If for anything else, please go to Northumberland for the waterfalls. I’ve linked my previous encounters with Northumberland waterfalls below.
I’ve been to four so far and each one holds its own personal charm.
Today’s one felt particularly special.
Like this post will end up, the walk to Hindhope Linn is short.
You start your journey in a vehicle of your choice, car, bus, tractor… at Kielder Castle visitor centre. As long as it can handle hills and a bumpy ride you’ll be sorted! It’s a great spot to start from as it has a bank of not too shabby toilets and a pub should you fancy a quick drink. From here you’ll find the 12 mile Forest Drive toll road. There is a cash only toll payment machine as you enter the road, it costs £3. From this road you’ll get an idea of how Forestry England works. It is their road. It is strewn with stones and a fantastic experience
for those wanting sweeping vistas of the pine forest and beyond. This is big sky country for sure.
At the halfway point and the highest point of the drive you’ll be 1500 metres above sea level and find ‘The Nick’, a stunning marvel of wooden architecture. It invites you in much like a tunnel and leads you to the most stunning view of the landscape you’ve left behind on the ascent. It has a series of pentagons that sporadically twist away from each other with ingenious seating built into its very being. Do not take a picnic, just your best coat, camera and intentions to get beautiful memories and photographs before the wind blows you away. And yes, it is COLD!
Another 5 miles or so down the road and you’ll find a small right hand turn with a toilet block and enough parking for maybe 5 cars. From here follow the trail with the orange markers for approximately 15 minutes. It is a very short trail and at the time of this post, there was a large part of the trail closed due to recent storms and its tall woody victims. Fret not, the walk blesses you with lush paths and dappled shade. We were very fortunate after a morning of rain to feel the sun on our backs as the wet earth underneath gave our feet the cushioning they so desired.
There are a few steep sections on this trail, but as the guide says they are steep and if they caused me any tiredness I did not waver to notice. This place felt really wild and isolated. A bit of me for sure.
On your right you can hear the rush of water and as you find sloping steps leading down you notice the babbling river beneath you. Turning right to follow another set of stairs you find yourself on the bank of the small stream. Drawing your gaze up to the left, past a small stone half circle acting as a threshold of sorts, you’ll be greeted with the most amazing scene.
It is green. The plants. The fallen trees. The rocks. All green. As your eyes adjust to the sunshine that seems to envelop this space, like no other scene before, you’ll notice that there is indeed a very beautiful, 20 foot high waterfall. It is gentle in force, but striking in its movement. The water from this beauty has created a space unlike any other I have seen in the world. It is so lush that wherever you look there are carpets of moss.
I sit for a while and stroke the moss covering a large boulder. It is thick. So thick, my hand disappears into its fluffy texture. There are crowns of ferns that have sprung up in pockets amongst the wood and rocks. They are waving in the breeze. When the sun disappears behind the cloud the whole spot becomes dark and mysterious. It vanishes like magic. And when the sun returns, it shines its light upon the rocks and the plants igniting them back into life. This place is really special.
It holds a certain mystique. A magic. This gully could be a daydream I have yet to wake up from. As we turn to leave, hundreds upon hundreds of tiny specks are flying, fleeing and falling through this enchanted space. Catching the light they glitter and dance. I imagine them to be fairies and we have found their kingdom. For no place like this can exist for us mere mortals.
Framework Travel 