Walking from Haltwhistle to Alston along the South Tyne Trail

I have always been interested in disused railway walks and was delighted to find that it was possible to walk between Haltwhistle and Alston almost entirely along the former line between the two towns.  In fact, the only sections not along the original route are in the area of the Haltwhistle bypass and around the station at Lambley.  Taking advantage of the relatively good weather on Friday, 21st March, 2014, I walked the fourteen miles between the two towns along the South Tyne Trail.

The first part of the route is entirely on well metalled footpaths with easy gradients.  Some good views are to be had of the Alston arches immediately upon leaving Haltwhistle.  After a few miles, Lambley viaduct is reached.  Some steep paths have to be negotiated as the route avoids the privately owned Lambley station.  Fortunately, it is possible to walk over the viaduct and some spectacular views are to be had of the river and the viaduct itself as shown below.

Beyond Lambley, the path is mainly of gravel construction but makes for easy walking.  The old platform is still visible at Coanwood station.  A substantial pair of buffers are also still sited there.
The countryside is a mixture of moorland and woods until Slaggyford is reached.  A typical view of the countryside along the trail is shown below:

The largest settlement on the route is Slaggyford.  Whilst there do not appear to be any services for walkers in the village, the station is quite well preserved and worth stopping at for a few minutes.  The station building on the left of the photograph below is showing decided signs of having seen better days but presumably will be renovated once the South Tyne Dale railway reaches Slaggyford in the next few years.

The cycle trail turns off the railway line just south of Slaggyford and it soon becomes apparent that there is a good reason for this.  The footpath is very boggy for about a mile and makes for hard going and wet boots.  Considerable drainage works will be required before the railway can be reinstated in this area.  Thankfully, the boggy section does not continue for too long and a firm footpath is reached before the point that the narrow gauge railway starts just north of Lintley Halt.  The slightly unexpected start of the railway is shown below:

 

The firm footpath continues from Lintley Halt alongside the railway to the terminus at the wonderfully preserved Alston station.

 

The walk took me five hours at a moderate pace with a couple of breaks for sandwiches and coffee.  Admittedly I did the walk in March but I only saw six other walkers and no cyclists over the entire day.  I would certainly recommend the trail as a pleasant and relatively easy walk through stunning moorland scenery.  If you also have an interest in railway architecture, you are in for a memorable and enjoyable day.