EV80

Part of a series - exploring Scotland map by map - for more background

Exploring (Virtually) OS Landranger Sheet 80: Cheviot Hills & Kielder Water

Carter Bar (looking North), September 2017

After a couple of more northerly offerings, this post takes us to the Deep South - all the way down to the English Border and beyond.  The title of this sheet tells you about the main two features - the hills which form a natural border and the man-made lake at Kielder Water.

As you look along the ridge of The Cheviot Hills you get glimpses of the 'troubled' history of these parts.  There are lots of bits of Roman road and Roman Camps (far to the north side of Hadrians Wall), there are numerous old forts, standing stones and settlements alongside markers of more recent battles too such as the intriguingly named 'Redeswire Fray 1575' (just beside the Carter Bar).

On the English side of the border is Northumberland National Park, with Kielder Forest and Water just on it's edge - and snaking across the sheet from south to north is the E2 European Long Distance Park, probably better know as the Pennine Way (which tracks along the border for quite a lot of the sheet).  Have to concede that I didn't realise that the Pennine Way came quite this far north!

Also meandering its way across the sheet is the A68 - one of the main routes through the borders - although it probably doesn't see as much traffic as the routes closer to the east and west coasts.

Visits? I've probably been onto this sheet more times than I was aware. I spent many childhood holidays in Hawick (just 4 miles off the western edge of the map) and I recognise lots of the place names on sheet 40 - particularly Denholm and Bonchester Bridge.  I also remember grandparental reference being made to the "Carter Bar" - but I don't think I realised it was a pass through the hills. It was probably entirely reasonable for a youngster to get confused between that and "The Roadhouse" (which was my grandfathers local!)

More recently I've driven up (and down) the A68 as part of re-discovering this bit of Scotland, and have stopped at Carter Bar.