Northumberland 250

Thanks to the popularity of the 500-mile route around Scotland – the North Coast 500 – an enterprising group of folk decided to organise a route around the north-east of England that was half the length called, obviously enough, the Northumberland 250 (not to be confused with the NE250 in Scotland).

Aside from passing through a large part of Northumberland National Park, the route also covers the visually stunning stretch of coastline that borders Northumbria and the North Sea, as well as dipping over the border and into Scotland.

As a circular route, it’s possible to start at any point, but we’ll begin at Kielder Castle, immediately taking the amazing Forest Drive, a 15-mile toll road (with a £3 charge) that runs through the forest and is entirely appropriate if you happen to be riding an Adventure bike, given that the surface is unsealed. The road ends at Blakehopeburnhaugh, close to the A68, a rollercoaster of a road that heads north-west, across the Scottish border and on to Jedburgh, which was, for us, a convenient spot to stop for lunch. North out of Jedburgh, and then striking eastwards on the A698 to head for Kelso, but peeling off on to the B6401 and then B6352 aiming at the most northerly point of the National Park itself, crossing back into England at Shotton, then taking a right on to the B6351 back into the National Park, skirting around its northern edge before turning left, northwards, on to the A697 for a short blast.

The official route now heads further north to Berwick-upon-Tweed, but we carried eastbound on the B6353, through the spectacular Ford & Etal estates, and terminating at a T-junction with the A1, to head south with the stunning North Sea coast to the left. There are numerous distractions along the A1 – Holy Island, Seahouses, Bamburgh, Craster, etc. – and the pukka Northumberland 250 route uses the road that hugs the coast rather than the slightly inland (and much busier) A1, and while we started to head west towards the setting sun, the route loops further south, through Warkworth and back up to Anwick, which is worth a stop, even if it’s only to visit the Poison Garden at Anwick Castle.

From Anwick, the B6341 runs south-west, through Rothbury and back into the National Park, onwards to

Otterburn with a truly wild feeling in the open landscape, and while we cut back across the Park to complete the loop at Kielder, the proper route sweeps south down to Corbridge on the A68 – it’s a fast and fairly straight piece of road, but be wary of the crests that can hide oncoming traffic. From here, the route is back to B roads, cutting into the North Pennines AONB to Blanchland, across to Allenheads and then northwards, crossing the A69 on to the B6318 (this is what is known as the Military Road, and is typical as a very straight piece of Roman road), and into the National Park and past Once Brewed.

Turning left in Chollerford takes you on to the B6320, which runs alongside the North Tyne river for a while on the way to Bellingham, and after crossing the river take the first left, on to an unclassified road that continues to follow the river, eventually bringing you around the southern banks of Kielder Water and then back into Kielder itself, ready for another £3 trip through the forest.

More details at www.northumberland250.com