📌 Town in Northumberland
★★
You might assume that Haltwhistle is named after its local railway station, located on the Tyne Valley Line from Carlisle to Newcastle. In fact, the origins of the name probably lie in the fusing of two Old English words which translate as a tongue of land formed where two rivers meet (the River South Tyne and Haltwhistle Burn, in case you were asking). Haltwhistle once thrived as a market and mill town, but its modern claim to fame is that it lies at the centre of Britain. The methodology behind the calculation leaves this open to debate, but some local businesses have nevertheless capitalised on this accident of geography, including the Centre of Britain Hotel and the Centre of Britain Sweet Shop. Otherwise, today’s town is a pleasant but unremarkable place, with no specific, major attraction to persuade tourists to linger. Britain’s border may be far away, but the Roman frontier at the time of emperor Hadrian was only two miles distant; the nearest part of the famous wall can therefore be easily reached on foot, using paths through the wooded Haltwhistle Burn gorge.
🌍 Location
📌 Northumberland
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NY 707641
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 54.970492,-2.458585
🚶 Virtually all the town’s points of interest are found on one short street. Hadrian’s Wall is two miles away, with footpath connections.
🚆🚌 There’s a railway station with trains to Carlisle, Hexham, Newcastle & intervening towns. Buses also serve settlements on a similar route, plus Alston & Hadrian’s Wall attractions.
🚗 There’s a small car park on Lanty’s Lonnen & some street parking elsewhere. Some central spaces have time restrictions.
Explore nearby
<1 mi away
>> Walk: Haltwhistle hike – journey from the centre of Britain ★★★
<3 mi away
>> Aesica ★★ (2 mi ↑)
>> Walk: Cawfields circuit – Hadrian’s Wall highlights ★★★★ (2 mi ↑)
>> Walk: Walltown Crags – wavy walls of whinstone ★★★★ (3 mi ←)
