Shaftoe Crags

Marks on the landscape

At first glance, the Open Access moorland of Shaftoe Crags looks to be a thoroughly wild and untouched place. However, humans have made their mark there in a number of different ways. Look carefully as you wander around the area, and those marks will gradually become apparent.

One of the oldest marks is the remains of an Iron Age (and later Romano-British) settlement above Salter’s Nick.The builders of the settlement used the natural features of the landscape – the tall crags of coarse gritstone – as part of the defences.The view from the crags across the flatter landscape beyond is splendid too, ideal for keeping a watch on all who approached. A curved earth and stone rampart can still be made out, as well as evidence for three roundhouses.

A more obvious mark can be found on Piper’s Chair at the southern end of Shaftoe Crags.This curiously named rock appears to have had a chunk scooped out to form a very comfortable seat. However, an even stranger mark can be found by carefully clambering up onto the taller and larger rock platform behind Piper’s Chair.There you’ll find the Devil’s Punchbowl, a perfectly circular basin in the surface of the rock.This was originally a natural feature of the rock that was enlarged and neatened off in 1725 on the occasion of the marriage of Sir William Blackett, owner of the nearby Wallington estate, to Lady Barbara Villiers, daughter of the Second Earl of Jersey. On the wedding night, the basin was filled with wine for those celebrating on the hill. Bonfires were then lit on the crags and a ‘drink-maddened crowd’ partied the evening away.

Another celebratory mark can be found north of Salter’s Nick on the moorland above the crags. This is the Jubilee Stone, erected in June 1887 by a Colonel R. Atkinson to honour Queen Victoria on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee. It’s unlikely that she knew about the tribute, but Atkinson deserves full marks for the effort.

Address Capheaton, Northumberland, NE61 4EA | Getting there Bus X 75 to Craig Hall and then a 25-minute walk; small designated area for car parking midway along East Shaftoe Hall farm track and then a 15-minute walk or paid car parking in West Wood Car Park at Bolam Lake (see ch. 32) and then a 35-minute walk | Tip Bide-a-Wee is a delightful ‘hidden’ cottage garden created in a small sandstone quarry by owner Mark Robson (www.bideawee.co.uk).