The Cheviot can seem a dull hump. But not so fast. Head up it out of Scotland, and you get the benefit of the long border ridge running up from the Halter Burn near Kirk Yetholm. Then descend into the craggy emptiness of the Hen Hole, a place once used to hide herds of stolen cattle. The fairies here can bewitch you with strange music so that you never find your way out again... perhaps a pair of earplugs could help at this point. You follow the springs of College Burn through the exit gap below scrappy granite crags and above some waterfalls. This 50km-plus route could be broken with an overnight at the Mounthooly Bunkhouse, before the gentle return leg along the College valley and then west again along a section of St Cuthbert's Way.
32.62 miles, 52.50 km, 1,184m ascent, 12 – 14 hours. Town Yetholm
This week's Friday Night Video whisks us back to Val-David, Quebec, in the Autumn of 1958. Two daring young climbers embark on the ascent of a route that seemed unattainable, resembling a roof suspended in the air, defying all the conventions of the time....
Podcast Mountain Air - 13. Jamie Aarons, Fastest Munroist in History