Gilhal one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Gilhal here.

I walked GilHal Two which is based on GilHal One, but corrected the section where the original is impossible at Wrytree Farm and Coal Drift. As I passed this section, I could see enough to know that I would have been delayed trying to find my way around the problem if I’d tried to follow GilHal One without doing any checking first, therefore I feel it needs to be flagged/failed.

A good route between Gilsland and Haltwhistle. Foot-only, however, given the terrain and number of steps, stiles (normal and ladder) and gates.

From Gilsland, with its transport links (although check the bus times, as they're infrequent) pubs and shops, we head straight down a footpath between playgrounds, before heading up steps, and through a subway under the railway. Poltross Burn milecastle is nearby if you want a Roman diversion, but the route takes us uphill along a green path, before heading along Hadrian's Wall Path between the massive earthworks of the Wall.

Through fields and past farms, we're on the Path for a while, until we reach the road to Greenhead. The road is unpaved, but we're not going far, and paved at the end (if you don't fancy a road walk, I recommend taking the path by the terraced houses, which, once over the railway level crossing, follows the burn down into Greenhead).

In Greenhead, there's a cafe and a pub if you need a break, but the route continues once over the burn, heading south. It's a bit overgrown in places, but easy to navigate. Once past the vicarage, we're across fields, wet in places, until we reach College Farm. From there, a tarmac track heads uphill, with a footpath running around the back of Wrytree Farm (if you don't fancy disturbing the cows, just continue ahead on the drive).

Despite the route on the map, and on OS, going through the old drift mine, this is now impossible. I found a stile to exit the compound of garages and storage units, but no way in. Even talking to locals, they seemed unsure too. So it's best to walk around the compound and head uphill, past the pylon on the left. Then it's across the field to the edge of the woodlands, and a ladder stile down to the road.

The road is unpaved, but double-laned and wide enough for all to use, with verges if needed, although not much traffic. This road eventually heads downhill, becoming more residential, before we hit the centre of Haltwhistle itself, with shops, station and bus links.

A decent mix of rural and road walking, and not too taxing, despite some uphill sections.

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