Birney Hill

The walk up Birney Hill rewards you with proper views across Northumberland's rolling moorland - nothing dramatic, but genuinely lovely on a clear day. From Hexham, it's an easy afternoon outing, the sort of place where you can bang out a couple of hours without needing to commit your entire day to it.

It's a straightforward fell walk rather than a scramble, so families with decent walkers will manage fine. The climb isn't punishing, though the final stretch gets a bit steep for what's essentially a local hill. Once you're up there, you get the reward - wide views south and west, heather and grass underfoot, and often the peace of having the place largely to yourself.

You won't find facilities or crowds, which is precisely the point. Pack water and snacks. Allow two to three hours return depending on fitness. Go on a dry day when visibility counts; a misty Birney Hill is just a plod through nothing much.

If you're based at one of the glamping spots nearby - Sycamore Glamping Pods or Wild Northumberland are both within a few miles - this makes sense as a morning walk before heading elsewhere. It's the sort of outing that fits easily around a wider Northumberland holiday without feeling like a tourist tick-box. Hexham itself is close enough for a pub lunch afterwards, which matters more than you'd think after a moorland trek.