Old Bewick Hillfort

Nearest town:
Alnwick (14km ESE)
OS reference:
NU074215
OS sheet:
75
Latitude:
55° 29' 13.83 N
Longitude:
1° 52' 58.38 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by thesweetcheat

The steep slopes guarding the southern side. The western ramparts of the eastern fort are on the right.

Image credit: A. Brookes (20.10.2021)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 25, 2022
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by thesweetcheat

Old Bewick on the right, showing the steepness of the hillside on its southern side. Seen from Tick Law to the southeast. The Cheviot dominates the skyline.

Image credit: A. Brookes (20.10.2021)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 25, 2022
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by postman

To be honest the fort is quite complicated and I’ve no idea where this is, at a guess it’s an eastern entrance to the western fortlet. I call them fortlets because the map says there are forts here, in the plural. Two forts right next to each other both hemmed in by a big bank and ditch.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Jun 23, 2019
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by postman

This is where the two fortlets meet on the edge. Have a look on google earth and all will be explained.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Jun 23, 2019
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by postman

I need to get back and find all the other rock art and dig this out.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Jun 23, 2019
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by rockartwolf

View from the Hurle Stone ,looking towards Old Bewick...



www.briankerrphotography.co.uk

Image credit: Brian Kerr 2008
rockartwolf
rockartwolf Jan 28, 2009
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by Hob

Ditches, banks and stuff. On top of a hill. Must be a hillfort.

Image credit: IH
Hob
Hob Jul 12, 2005
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by awrc

Near Hanging Crag on the western slope of Old Bewick

Image credit: awrc 2002ce
A
awrc May 25, 2004
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by awrc

View from the top of Old Bewick, looking roughly east towards a WWII pillbox

Image credit: awrc 2002ce
A
awrc May 25, 2004
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by pebblesfromheaven

24-5-03. Looking down from the hillfort, crop-marks reveal the site of an old homestead.
.o0O0o.

Image credit: Pebblethief
pebblesfromheaven
pebblesfromheaven Oct 5, 2003
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by pebblesfromheaven

Taken 8-2-2003.
With The Cheviot in the distance, under the clouds as always!
.o0O0o.

Image credit: Pebblethief
pebblesfromheaven
pebblesfromheaven Feb 8, 2003
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by pebblesfromheaven

Taken 31-12-02.
In the distance, the snowy top of The Cheviot can be just about made out through the clouds.

Image credit: Pebblethief
pebblesfromheaven
pebblesfromheaven Feb 8, 2003
Image of Old Bewick Hillfort by pebblesfromheaven

Taken 8-2-2003.
Is this a Dew Pond? Looks like it has been carved. Measures approx 1 metre in diameter.

.o0O0o.

Image credit: Pebblethief
pebblesfromheaven
pebblesfromheaven Feb 8, 2003

Articles

Old Bewick Hillfort

postman
postman Jun 23, 2019

Eric and I visited Blawearie cairn eight years ago but because of time constraints we couldn’t go up and see the hill fort with it’s plethora of rock art. Today is different, we’ve loads of time and oodles of grim determination to see what I’ve come to see, no matter what.
After having satiated my need for rock art I approached the fort from the east. Walking along the scarp edge I pass by two banks on my right and stop at the warbox (of which there’s 2), I think of going in or perhaps standing on top of it to get a look around, but I soon lost interest because right next to it is the biggest cup mark in the world. Several feet across and deep enough to drown a sheep in, it surely must be man made, made for who knows what kind of arcane purposes. Its getting a bit overgrown now, another decade and it’ll be lost to undergrowth.
Walking west from there and it all gets a bit complicated, four parallel banks set perpendicular to the cliffs edge, this made me wonder about the place and I just walked round and round trying to get a feel for the shape of the place. A clue was had on the 1;25000 map, it says there are forts here, plural, right, ok that goes some way to explain whats going on here. But why would you have two forts just yards from each other and then build a bank and ditch round both forts. Makes no sense at all, unless it was perhaps two quibbling brothers, or a his and hers residence maybe, or and this strikes a cord with me, perhaps the lord and lady got divorced and they broke the fort in two in accordance with the courts demands.
Or, and this is probably my favorite daft theory, all the rock art round here is very impressive, some may say inspirational, what if it inspired someone to put together a landscape art version of two cup and rings. Has anyone ever suggested hill forts being giant landscape art, probably.

A fantastic site, spend a whole day up here with cists, cups and forts and you’ll be blown away.

Old Bewick Hillfort

Hob
Hob Jul 12, 2005

It’s a really odd shape for a hillfort. Like one standard hillfort that’s ben cracked in half, then each half set against the edge of the scarp, one next to the other. Or perhaps one hillfort with a hinge, which has been swung open, to make two hemispherical forts. It’s been described as being like a pair of half-moon spectacles when viewed from above.

It’s got fair sized banks and ditches, but it’s most salient feature is the great big rock cut basin just on the edge of the scarp, see Pebble’s photo. Given the nearby astounding rock art, you can’t help but wonder if there’s a connection between this thing and the cupmarks which litter the area.

Sites within 20km of Old Bewick Hillfort

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