Vertigo

LETJOG PEAK No 48: The Cheviot, Northumberland (815 metres)

Walk Date: Tuesday 12 September 2023

My 48th and antepenultimate County Top walk was certainly not anticlimactic. Far from it, and far from human settlement, this walking day across the peaty terrain of the remote Cheviots ranks as demanding as any of the rambles on my LETJOG Peaks challenge. A wonderful day, with the weather on side – no rain, despite the forecast, and a cool breeze on the tops that made for easier exertion – and I also had the good company of Fergus, my second cousin, who you may have seen on this Blog two years ago when he joined me for a day of my LETJOG trek in southern Scotland. And what a splendiferous day it turned out to be!

At 815 metres of elevation The Cheviot is the second highest top of all of the Ceremonial Counties of England, behind only Scafell Pike in Cumbria. I have never climbed to its peak before, although I passed quite close on the final day of my Pennine Way trek four years ago: the summit is a mile or so off the main Pennine Way path, and I recall that a combination of fatigue and the constraints of time were enough to put me off on that occasion. It was good to be back to complete this unfinished business, and especially fun to share a fine day’s walking with Fergus – his fitness is astounding, as he led the way up the principal climbs just two days after completing the Great North (half-marathon) Run in an almost Personal Best time! Mind you, he does have a few years’ advantage on me!

On a slight tangent, I must confess that today’s heading ‘Vertigo’ is a little misleading: despite being one of our land’s highest peaks, and with a prominence of 556 metres handsomely a ‘Marilyn’ to boot, The Cheviot is a flat-topped mount that offers limited views from its summit beyond the surrounding peat bogs. Notwithstanding, we enjoyed some wonderful vistas on the ascent, and especially on the return walk down the ridge from the summit and over Scald Hill. Here’s how we got on.

Fergus and I had some memorable moments today on this latest leg of my LETJOG Peaks venture atop the Cheviots. Certainly it will be difficult to forget our water stop and morning snack on Comb Fell – when the top rail of the timber fence that we had selected as our perch suddenly collapsed – and left us both, mid-banana, on our backsides in the peat bog. No physical injuries fortunately, and a shame our reactions were not captured on film! Over a celebratory pint we reflected on this moment and, for us both, on a great day’s maiden climb of The Cheviot, an experience that will live long in the memory. Many thanks Fergus for joining me, for the lively conversation, and for all the fun and achievement of this shared experience in the hills.

My Blog heading today ‘Vertigo’ is borrowed from a song title by Pete Docherty and his indie-rock bandmate in The Libertines, Carl Barât. Docherty was born in Hexham, Northumberland and broke through as frontman of The Libertines in the early 2000s. The song ‘Vertigo’ appears as the first track on the band’s debut studio album ‘Up The Bracket’ that was released in 2002: the album was placed tenth by NME in its 2009 list of ‘The Greatest British Albums Ever’, just behind The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’. Vertiginous praise indeed!