If you’re in the Northumberland town of Wooler and are raring to go on a good, long hike, Humbleton Hill is the destination for you.

A fairly modest peak of 285m, its steep sides provide good exercise, with excellent views of the Till Valley and the Cheviot Hills from the top.

Humbleton Hill also has historical interest, being the site of an Iron Age fort where a major battle between English and Scottish armies took place in 1402. More on this below.

There are various routes you can take, the two most popular being an 8m circular walk from Wooler town centre, or a shorter hike beginning and ending in Wooler Common car park.

A variation is to follow St Cuthbert’s Way from Wooler Common car park in the direction of Gains Law, and then fork right to join the regular route.

If you start the trail from Wooler Common car park, you will first have to go through woods. Fortunately, there are signposts with markers showing the way.

The above photo was taken last year. More recently, many of these trees have toppled over following a series of major storms that hit the northeast in the winter.

It is estimated that Storm Arwen damaged around eight million trees in Scotland alone.

The Battle of Homildon Hill

Humbleton Hill (also known as Homildon Hill) was the scene of a significant battle on Sept 14, 1402 between English and Scottish armies.

The English were led by Harry Hotspur, the eldest son of Henry Percy, the first Earl of Northumberland. He was supported by a Scotsman, George Dunbar, the Earl of March.

Dunbar had forsaken his Scottish allegiance following a family dispute with the Earl of Douglas, who led the Scottish army.

Thanks to the English deployment of archers and the devastating power of the longbow, the Scots were heavily defeated, while English losses were negligible.

This article first appeared on Northumberland Traveller.