Walk 1...

Prehistoric Rock Art Tour. Less than 8km (5miles), less than 230m (760 feet) of ascent; exploring the sites and travelling between them 5 hours. You simply follow me to the sites. The car travelling time altogether will be around 45 minutes. Meet at Wooler Car Park.

There are some spectacular examples of Neolithic stone carvings in the sandstone escarpments at the fringes of the Cheviot Hills. Commonly called 'ring and cup marks' this rock art is mysterious and intriguing and often occurs in locations giving panoramic views of the Cheviot Hills. This tour will take you to three different locations close to Wooler which will inspire you to contemplate why our ancestors undertook this art form some 3500 to 5000 years ago. Is the art form as abstract as it seems? What could it signify? Is it merely decoration? How do archaeologists explain this rock art? At each site you will have time to study the different motifs and put forward your own interpretations. At one site in particular you can seek out and find some of the 'hidden' carvings. At some sites we will also be able to see ancient burial mounds called cists or cairns. We conclude with a walk around the heritage trail of Maelmin just outside Wooler which offers a time trail and reconstructions of henges and huts, based on archaeological evidence, from Mesolithic times (10000years ago) to the so called Dark Ages (1500 years ago).