Winter's Gibbet

There's a grim sort of fascination to Winter's Gibbet, a replica of the gallows that once stood on this moorland stretch between Hexham and Hadrian's Wall. It marks the spot where William Winter was hanged in 1606 for murder - left here as a warning to travellers passing through one of England's wildest corners.

What you're actually looking at is a reconstruction, but it's all the more affecting for that. The bare wooden frame stands against the Northumberland sky, stark and unforgiving. There's nothing comfortable about it. You can walk right up to it, read the information board, and stand in the exact spot where 17th-century justice was brutally public. The views across the moorland are genuinely bleak - proper wind-swept hills rolling away in all directions.

This works best for walkers and history types rather than families with young children, who might find it unsettling rather than educational. Allow 20 minutes if you're stopping to read and absorb it. It's free, and the car parking is straightforward enough.

It slots perfectly into a Hadrian's Wall walking holiday - the gibbet sits right on historic routes - and both Wild Northumberland Glamping and GlamPods are close enough that you could base yourself at either and make this a morning stop. It's not a destination in itself, but it's exactly the sort of unexpected historical waypoint that makes a moorland walk memorable. Don't skip it if you're in the area.