Shepherds Cairn And Nellie Heron Memorial Walk

There are a few lovely memorials dotted around the Cheviots and today we're going to hike to two of them - the Shepherds Cairn and the Nellie Heron memorial stone.

Parking at St Michael & All Angels, Alnham, there is a clear gravel track taking us straight up a nice steady ascent for 4km, enough to get the legs nice and warm. Just follow the path all the way towards Ewartly Shank and as you are approaching take the permissive path off to the right and soon you will spy the Shepherds Cairn.

Shepherds Cairn

The Shepherds Cairn remembers Jock Scott and Willie Middlemas, two shepherds who died in a blizzard in 1962. They were travelling home by tractor from Rothbury Market with a third shepherd, Willie Bulloch. After dropping him off at Castle Farm in Alnham, Jock and Willie continued across the fells towards their home farm at Ewartly Shank.

When Jock hadn't returned two days later, his wife went to ask Willie Bulloch if he knew where they were. A search began, involving local shepherds, the police and the RAF. Their tractor was found abandoned, then Jock was discovered under the snow at High Knowes, just half a mile from home. Willie was found the following day, less than 100 metres away.

The tragedy helped lead to the formation of a fell rescue team in 1966, which eventually became the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team. This cairn was erected near where the shepherds were found in 2007.

Leaving the cairn I now head north east towards Cobden Cleugh. The track gets a little difficult to follow here, but it's fairly easy ground to walk over. I get near to where I think the Nellie Heron stone is and to be honest I can't find it anyway. I probably spend a good 15 mins wandering around in grass and reeds looking for the stone and am about to give up when I spot something 30 metres away.

Nellie Heron Memorial Stone

This little memorial stone is not as grand as the Shepherds Cairn, but it's another reminder of just how harsh conditions can be in the Cheviots.

Eleanor “Nellie” Heron lived up at Hartside in the Breamish Valley and was a mother of ten children. On 3 December 1863, she had been in Alnham tending to a sick shepherd. Despite the worsening weather, she set off that afternoon to walk the roughly 8km home across the moors. Local accounts say she was urged to stay the night, but she carried on, singing A Day's March Nearer Home as she climbed the hill.

A blizzard swept across the moor and Nellie never made it home. She was found the following day, sitting upright in the snow with her walking stick and basket beside her. The stone marks roughly where she was found, although nobody seems to know who put it there or when.

Nellie is buried at St Bartholomew's Church in Whittingham. We called in on the way back and found her gravestone there too.

From here I head a bit more east until I pick up the main track then leads south on the Salter's Road and then back into Alnham.