Hareshaw Linn Walk
A wonderful walk towards a spectacular waterfall with rare plant life and wildlife on the way.
Hareshaw Linn is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), designated for its rare ferns and lichen. More than 300 different types of mosses, liverworts and lichen can be found. The ‘Linn’ is also home to red squirrels, great spotted woodpeckers, redstarts, dippers, badgers and Daubenton’s bats.
If you’re looking for a magical walk to do with the family during half-term, head to Bellingham to explore one of Northumberland’s hidden gems.
This family-friendly walk will keep everyone entertained through natural wonder, history and adventure. Lace up your walking shoes, grab your backpack, and delve into the mystical Hareshaw Linn walk.
Hareshaw Linn Walk is a captivating 3.5 mile circular trail that leads you into a lush, wooded gorge. It’s a perfect walk for families, offering a magical blend of natural beauty and a tumbling waterfall.
Getting started
Your adventure begins at Bellingham, a charming rural village in Northumberland. Park your car and head to the start of the trail, where you’ll find information with maps and essential details about the walk. The footpath route is easy to follow but make sure you familiarise yourself with the walk before you leave home – take a look at the Hareshaw Linn route here.
The majestic waterfall
As you venture further along the Hareshaw Linn walk, you’ll be greeted by the soothing sounds of running water. Your destination along this walk is the magical Hareshaw Linn waterfall, which is a real sight to behold and even more so after a few days of rain! The stream, surrounded by beautiful ancient woodland, cascades into a pool at the heart of the gorge. It’s a place that will spark your imagination!
Family-friendly
The trail is well-maintained and relatively easy to navigate, making it suitable for all ages. There are some steeper sections and occasional muddy spots, so sturdy footwear is advisable. Rest assured, the rewards along the way are well worth the effort, especially when you start to hear the waterfall before you see it!
Historical and natural wonders
Hareshaw Linn isn’t just about natural beauty; it’s also a place steeping in history. Along the trail you’ll come across remnants of an old ironworks, a reminder of the area’s industrial past. This combination of history and nature offers an opportunity to engage curious mind in stories of the past and a fascinating way to show how nature can reclaim its space.
Bellingham is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, to the north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne and is situated on the Hareshaw Burn at its confluence with the River North Tyne. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1334.
Features
Famous as a stopping point on the Pennine Way trail it is popular with walkers and cyclists. Nearby is the Hareshaw Linn, a waterfall and the site of early coke blast furnaces.
The village's local newspaper is the Hexham Courant. There is also an 18-hole golf course which was established in 1893.
The Heritage Centre is the local museum. It has exhibitions on the Border Counties Railway, the Border reivers, mining, farming, the photography of W P Collier, and the Stannersburn Smithy. It has a database of local family names and one of old photographs. It also holds special exhibitions of historical or artistic interest, and readings and performances by poets, storytellers, musicians and dancers.
St Cuthbert's
The Grade-I listed Church of St Cuthbert (13th century, substantially reconstructed in the early 17th century) is described as 'almost unique in England' owing to its stone barrel vault, which runs the length of the nave and extends into the south transept. Three miracles in Bellingham connected with the mediaeval cult of St Cuthbert are recorded in the twelfth-century Libellus of Reginald of Durham.
Within the churchyard on the north side is "The Lang Pack", purportedly the grave of a burglar who attempted to infiltrate a local house by hiding in a beggar's pack, but was discovered after he suffered an ill-timed coughing fit, and was promptly run through with the sword of the house's proprietor.
Adjacent to the church is St Cuthbert's Well, known locally as "Cuddy's Well", an ancient holy well. The well is in the middle of a grassy path leading down to the river, on the other side of the churchyard wall.
From 1735 the parish rectors at Bellingham were under the patronage of the Governors of Greenwich Hospital. The Governors stipulated that the rectors were to be graduates of Oxford or Cambridge, and naval chaplains. Bellingham Rectory was one of six such rectories in the Simonburn area, the others being Falstone, Greystead, Thorneyburn, Wark on Tyne and Simonburn.
Landmarks
Bellingham Bridge is a Grade II listed building built in 1834. It crosses the North Tyne. Bellingham Town Hall was completed in 1862.
Two miles north-east at Hole Farm is a 16th-century Grade II* listed building, Hole Bastle, a well-preserved example of a bastle house. Another example is Black Middens Bastle House which is situated in an isolated spot on the north side of the Tarset Valley. It is managed by English Heritage.
Shitlington Crags is a crag near Shitlington Hall, south of Bellingham. The crag is at an average height of 170 metres. The Pennine Way passes by the crag.
There is a former Union Workhouse located along the main street of Bellingham.
Notable residents
Sir David Lindsay Keir, the historian and academic, was born and bred here.
Governance
Bellingham is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham. Guy Opperman of the Conservative Party is the Member of Parliament.
For Local Government purposes it belongs to Northumberland County Council a unitary authority. An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches north to the Scottish Border with a total population of 4,074. The incumbent Councillor of the Bellingham ward is John Riddle, who is a member of the Conservative Party.
Bellingham has its own parish council; Bellingham Parish Council.
Sports
The village football team competes in the Tyneside Amateur League First Division.
Northumberland is a ceremonial county in North East England, bordering Scotland. It is bordered by the Scottish Borders to the north, the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The town of Blyth is the largest settlement.
The county has an area of 5,013 km2 (1,936 sq mi) and a population of 320,274, making it the least-densely populated county in England. The south-east contains the largest towns: Blyth (37,339), Cramlington (27,683), Ashington (27,670), and Morpeth (14,304), which is the administrative centre. The remainder of the county is rural, and the largest towns are Berwick-upon-Tweed (12,043) in the far north and Hexham (13,097) in the west. For local government purposes the county is a unitary authority area. The county historically included the parts of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne.
The west of Northumberland contains part of the Cheviot Hills and North Pennines, while to the east the land becomes flatter before reaching the coast. The Cheviot (815 m (2,674 ft)), after which the range of hills is named, is the county's highest point. The county contains the source of the River North Tyne and much of the South Tyne; near Hexham they combine to form the Tyne, which exits into Tyne and Wear shortly downstream. The other major rivers in Northumberland are, from south to north, the Blyth, Coquet, Aln, Wansbeck and Tweed, the last of which forms part of the Scottish border. The county contains Northumberland National Park and two national landscapes: the Northumberland Coast and part of the North Pennines.
Much of the county's history has been defined by its position on a border. In the Roman era most of the county lay north of Hadrian's Wall, and the region was contested between England and Scotland into the Early Modern era, leading to the construction of many castles, peel towers and bastle houses, and the early modern fortifications at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Northumberland is also associated with Celtic Christianity, particularly the tidal island of Lindisfarne. During the Industrial Revolution the area had significant coal mining, shipbuilding, and armaments industries.
