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Description: A well signposted footpath upto the waterfall, returning the way youcame. Plenty of stopping points if neededand the views in the woodland are delight-ful. Please wear decent walking shoes orboots. Hareshaw Linn is a ‘Site of SpecialScientific Interest’ for its plant life. It is hardto believe that in the mid 1800’s this was thesite of an iron foundry and mining area.

Toilets: Bellingham

Local Services: Bellingham

Please keep dogs under control

Route: Bridges:

Grade: Moderate

Distance: 3 miles / 5 km

Time: 1 hour 30 mins - 2 hours return

Map: OS OL42 Explorer 1:25000 KIELDER WATER & FOREST

Start OS Grid Ref: NY 840 834

Parking: Northumberland National Park Car Park at Hareshaw Linn, near theBellingham Garage

Closest postcode for SatNav: NE48 2BZ

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NORTH TYNE

Hareshaw Linn, Bellingham

HARESHAW LINNCAR PARK

Bellingham Garage

Turn right out of the car park andhead up the road, Hareshaw Burn is onyour left. Pass the interpretation paneland fingerpost signed ‘Hareshaw Linn11/2 mile’. On the right is Foundry Farm.In 1838 this was the site of an ironworkswhich employed 500 men in the foundryand nearby coal and iron-ore mines!

Go through the kissing gate followingthe gravel track up past the static caravans.The grassy mounds here are the ash waste(spoil) from the 70 coke ovens that suppliedcoke to the iron works.

Go through the gate. On the left down inthe burn are the remains of the lower damthat supplied water to power the iron works. Keep to the main path past the picnicarea and head up the stone steps signed‘Waterfall 1 mile’. The hummocky moundshere are the spoil from an old quarry whichproduced stone for building the miner’sand iron foundry workers houses.

Go through the gate into the ‘Linn’.This is an ancient woodland with oak,hazel, elm and ash trees. Please takecare and keep to the main footpath andbe aware of natural hazards. Follow thefootpath, past a curved stone seat andover the first of six wooden bridges.

Keep on the path and cross overbridges two, three and four. The tallDouglas fir trees here were planted by the Victorians over 100 years ago. Goover the fifth and final sixth bridge whichcurves gracefully over the burn. TheVictorians built a bandstand into the hillside and picnicked here.

Just around the corner the footpathends at the waterfall with its 30ft drop.The depth and dampness give the feel ofa rainforest, ideal conditions for the 300+species of ferns, mosses and lichen thatthrive here.

RETURN THE WAY YOU CAME.

Hareshaw Linn

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Woodland walk

© Crown Copyright and database rights (2018) Ordnance Survey Licence Number 100022521

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Hexham

Rothbury

Miners in Bellingham (19th Century)

A BLAST FROM THE PAST!

In 1833 Hareshaw Iron Works was estab-lished by Messrs Bigge and Partners. Allthe essential raw materials, iron ore, coaland limestone, were here for mining,together with water from the nearbyHareshaw Burn. Employing up to 500 people, at the peak of its operation thefoundry contained 70 coke ovens, 24large roasting kilns for calcining iron ore,a range of coal stores, a blacksmiths shop,wagon shed, stables and stores. Tramwaysand waggonways linked several buildings,the mines and the quarries. The pig ironthat was created was transported by cartfrom Bellingham to Hexham, where it was reheated for casting.

The Iron Works was in production for tenyears until 1848 when it was closed andmany of the buildings demolished. Its earlydemise was probably the result of difficul-ties transporting the iron to the markets.Today very little remains to remind us ofthe industrial past.

CawfieldsPhotos ©: David Taylor, Laurie Campbell, NNPA.

Biting Stonecrop

GETTING THERE

On the A68: Turn off the A68 in WestWoodburn, signed Bellingham ? mile.Once in Bellingham, by the Garage, turnright and the Northumberland NationalPark Car Park at Hareshaw Linn is a shortway up the road on the right.

On the B6320 from Wark: Once inBellingham take the road on the rightsigned West Woodburn ? mile. Turn left opposite the Garage and theNorthumberland National Park Car Parkat Hareshaw Linn is a short way up theroad on the right.

LOCAL SERVICES

Bellingham is a small gateway town intoNorthumberland National Park that sitson the bank of the River North Tyne. Withits cafés, pubs, shops, and accommoda-tion, including a caravan & campsite, andbunkhouse it is a fabulous place toexplore the North Tyne area.

The Heritage Centre in the old RailwayStation is open from April to October and well worth a visit. It is a lively localmuseum with fascinating displays lookingat the North Tyne valley’s history including the rebellious Border Reivers,farming and mining, the Hareshaw IronWorks, the village blacksmith at work,and, a reconstruction of the studio of theearly 20th century photographer WalterPercy Collier. You can also revel in theromantic age of steam in the exhibitionon The Border Counties and ‘Wannie’Lines railways. Local tourist information is available here too.www.bellingham-heritage.org.uk

Heritage Centre

Bellingham Town Hall & Library Miners in Bellingham (19th Century)

WILDLIFE TO LOOK OUT FORThe ancient woodland at Hareshaw Linn is aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for itsrare ferns, lichen mosses and liverworts withover 300 species recorded. Badger havetheir homes in this woodland and rare redsquirrel can be spotted in the trees if you arelucky all year round. In spring great spottedwoodpecker can often be heard making theirdistinctive 'drumming' sound on old treetrunks. In the summer listen out for the woodwarbler with its ‘pit-pit-pitpitpitpt-t-t-ttt’ call. Roe deer are frequently seen grazing on thewoodland vegetation too.

Along the Hareshaw Burn you may see dippers bobing on the rocks. Salmon havebeen spotted swimming up the burn as far as the lower dam.

The hummocky ground outside the woodlandis the spoil heaps from the iron works andhave left a lime rich soil on which plants suchas the delicate fairy flax thrive.