The Quietest Place in Britain: College Valley

by Mike Holly

Home is where the heart is. And most travelers will find that deep down they have a song, a book and a special place to keep close throughout the years.

The song will probably be on your iPod in the 10 minutes between taking your seat on the plane and it starting to taxi along the runway.

The book will probably be one that you read when they were under 30. It might be lent, lost, gifted away or just left behind as you rush to pack your bags. No matter; you will remember it down the years and probably own different copies at different times.

And the special place? It need not be anything famous or dramatic but it will carry a magic that few others can match. Such a place is the College Valley in Northumberland.

A beautiful misty view into Scotland, taken from the Pennine way as it skirts the College Valley.

The Cheviot Hills sit on the border between England and Scotland. This is a land with a dangerous history; here the wars of Scottish independence were fought. Here the Border Rievers crept through the night to steal and kill. And here at the top of an ancient volcano sits the Cheviots. The College Valley offers over 12,000 acres of gentle wilderness, and it was here that man would have come when the glaciers retreated in the last ice age. Here he came to  hunt the bear and other animals.

Bringing the sheep down the valley

The introduction of quad bikes has substantially reduced the number of shepherds needed to manage the 12,000 acres of the College Valley. However the Collies are still needed.

History is everywhere you look. Let me count the ways it surrounds you:

1. Neolithic stone circle in the heart of the Valley.
2. Iron age hill forts on top of the hills.
3. Remains of settlements from the time of the Romans.
4. Relics from Border Rieving days and the slaughter that came with the wars of Scottish Independence lie just outside.
Recent owners include
5. Admiral Collingwood who fought alongside Nelson at Trafalgar.
6. The Grey family from nearby Howick who had Earl Grey tea specially designed for them.
7. Arthur Sutherland who also ruined the majestic ruins of nearby Dunstanburgh Castle.
8. College Valley Estates with money left by the shipowner Sir James Knott.
9. During WWII, pilots’ planes crashed on these hills and there are the remains of a Flying Fortress which was built in Long Beach, California.

Remains of the Flying Fortress from WWII.

So as the evening light falls, and the shadows run through blue to purple to black, it is as if the years slip away and you can almost reach out, see, hear and touch the past. This is a special place indeed. Coincidentally, it was nominated as the quietest place in Britain.

Burning the heather is a time honoured tradition and part of the estate management planned to help the return of the Black Grouse.

You can read more about the Valley here.

What else? The special song, well for me it has to be Africa by Toto.
And the book? Well maybe i will save that for another article.

This article was written for Travelated by Mike Holly. Mike  blogs about Northumberland.