active berwick - Walking Festival
Belford to Cuthbert's Cave (Circular)
The walk starts from beside the Community Club in West Street, Belford.
Following the farm road we pass West Hall Farm with its mock battlements on the farmhouse then up the track to Craggy Hall with views of Belford crags on our right and views of the Cheviots on our left.
Passing a lime kiln we follow the farm track across two fields and the path through woods where rhododendrons bloom.
At the edge of the wood we join the Swinhoe road and follow this to Swinhoe farm, at the farm we continue on a farm track to Dick's Old Walls – a small group of farm buildings - no one is quite sure who Dick was.
We continue on this track through a small copse, across a field then into a large wood. Eventually we are walking along the edge of this wood, with excellent views over the Cheviots.
Just before this track joins St Cuthbert's Way we see a spectacular rock formation Cockenheugh. Continuing along the track we reach St Cuthbert's cave where, according to legend, St Cuthbert's body rested when the monks took it from Lindisfarne to Durham Cathedral.
From the cave we climb up the side of the wood following St Cuthbert's way and enjoy views over Lindisfarne as we cross three fields to another farm track. At this point we leave St Cuthbert's way to follow this farm track across a field then through a wood, passing a pond where swans are often seen back to Swinhoe Farm. We go through the farmyard, across a field then along the footpath at the side of a recently felled wood with views of the coast and Holy Island, this track eventually leads us back to the West Hall farm and once more to the Community Club in Belford.