Berwick Borough Boundary Walk
The Berwick Borough Boundary Walk is an interesting circular walking trail around the northernmost parts of Northumberland and into its neighbours, Berwickshire and Roxburghshire, taking in two county tops in the three counties. It is 108 miles long.
The trail was devised to follow the boundaries of the defunct Borough of Berwick upon Tweed, but in doing so it explores some of the fascinating, contrasting countryside hereabouts. It is a route of varying landscape, through farmland, mountain and coast and beach. Its devisers boast that it has: "Five Castles, a Palace and a Mountain".
Route
The route is 108 miles long with 10,381 feet of ascent and reaching a maximum elevation of 2,421 feet, on the Cheviot. The starting and finishing point is at the town hall in Berwick upon Tweed, at NT998528.
Beginning at Berwick, the trail follows northwards through the Liberties of Berwick to Lamberton (in Berwickshire). From here it turns south-west and south, crossing back and forth between the shire and the liberties. It crosses the Whiteadder Water to Paxton, Berwickshire and to the Tweed at Linn Burn, south of Paxton.
The route crosses the Tweed back into Northumberland by way of the Union Bridge and from here is follows the south bank of the river west and south, past Norham Castle to Norham and onward. It follows the river south to Cornhill on Tweed, where at last it leaves the Tweed.
From Cornhill the trail cuts across country south-west to the dry boundary of Northumberland near Mindrum, and goes west into Roxburghshire. In Roxburghshire the path runs south to Kirk Yetholm, a famous walkers' destination at the northern head of the Pennine Way.
From Kirk Yetholm the path climbs the ridge of the Cheviots, which ridge here marks the county border, up White Law (where it crosses St Cuthbert's Way) and south to meet the Pennine Way, following it to Auchope Cairn (Roxburghshire's county top) just below the peak of the Cheviot itself, which is worth a diversion of a couple of hundred yards to bag the top of Northumberland.
The path follows the boundary fence south-westwards for a while before turning east into Northumberland. It runs over and down to Powburn, then single-mindedly north-east to the sea at Beadnell.
Following the coast north-west past Seahouses and Bamburgh Castle to Budle Bay, the path then heads inland to Belford for a while before resuming the coast, with the Farne Islands and later Holy Island off to the west. At this point a ten-mile diversion is possible to Holy Island, tide permitting.
North of Lindisfarne, the Berwick Borough Boundary Walk follows into Tweedmouth and across the river to the starting point of the walk in Berwick-upon-Tweed.