Ford Moss Nature Reserve

About trip

Distance: 9 miles, Minnimum Time: 3hrs, Difficulty: Moderate, Description: Although Etal and Ford are peacefully united under the ownership of the Joiceys, history reveals a bitter feud between the two families that originally held them. With the establishment of Norman rule in the North, the manors of Etal and Ford were granted sometime in the 12th century to the Manners and the Herons respectively. It seems that conflict arose out of a power struggle between them, which finally came to a head in 1428, when William Ford was killed in an affray at Etal Castle. His widow accused John Manners of maliciously killing her husband and, although John subsequently forked out a hefty compensation to Mrs Ford, the feud rumbled on for another ten years. Border Troubles. The first manors would have been little more than stout wooden structures, surrounded by palisades as defence against intruders, with stone buildings appearing later only as means allowed. The Herons were the first to be granted a licence to crenellate, in 1341, and the Manners soon followed, building up their existing hall into the tower house that still stands at Etal’s north-western corner, and adding the enclosing walls and gatehouse a little later. The two castles suffered many attacks from marauding bands, with Ford being largely destroyed in 1385. But it was not until 1513 that real trouble arrived, when a force of 30,000 Scots appeared with James IV at its head, after taking the castles at both Norham and Wark. The defence at Etal collapsed after a brief bombardment and the capitulation of Ford quickly followed. Yet, for whatever reason, James seems not to have pressed home his advantage, for he lingered a few days at Ford allowing the Earl of Surrey vital time to bring an army north. They met days later at Flodden and, although heavily outnumbered, the English routed the Scots, killing James along with many of his nobles. Etal, now back in English hands, was used to store the captured Scottish artillery that James had hauled south with his army. As the century progressed, the area settled down and the need for stark fortifications became a thing of the past. Etal deteriorated and was finally abandoned as a home, the Carrs, its then owners, building a mansion to the east of the village in 1748, whilst Ford was remodelled shortly after as a grand country house. The two villages have developed very different characters, Ford portraying the best of early 19th-century town planning, whilst Etal gives the impression of a romantic pastoral age. Yet these pretty cottages are in fact newer than those at Ford. Although remodelled when the Carrs built their grand house, by the late 19th century, Etal’s quaint thatched cottages had become totally insanitary and when Lord Joicey bought the estate in 1907, he had them completely rebuilt. While you're there: Take a ride on the Heatherslaw Light Railway, a 15-inch gauge steam railway running between Heatherslaw Mill and Etal Castle. The line opened in July 1989 and, for much of its length, runs beside the River Till. What to look out for: Pop into the superbly restored Heatherslaw Mill as you pass. There has been a watermill on the river since the 13th century, but the present structure, built as a corn mill, is only around 150 years old. Where to eat and drink: The Black Bull in Etal is the only thatched pub in the county and serves a good selection of bar meals. You’ll also find the Lavender Tearooms here, in the village store. There’s also a café at Heatherslaw Mill. Directions: Walk through the village of Etal to the main road and turn right towards Ford, shortly leaving along a lane on the left-hand side to Letham Hill. When you reach the cottages, go right on a track beside the sawmill, signed ‘Heatherslaw and Hay Farm’, and keep on across the fields beyond. At the bottom, by Shipton Dean, go through a gate on the right into a strip of wood. Beyond, head down the edge of successive fields to regain the main road opposite Heatherslaw Station. Cross to the lane opposite, following it over a bridge and around past Heatherslaw Mill. Keep going to Heatherslaw farm but, after the right-hand bend, leave through a five-bar gate on the left, signed ‘Ford Bridge’. Pass a shed and go through a second gate. Bear right, crossing to another gate in the far corner of the field by the river. Continue above the Till to Ford Bridge, there following the field edge away from the river to a gate leading out to a lane. Head back along it, crossing the bridge to a junction. To the right, the road winds up to Ford. Go past the entrance to the church and Ford Castle before turning left into the village. At the bottom, opposite the Lady Waterford Gallery, turn right to ascend to a junction opposite Jubilee Cottage. Go right to the main road, then left to a lay-by at the crest of the hill. Cross a stile, signed ‘Fordhill’, take a track into a wood and almost immediately turn left at a waymark on to a narrower path. Emerging over a wall at the top, continue along a contained walkway into the corner of an open field. Go diagonally downhill, crossing a grown-out hedge in the field middle to find a gate in the far bottom corner. In the next field, follow the right-hand boundary for 150yds (137m), leaving through a gap down to a crossing track. Go through the gateway opposite and head on a left diagonal across the fields, eventually reaching a lane at the top. Go left for 200yds (183m), then sharp right on a climbing track beside a pine forest, signed ‘South Moor’. Keep ahead past a gate, shortly emerging in a clearing overlooking the Ford Moss Nature Reserve. A large, shallow, waterlogged depression, Ford Moss has evolved from the accumulation of decaying vegetation over a period of 5,000 years. The process produces an ever-deepening layer of peat and, in places, the bog floats upon the underlying water. To the left, a track leads through a gate. Just beyond, bear left again, to continue beside a perimeter wall at the edge of rough pasture. Where the wall later curves left and the ground falls away, bear right. Beyond a track, keep ahead, joining a fence over to the right, which leads past a pond to a gate. Carry on through a copse beside the right-hand boundary, then move to the left corner to two gates. Through the right-hand one, a path winds into forest, crossing a stream before gently climbing to emerge on to the B6353 Walk left, then go right on a forest road, signed ‘Slainsfield’. Beyond the trees, continue between fields and, where the track eventually turns right, keep ahead over the crest of the hill to a gate. Now in a rough pasture, walk down beside the fence. Partway along, at a dog-leg, pass through a gate to continue on the other side, eventually emerging at the bottom on to a lane. Walk along the lane to the right, back to Letham Hill, and retrace your outward steps back to the village of Etal.