The Cheviot

Cheviot Hills, United Kingdom

The Cheviot is the highest summit in the Cheviot Hills in the far north of England, only 2 km from the Scottish border. It is the last major peak on the Pennine Way, if travelling from south to north, before the descent into Kirk Yetholm. Other than the route via the Pennine Way, most routes up The Cheviot start from the Harthope Burn side to the northeast, which provides the nearest access by road. The summit is around 5 km from the road-end at Langleeford. There are routes following the ridges above either side of the valley, and a route that sticks to the valley floor until it climbs to the summit of The Cheviot from the head of the valley. Although the Pennine Way itself does a two-mile out-and-back detour to the Cheviot, many walkers who come this way omit it, since the stage (the last) is 29 miles long. The summit of the Cheviot is very flat. It is an ancient, extinct volcano. It is covered with an extensive peat bog up to 2 m deep; the Northumberland National Park authority have laid down stone slabs on the main access footpath to prevent erosion damage to the peat and to make access to the summit safer for walkers. North of the summit, in the peat bogs, are the remains of a crashed B-17 bomber, which hit the mountain due to a navigational error in World War II. The more recognisable pieces of wreckage have been removed, but pieces of the aircraft can still be found.