian period. A mass of andesite lavas make up almost all the lower foothills, dating back 395 million years. The central part of the Cheviot Hills is a huge dome of granite, pushed up into the Earth’s crust some 360 million years ago.

South of the Cheviot Hills, most of Northumberland is made up of Carboniferous rocks. These were laid down in a sea over 300 million years ago. At certain times the sea was fairly shallow and the water clear, so that corals flourished, and their remains formed limestone beds. At other times distant mountain ranges were being eroded, and rivers brought mud, sand and gravel into the sea, which formed great thicknesses of mudstone, sandstone and gritstone.

Sometimes the rivers formed vast deltas, which allowed strange, fern-like trees to gain rootholds, only to be toppled by floods and buried beneath more mud and sand. The plant matter was compressed over time to form coal measures. These are Northumberland’s predominant rock types, forming rocky edges in some places, but breaking down to form sandy soils in others, with enough coal to support a little mining activity.

The Carboniferous rocks were laid down in layers, and that helps to explain what happened next, around 295 million years ago. A great mass of molten dolerite was squeezed, under enormous pressure, between the layers of rock – rather like jam between two slices of bread. This rock is always prominent wherever it outcrops, and is referred to as the Whin Sill. It forms some of Northumberland’s most striking landscapes. The highest parts of Hadrian’s Wall, for example, were built along the crest of the Whin Sill, so as a geological feature it has shaped the political landscape of Britain! The Whin Sill outcrops all the way across Northumberland and is notable along the coast, where its higher parts are crowned with castles at Bamburgh and Lindisfarne, while its lower parts form low cliffs and the Farne Islands.

Almost 300 million years of geological time are ‘missing’ in Northumberland, so the rock types and formations are mostly very old. The region was scoured during the ice age, within the last couple of million years, and many parts are covered with glacial detritus, in the form of boulder clay, sand and gravel.

Today’s visitor looks at the landscape to see the rounded, resistant humps of the Cheviot Hills, rocky gritstone edges on lower hills and moorlands, and the jagged crest of the Whin Sill often flanked by gentler countryside.

WILDLIFE

Northumberland is good cattle country, and cattle rearing, and cattle rustling naturally, is part of the region’s heritage. In 1270 a herd of wild cattle was enclosed within parkland at Chillingham, and since then has had no interaction with other cattle, or much interaction with human beings either, so visitors can observe how the habits of the ‘wild’ Chillingham herd differ from those of domesticated cattle.

The Reivers Way runs almost all the way round Northumberland, which is excellent cattle country

Apart from farm stock, or feral goats in the Cheviot Hills, other large mammals that can be seen around Northumberland include shy roe deer, generally seen grazing the margins of forests at dawn and dusk, along with rabbits, foxes and badgers. Britain’s most northerly colony of dormice are found at Allen Banks, and the elusive otter can be spotted, with patience, beside rivers, ponds or on the coast.

Reptiles are seldom seen, but adders and grass snakes are present, along with slow worms and common lizards. Amphibians such as frogs are more likely to be visible, while toads and newts are much less common.

The heather moorlands of Northumberland are managed for grouse shooting, and apart from large populations of red grouse, there are a few black grouse in the region. Late spring and early summer are important times for breeding birds. Cuckoos will be heard as they advance northwards, while skylark, lapwing, snipe and curlew are often seen on broad moorlands. The curlew is the emblem of the Northumberland National Park. Watch out for buzzards and kestrels in open areas. Herons fish in ponds and watercourses, while dippers and grey wagtails will completely submerge themselves in rivers.

On the coast, and more particularly on the Farne Islands, thousands of pairs of breeding birds fill every possible nook and cranny to rear their young. Most notable are the puffins, with guillemots, shags and razorbills also seen in great numbers. Raucous arctic and sandwich terns, kittiwakes and other members of the gull family are also present. The autumn and winter months are notable for an influx of wildfowl, especially around Budle Bay and Lindisfarne. Be ready for surprises – old gravel pits in Coquetdale have been transformed into wildlife habitats that are now popular with bird-watchers.

The emblem of the Northumberland National Park is a curlew, commonly seen and heard on the moorlands

ACCESS LAND AND THE CROW ACT

When Harold Wade walked the Reivers Way in 1975, he didn’t always follow rights of way. When James Roberts walked the route in 1992, he made sweeping changes to ensure that rights of way were always followed. In a couple of instances, both Wade and Roberts followed roads when they could have used nearby rights of way. Things have changed over the years, and most rights of way are clearly signposted and waymarked. Indeed, a couple of places that once lacked rights of way now have them. Furthermore, large areas of open moorland have been designated ‘access land’ under the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000. Routes that Wade ‘trespassed’ upon, and Roberts saw fit to avoid, are now available to walkers, and therefore included in this guidebook.

‘Access land’ should not be regarded as offering unlimited access. Some areas are indeed open all the time, but others are ‘restricted’, and can be closed for various reasons, including grouse shooting and the movement of animals. Access land on the Reivers Way will either be available to walkers all of the time, or at least most of the time, so it will usually be possible to stay high and follow Harold Wade’s original route. Just in case the land is closed for any reason, the low-level detours made by Roberts serve as alternative routes. It is possible to check in advance whether access land is open or closed by going to www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk. It is also likely that notices will be posted at the main access points indicating the nature of any closures.

TRAVEL TO NORTHUMBERLAND

By Air

The most convenient airport for the Reivers Way is Newcastle Airport, tel 0871 8821121, www.newcastleairport.com, which has good connections with the rest of Britain, as well as several European cities. The Metro system links the airport with Newcastle Central Station every few minutes for onward travel.

By Sea

Ferries reach Newcastle from Amsterdam, bringing the Reivers Way within easy reach of the Low Countries. Check ferry schedules with DFDS Seaways, tel 0871 5229955, www.dfdsseaways.co.uk. DFDS runs its own buses between the ferryport and Newcastle Central Station for onward travel.

By Rail

Cross Country trains provides direct long-distance rail access to Newcastle and Alnmouth from Exeter, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow, tel 0844 8110124, www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk. Newcastle also has direct National Express East Coast rail services from London Kings Cross and Edinburgh, www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com. Rail services between Carlisle and Newcastle are operated by Northern Rail, www.northernrail.org, which also operates between Alnmouth and Newcastle.

By Bus

National Express runs direct services from London Victoria Coach Station to Newcastle, as well as direct services from Edinburgh and Wrexham, passing through Otterburn, tel 0871 7818181, www.nationalexpress.com. Some long-distance Arriva buses operate to Newcastle, and the city is one of the hubs in their network, tel 0870 1201088, www.arrivabus.co.uk. Classic Coaches offer an interesting, regular cross-country service from Blackpool to Newcastle, www.classic-coaches.co.uk.

TRAVEL AROUND NORTHUMBERLAND

By Train

Regular daily trains from Newcastle serve the start and finish of the Reivers Way, Corbridge and Alnwick. Services from Newcastle to Corbridge are operated by Northern Rail, www.northernrail.org. Services from Alnmouth to Newcastle are operated by Cross Country trains, www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk, and Northern Rail, www.northernrail.org.

By Bus

Arriva North East provides the bulk of bus services out of Newcastle, www.arrivabus.co.uk. There are also half-a-dozen minor bus operators providing useful rural services around different parts of Northumberland, and these are mentioned in the guidebook where appropriate.

Traveline and Taxis

It can be frustrating trying to gather individual public transport leaflets, and there is no comprehensive public transport guide covering Northumberland. However, details of all modes of transport to the area can be checked with Transport Direct, www.transportdirect.info. Public transport in and around the county can be checked with Traveline North East, tel 0871 2002233, www.travelinenortheast.info. If a taxi is needed at any point and you don’t have any local numbers, call the National Taxi Hotline – on 0800 654321 – and they will connect you with the nearest taxi in the scheme, so that you can negotiate a journey and check the price.

Some places have very little accommodation, such as Harbottle, which has only a single bed and breakfast (Day 6)

ACCOMMODATION

Organising lodgings on a long-distance walk requires a willingness to search diligently and juggle options to create a workable schedule. Accommodation around Northumberland is unevenly spread, so while some places may have plenty of options, others have very little. Start by checking the most ‘awkward’ locations first, such as the remote farmhouse bed and breakfast at Uswayford (end of Day 6/start of Day 7), and work outwards from those places once you have secured a bed. Sheer pressure of walkers can affect all available lodgings near popular Hadrian’s Wall. The coastal resort of Seahouses offers abundant accommodation, but it can be very busy in the summer.

In case of difficulty obtaining accommodation, a simple bus journey off-route may bring plenty more options within reach. If detours off-route are going to be made, then be sure to obtain the relevant bus timetables in advance, and build the necessary time into your schedule to leave and re-join the route. In some cases, nearby accommodation providers may be prepared to do pick-ups and drop-offs, but arrange this well in advance if required. If something prevents you from reaching accommodation that has been booked, call the proprietor at the earliest opportunity and explain. This might enable them to take another booking and avoid losing money, and if they know you are safe, they won’t be worrying about you and possibly calling out the rescue services.

Places with lodgings are mentioned throughout this book, and a basic accommodation list is given in Appendix 2, but bear in mind that these things tend to change quite frequently. For up-to-date details of accommodation, check the Northumberland Holiday and Short Breaks Guide, which can be obtained free by calling 01670 794520 or visiting www.visitnorthumberland.com. The guide is available from tourist information centres, and in most cases such places will be able to advise and assist with booking accommodation, possibly saving many fruitless phone calls.

FOOD AND DRINK

While there are several shops, pubs, restaurants and cafés around the Reivers Way, they are very unevenly distributed. On some parts of the route there may be no refreshments available throughout the day, and if staying overnight at Uswayford (end of Day 6 and start of Day 7), evening meals should be ordered well in advance.

Never set out on any part of the Reivers Way without first noting the availability of food and drink for at least a couple of days in advance. Be sure to carry sufficient provisions to allow for lengthy gaps between shops, taking special note of the paucity of services in the broad and bleak Cheviot Hills.

Things change – Harold Wade noted services that were gone by the time James Roberts walked the route, and I in turn have noticed services that have disappeared, as well as completely new ones. In one instance I saw a pub in a village which, on my return a few months later, was closed. Be prepared for changes.

MONEY

While an increasing number of accommodation providers, shops, pubs and restaurants will take credit cards in payment, many don’t, and walkers will need a certain amount of cash to cover goods and services while on the move, especially on the more remote parts of this trail. If unsure about carrying large amounts of cash, at least try and budget ahead, then be aware of any places along the way that have banks and ATMs. Many are mentioned in the route description, and some supermarkets offer a ‘cashback’ service.

TOURIST INFORMATION

 Corbridge, tel 01434 632815

 Hexham, tel 01434 652220

 Otterburn, tel 01830 520225

 Rothbury, tel 01669 620887

 Wooler, tel 01668 282123

 Seahouses, tel 01665 720884

 Craster, tel 01665 576007

 Alnwick, tel 01665 511333

PLANNING YOUR WALK

When to Walk

Spring can be a splendid time to walk the Reivers Way, when the countryside is bursting with new life. Lambs are suckling in the lower pastures, flowers rise from fields and roadside verges, and migrating birds arrive and sort out their nesting sites.

Walking in the winter months means limited daylight, but good progress is possible when wet ground freezes

The peak summer period offers the longest daylight hours and possibly the best weather. Lowland hayfields are mown to stubble, while heather moorlands turn purple and the bracken lies deep on the hillsides. Some heather moorland might be used for grouse shooting. Accommodation in popular places might be fully booked, but apart from that all services should be in full swing and ferries will be running to the Farne Islands.

Autumn is a time for harvesting crops, and the daylight hours begin to shorten, with the possibility of cooler and wetter weather.

The winter months occasionally feature sharp frosts, so that boggy parts freeze over, but prolonged wet weather, or rare falls of deep snow, can make this a difficult time to walk. Some of the businesses along the way, especially accommodation providers, close for the winter.

What the Walking’s Like

Walking the Reivers Way is fairly straightforward, but bear in mind that the route is not specifically waymarked, although there are the usual public footpath and bridleway signposts and markers. Keep an eye on the route description and follow your progress on the map. Compared to many parts of the country, Northumberland’s footpaths are lightly trodden, and there are often great distances between settlements and their facilities. Walkers will be encountered in popular places, such as Allen Banks, Hadrian’s Wall, the Simonside Hills, the Cheviot Hills and much of the Northumberland coast. At other times, you may walk all day without meeting any other walkers, even in the summer. The abiding memory is of a succession of scenic highlights separated by wide open, sparsely populated countryside.

Terrain

The Reivers Way includes gentle walks through river valleys and low-lying fields, but this can quickly give way to bleak and barren moorland or extensive forests. When walking far from habitation it is essential to take care over route-finding, as any unintended detours off-route will take time and energy to recover. When mist covers featureless moorlands, or when several junctions of forest tracks are encountered, it is worth taking time to pinpoint your position on a map, and then ensure that you head in the correct direction.

When there is a choice of routes available, study both options carefully, weighing their advantages and disadvantages and take the weather into account. There are two options between Elsdon and Rothbury (Day 5), and both of them include the Simonside Hills. Between Uswayford and Wooler (Day 7), the high-level route over the Cheviot is often easier to follow than the low-level alternative outflanking it. Once the Cheviot Hills are left behind, the route wanders through fields and low hills, with variant routes reaching the Northumberland coast (Day 8). The coast (Day 9) features easy, low-level walking, despite the rugged little cliffs that are often in view. In a nutshell, the terrain along the Reivers Way is remarkably varied from day to day.

Daily Schedule

The Reivers Way can be walked in as little as a week by experienced long-distance walkers, but nine days is more practical, with two weeks offering a fairly leisurely approach. Bear in mind that there where alternative routes are available, distances and the nature of the terrain differ. Walkers shouldn’t feel obliged to follow the nine-day schedule in this book too rigidly, but should adapt and amend it to suit their individual requirements. Trying to arrange a schedule to omit the solitary farmhouse bed and breakfast at Uswayford (end of Day 6 and start of Day 7), can be difficult, and this is the sort of place where a carefully planned schedule can unravel if all the beds are taken.

Maps

Four Ordnance Survey Landranger maps cover the Reivers Way at a scale of 1:50,000. The relevant sheets are 75, 80, 81 and 87. Extracts from these maps are used throughout the guidebook, with an overview (pages 8 and 9) to show the full course of the Reivers Way. For greater detail, and to see the extent of designated access land, five Ordnance Survey Explorer maps cover the route at a scale of 1:25,000. The relevant sheets are OL16, OL42, OL43, 332 and 340.

How to Use this Guidebook

The main feature of this guidebook is a continuous route description, illustrated with OS map extracts. Alternative routes for Days 5, 7 and 8 are described at the end of the main route descriptions, with further OS map extracts showing the variant sections of route in blue.

Waymarking and signposting on rights of way is usually quite good, but keep your eyes open for markers

Some daily stretches are longer than others, and there are long stretches without access to food, drink or accommodation. If a day’s walk seems too long, then check to see whether it can be broken halfway, whether accommodation is available, and whether public transport allows a detour off-route.

Even when facilities are mentioned, bear in mind that they are subject to change. Hotels and bed and breakfasts may not always be open, and they may not always have a bed available, so it is wise to book in advance.

Food and drink may not be available on long stretches, so think twice before passing a shop or pub, and be sure to read ahead to discover where the next ones are located.

If relying on public transport to travel to and from various parts of the walk, check timetables in advance, using the contact details given in this guidebook. If you need specific, up-to-date information about facilities along the way, contact the relevant tourist information centres and ask for advice (see Appendix 3).

Equipment

If you are approaching the Reivers Way as a series of one-day walks, then all you need is your normal day pack, containing the usual waterproofs, food and drink for the day, small first aid kit, maps, compass – and the ability to use them.

If you are walking the route as a continuous long-distance trek and planning to use hotels and bed and breakfasts, then only a little more kit is needed. A complete change of clothes for the evenings is desirable, so that walking clothes can be washed and dried wherever facilities are available. It might be a good idea to pack a couple of spare pairs of socks, which could prove useful if crossing boggy ground in wet weather, day after day.

Campsites are infrequent along the Reivers Way, so if you do plan to carry a tent, sleeping bag and cooking equipment, then it is likely that at certain points you will need to ‘wild camp’. Wherever possible, ask for permission, but if this isn’t practical, then camp unobtrusively, pitching late and leaving early, taking care to leave absolutely no trace of your stay. If you are camping and cooking, then the availability of shops along the way needs to be borne in mind, and remember that the choice may be limited in a small village store.

RESCUE SERVICES

The emergency services – mountain rescue, police, ambulance, fire brigade or coastguard – are all alerted by dialling 999 (or the European 112). Be ready to supply full details of the nature of the emergency, so that an appropriate response can be made. Keep in contact with the emergency services in case they require further information or clarification.