St Cuthbert’s Way - Leg V: Wooler to St Cuthbert’s Cave

With this year’s expedition number having grown to seven, logistics dictated driving three cars to the car park for (the not very near) St Cuthbert’s cave, depositing two there and returning one with the drivers and navigator (yours truly) to Wooler.

Setting off in murky weather, though not the incessant rain that caused the postponement of yesterday’s plans to today, we head out of town on the B6248 road over the rushing Wooler Water, turning right to follow the signs along a quiet street. A left turn eventually leads to a track heading steadily upwards, into the mist today, and then the route departs left on up through ferns and gorse to a field path along a plateau.

Missing a fork left as we concentrated on avoiding pools of standing water at gates and stiles, we carry straight on and emerge onto the B road further along than intended. Turning left and marching downhill for half a mile gets us back on route at the splendid Weetwood Bridge.

Crossing the bridge, a mile or so of minor road brings us first to West, then East, Horton both with some noticeably nice properties on show, then out beyond. Rising gradually out of the Hortons the route leaves the road for a track to the right and continues to climb over Town Law before dropping down to the Hetton Burn, crossed by a bridge of what appears to be railway sleepers.

From the burn it is a short rise up to a crossroads of sorts where a wooden statue of St Cuthbert (and adjacent bench) demands a stop for refreshments and a selfie.

The minor road over the crossroads is the way on (here we are serenaded by one joker’s phone playing a pre-recorded download of the theme from The Last of the Summer Wine) until at Old Hazeldene a path goes off left across fields before reaching the bottom of a grassy track. The track rises steadily up the hill to a T junction and a left turn brings us to the entrance to a gated wood, looking eerily enchanted in the mist.

A National Trust sign confirms the wood contains our destination so we make our way along the path until, through the trees to our right, a gleaming white rocky outcrop appears further up the hill. A short walk affords a close up view, the cave made by a large overhang supported by a single, and not very thick, pillar. Many visitors have felt the need to indelibly record their visit on the rocks; St Cuthbert’s monks didn’t, and neither do we, satisfied by just taking a few photos.

We return to the path, but only briefly until the wood is exited. The St Cuthbert’s way turns right but that will be for another day; we go straight on and then left at a stile and down a grassy track to find the car park and, mercifully, two parked cars that will get us back to Wooler and the Tankerville Arms.