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Northwest Northumberland, the great triangular chunk of land between Hadrian's Wall and the coastal plain, is dominated by the wide-skied landscapes of the Northumberland National Park , whose four hundred windswept square miles rise to the Cheviot Hills on the Scottish border. These uplands are interrupted by great slabs of forest, mostly the conifer plantations of the Forestry Commission, and a string of river valleys, of which Coquetdale, Tynedale and Redesdale are the longest. Remote from lowland law and order, these dales were once the homelands of the Border Reivers , turbulent clans who ruled the local roost from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century. The Reivers took advantage of the struggles between England and Scotland to engage in endless cross-border rustling and general brigandage, activities recalled by the ruined bastles (fortified farmhouses) and peels (defensive tower-houses) that lie dotted across the landscape. Good walking country can be found right across the National Park. The most popular trail is the Pennine Way , which, entering the National Park at Hadrian's Wall, cuts up through Bellingham on its way to The Cheviot, the park's highest peak at 2674ft, finishing at Kirk Yetholm, over the border in Scotland. This part of the Pennine Way is 64 miles long, but it's easy to break the hike up into manageable portions as the footpath passes through a variety of tiny settlements, several of which have youth hostels, B&B accommodation and campsites. As an introduction, it's hard to beat the lovely moorland scenery of the fifteen-mile stretch from Housesteads at Hadrian's Wall to Bellingham , a pleasant town on the banks of the North Tyne. Bellingham is also on the road to Kielder Water , a pine-surrounded reservoir which has been vigorously promoted as a water-sports centre and nature reserve since its creation in 1982. Farther north, Rothbury , in Coquetdale, is close to both the Simonside Hills and Cragside , the nineteenth-century country home of Lord Armstrong, whilst at Wooler footpaths lead into the Cheviot Hills. Beyond Wooler, a succession of battle sites and castles attest to the erstwhile military significance of this border region; notable among them is idiosyncratically restored Chillingham , which is home to an equally unusual herd of wild cattle .
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