The Ravenber Way Guidebook provides an alternative route to Wooler close to the last leg of the journey. This leaves the main route before Auchop Cairn and travels via The Cheviot, Broadstruthers, and across Wooler Common. Wooler Youth Hostel is great for walkers with en suite bedrooms, a chatty common room, drying facilities, self-catering kitchen and pubs and cafes nearby.  From Wooler head to Westnewton Bridge to pick up the next section of the route.

How to fill your days in when staying at Wooler Youth Hostel and Shepherds’ Huts.

So, you have booked and checked into the Hostel, what next? How are you going to spend the time you have during your stay?
The options are really extensive, so we are going to give you some ideas to start.

Walks:
One of the reasons guests stay with us is they are walking the St Cuthberts way path, which is 62 mile National Trail between Melrose and the island of Lindisfarne, where en-route you will walk through beautiful countryside from the Eildon Hills, Cheviot Hills and the Northumberland Coast.
There many, many other shorter walks in the area, a good few straight from the Hostel Door.

Castles:
There are considered to be over 70 Castles in Northumberland, although some of them are not easy to spot and don’t get much interest, but some of the most popular ones provide a great day out with friends and family. As we say there are many, so take a look here to view details on some of the best ones. https://northumberlandsbest.co.uk/castles-in-northumberland/

Water Based Fun:
With rivers, waterfalls, lakes and the Sea on our doorstep you will never be stuck to find some water to swim, paddle, bathe or walk around.
In recent years wild swimming has become very popular and we are very lucky to have many locations which have been mentioned in publications like Daniel Start’s Wild Swimming book and others.
These locations are often tucked away in wild and peaceful places and don’t get too many people there at one time unlike places in the Lakes for example.
We list other water-based activities (Coasteering, Kayaking, Standup Paddle Boarding etc) on our website, so pop over and have a look. https://www.woolerhostel.co.uk/outdoor-activities/

Wildlife and Bird Watching:
When we think about Northumberland  wildlife adventures it’s very hard not to think about the Farne Islands.
These rocky islands off the Northumberland Coast are home to Atlantic grey seals and many species of seabird, including around 43,000 pairs of puffins, terns, guillemots and eider ducks. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/farne-islands
There are a few providers who offer trips to the islands to view the spectacular wildlife they area has to often, but we usually recommend Billy Shields Boat Trips https://www.farne-islands.com/

Areas of Historical  Interest:
Northumberland has thousands of years of rich history and whatever period you are interested in, Northumberland has that covered.
Again, very difficult to name all, but we have great examples of Iron and Bronze Age settlements (within a mile of the hostel), Roman History (Hadrians Wall to name one ), famous battle sites like Flodden Field, where the Scots and English Armies fought in 1513.
We can’t mention history without mentioning our own hostel, which was built in the 1940’s to house the Land Army Girls who had been draughted in to look after the agricultural and forestry needs of Northumberland during the Second World War.

OK, that’s hopefully enough to spark some plans during your stay, but trust us, we have only scratched the surface, and we can give you any more information you need when you book and come to stay with us.
See you soon hopefully.
Karl and Cindy x