Allan Banks, which is just off the A69 between Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle was where Neil and I decided to head to after it was recommended by Zoe - a regular on the brasher blog!

As we are not the most experienced of walkers this route was perfect. This National Trust area offers many miles of woodland alongside the River Allan. Starting at the car park in Allen Banks we headed up through the woods to Plankey Mill, where we stopped off for a bite to eat. The sun was shining and it was a very hot day so we were glad of the goodies we had packed at this point!

We carried on up to Staward Gorge which was the furthest point of our route. From here we decided that we would head back - though not without climbing the extremely (or so it seemed at the time!) steep bank up to Staward Peel, the ruins of a medieval gatehouse. It was well worth the climb as the views are fantastic and the climb down is so much easier.

The route we followed was approx 8-9miles but you can vary the distance as there are shorter routes to follow. If you're ever in this area I would recommend this walk and I'll keep you posted on where we head off to next!

by Sarah Shanley