Next week, my partner, two friends, and I will be hiking a section of the Reivers Way in Northumberland, England, from inn to inn over five days.
The Border Reivers were notorious for terrorizing communities in the area around the border between Scotland and England from the 13th to the 17th centuries. Some of them were eventually deported to the Appalachian region of what was then the British colony.
On our first day of walking, Reivers Way follows the route of St. Cuthbert’s Way. In the seventh century, St. Cuthbert was Abbot of a monastery on Holy Island, also known as Lindisfarne, just off the Northumberland coast. We’ll catch glimpses of the island’s distinct profile on day 2 or 3 of our walk.
Even better known than St. Cuthbert or the Border Reivers is Vera, the detective from the television series of the same name. Now in its 12th season, the series is based in my hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne and includes locations from the surrounding countryside in Northumberland and County Durham. The stunning locations have led to the “Vera Effect,” where locals and tourists alike have discovered the beauty of the region.
I searched local newspapers for mentions of Vera in the area, and managed to track down 7 locations shown in this map.
The blue line is the route of our multi-day hike. My partner and I walked the inland section of the trail from Wooler to Bamburgh in September 2010. Along the way, we stopped to peer into St. Cuthbert’s Cave.
Legend has it that monks carried St. Cuthbert’s body here in 875 AD to protect it from Danish raids along the Northumberland coast. Over the next several centuries, the body was moved many times, eventually ending up in today’s Durham Cathedral.
In October 2015 I walked the coastal section from Bamburgh to Alnmouth and beyond, solo.
We’re in for a treat, walking through the land of Reivers, a Saint, and a fictional TV detective.