Pedlar's Stone

There's nothing better than a winter drive across MOD land in Northumberland, other than doing the same in the summer months! The views are vast and ever changing. We turned off at Billsmoorfoot, and with Simonside to the east and the snow speckled Cheviot Hills to the North, your eyes are spoilt for choice in whichever direction you look.

But when you step back from the big and focus on the small, landmarks seem few and far between in this rugged off-road landscape. So when we noticed the Pedlars Stone on our OS map, we were intrigued.

The Pedlar's Stone, though, took a bit of searching out up on Daws Hill. We drove first to a walled plantation, which seemed to hold some significance. A wibbly wobbly wall in a strange cross shape, kind of like a four leafed clover or of an overstretched rubber band that's lost its ping. It looked like a sheepfold, but was filled with Scotts Pine. I checked the aerial view on Google Earth, and sure enough, it must have been consciously built. I wonder why it was designed this way? We scoured it to see if the Pedlar's Stone was perhaps hidden in there. We'd heard it was part of a wall but could find no clues.

We left as it was blowing a hooley, and it was hard to keep our eyes open in the northerly blast. Crestfallen, and with a bit of husband/ wife grumping:

Me: “I don't think we really looked properly”.

Steve: “It's far too windy”.

Me: “It's just wind.”

Steve: "I can't actually open my eyes to seeeeeee"

I don't like to leave the scene of a supposed find without the find!

Then bang, just before the cattle grid, the Pedlar's Stone in all its solid glory! Between the metal gate and a nibbled out bit of wall, the Pedlar's Stone is encased in a more modern day jacket of dry stone wall. Originally a boundary marker, this huge hunk of sandstone now sits amidst a larger, longer wall across Daws Moss.

The Pedlar's Stone used to be part of a larger series of waymarkers with an 1852 map showing 13 boundary stones dotting the way between the Pedlar's Stone to Cuddy Moss in the west. The stones highlighted the boundary between two farms, but also delineated the boundary between Harbottle and Hepple. We could see more large stones across the moor, but I wasn't sure if there was a connection to the Pedlar's stone. If you know, let me know!

Over the years ten stones have been identified, nine of which have TC marked upon them for Thomas Clennell and one marked C for Crag Farm.

An 1825 mention of the stone refers to it as the Pether's Stone which in Scottish means to vanish or disappear!

You'd be hard pressed to move that in a hurry!

The Ministry of Defence has owned this land since 1911. The Northumberland National Park was developed in 1956 and here the MOD land makes up a 23% chunk. That's almost a quarter of the National Park!

We were taken by the neat togetherness of this old bastle house at Raw Farm. Then, around the bend, we came to another old relic of the past: Craig Bastle, which was chunked up next to the farmhouse and hard to see from the road.

If you're planning a visit to anywhere within the MOD land, do be sure to check the MOD website to avoid firing times. The area is out of bounds to the general public during planned firing and it's always apparent as red flags are flying next to public roads if you shouldn't drive there. Don't be put off though, as when the flags are down, it's perfectly safe to drive there and walk on marked footpaths and it's genuinely some of the most breathtaking views in the UK.