The Cheviot

The Cheviot is an extinct volcano and the highest summit in the Cheviot Hills, standing in Northumberland near the Scottish border. It rises 815 metres above sea level and forms part of the Pennine Way before the trail descends into Kirk Yetholm. The mountain’s name comes from a Brittonic word meaning ‘ridge’, first recorded in 1181. Several watercourses flow from its slopes, including Usway Burn and Harthope Burn, which cut deep valleys on its flanks. The summit is a flat, peat-covered plateau that offers wide views across the surrounding uplands. The Cheviot was shaped by violent volcanic activity over 390 million years ago during the Caledonian orogeny. Its original height may have reached 3,000 metres before erosion wore it down. Granitic magma later intruded beneath the volcano, forming a pluton exposed by further erosion. Glacial till from the last ice age covers parts of the area, and peat bogs formed in the post-glacial period. The mountain’s geology includes layers of andesitic and rhyolitic lava that once spread over 600 square kilometres. A walk to the summit starts from Harthope Burn, about five kilometres from the nearest road at Langleeford. The route climbs through a valley before reaching the rounded peak of Hedgehope to the east. From the summit plateau, distant hills such as Cross Fell and Scafell Pike are visible on clear days. The area has historical links, including a Neolithic henge near Hethpool and a boundary used by reivers in the 16th century. Wartime aircraft wreckage still lies on the mountain, a reminder of crashes during the Second World War.