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Name:Monkside
Hill number:3557
Height:513m / 1683ft
Parent (Ma):2311  Peel Fell
RHB Section:33: The Scottish Border to the River Tyne
Nuttall/Wainwright area:The Cheviots
County/UA:Northumberland
Catchment:Tyne (Newcastle)
Class:Dodd (500-599m), Dewey, Clem
(Tu,5,Dew,Cm)
Grid ref:NY 68506 94983
Summit feature:trig point
Drop:59m
Col:454m  NY712983  
OS map sheet(s):(1:50k) 80
(1:25k) OL42W
Survey:obvious summit
Change log:show changes for this hill entry
GPS data:show GPS entries for this hill

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N.B. Some hill summits are on private property or on land where there is no public right of way.  Permission should be sought from the landowner where access to a hill summit is through private land.
Please report via the contact page any logs you see below which describe or encourage acts of trespass.  Please quote the hill number and hill name.

Logged Descriptions  (logged by 61 users, only the latest 50 shown - Show all)ByDate of Ascent
From Falstone car park at the dam for kielder water £5 all day up to Nine at night, for a Fourteen mile walk to the summit of Monkside past Rabbit crag and a visit to the bothy on the way back, a nice place to have a brew and a spot of lunch, returning in Five hours.WAYNE ROWLETT14/10/2023
Relatively easy going from Wether Lair. On to Pike Knowe.Wycombe Wanderer17/08/2023
From Blakehope Nick. Fenceline to Berrymoor Edge trig pillar, direct line to Wether Lair, then an easy fenceline handrail up to here. Return via Wether Lair for a 12.1k round.jonglew10/06/2023
Bagged with Berrymoor Edge from Blakehope Nick. Met Jon Glew en route.Llondon10/06/2023
Parked at Falstone Cemetery (NY722870) – NNE under Old Rly bridge, then L and L again along Tk of Old Rly to Hawkhope CP. Easy, but dreadfully dreary, forest roads all the way to the top of Monkside. Light rain, no viz.Isbjorn05/04/2023
From Blakehope Nick (£3 toll on Kielder Forest grit road to get there). Struggled north through deep heather to a fence, following it west for some time on a faint ATV track. Then hard heather and peat-bog bash north uphill to the summit. Not a route I'd recommend! Somewhat easier on the way back, as I tried to keep on higher ground to Currick. Back at the road, I continued S up by a fence to the flat ridge near Pt. 483m, then following another fence SW on a bit of a squelchy ATV track for over four gruelling km to the strange summit of Monkside - a man-made plateau with a racing track on it, although the trig and cairn are on natural ground. Returned the same way, now mostly in darkness. A tough challenge, these two! Solo. 15.1km, with 275m of ascent.Man of Kernow113/10/2022
What a lovely journey along Forest Drive! I cannot believe I have not been along here before. Toll price is £3. Parked at Blakehope Nick and followed the fence to the summit. My final English Dodd/ Dewey! Solo. Back same way.Dangerous Dave21/08/2022
From Blakehope Nick - followed the fence SSE to the ridge then the fence all the way > Monkside. The going was a lot easier than expected - hints of paths or tracks all the way and heather and grass quite short if you keep close to the fence - 5km in one and a quarter hours so easy enough - very popular with flies at this time of year!JohnR28/06/2021
Parked at Blakehope Nick > fence line all the way to Monkside what a surprise when you get there to see the car park > forest track to Wainhope bothy > forest track to Greys Pike and over Pike Knowe > dropped down Fuller Sike NY660 948 and onto the Forest Drive > back to Blakehope Nick 6hrs 30mins 23.7KmAndrew Simmons12/06/2021
From north side of dam. All on forest tracks: not particularly interesting, but no bog to contend with - yeh!PGCE12/12/2020
After doing Wool Meath, continued west along forest drive from Blakehope Nick to the top of the small forest road down to the burn (NY 687 973). Walked down to the burn and crossed by the rickety footbridge. Then tough climb through difficult vegetation to ridge before picking up a decent track along the ridge to the pretty awful summit of Monkside. Returned by roughly the same route. Quite a tough walk. A round trip of 6km with 200m ascent in 2 hours. (S)silveracorn_alan10/07/2020
Monkside from GR: NY 68899 97225Hippster04/07/2020
Monkside [trig S7992] from GR: NY 68899 97225ronaldo33304/07/2020
From Blakehope Nick. Fair path to ridge. After that what can most accurately be described as lines where people appear to have walked before. Definitely not paths but made life easier to Wether Lair, after which even these all but disappeared. Was not expecting huge area of block paving and 6 electric hook ups on the summit!ijpowell02/08/2019
Parked other side of reservoir and walked across (highlight of the walk). Followed forest roads to the top (took about 2.5 hours) - Very easy walking but boring and monotonous. Unseasonably warm but breezy when out of the trees. Sun but with a haze of cloud to spoil the perfect views. Still nice at the top. Radiation sign was interesting. 14 miles there and back (15 including detour to see wave chamber). Left car at 10am back at 3.30pm (including lunch and wave chamber).NorthernWayfarer23/02/2019
As moorsman. Parked at track junction on Kielder Forest Drive at 688973 (Felling taking place until May; in parts, road covered in mud& debris) - Down track, over rickety bridge & headed towards sheepfold - Picked up ATV track at 689970 & headed SSE up track/faint, sometimes indistinct path to large cairn at 694961 - From cairn, along ATV track to trig point. (PM)gerrybowes12/01/2018
From 687973. We crossed the river on the rickety old bridge. There is a track of sorts, somewhat indistinct, which heads SE from opposite the sheepfold which is on the north side of the river. On reaching the cairn at 694961 it is fairly straightforward to the summit. Just over 2 hours return and not as bad as we feared. With GB.bolton12/01/2018
Started as Chris Pearson, then Moorsman, up 'tractor track' for about 200m to fork. Took RH branch heading for fine cairn on skyline, track disappeared in bog. Rough then to summit ridge where a track appeared. Followed this past Monk's Cairn (with iron cross) to platform and trig. On return went further along ridge to Wether Lair before descending, lost track again so more rough going.Aye Jimmy23/09/2016
From Kielder dam up endless forest tracks. I'd recommend a bike! Weather closed in on descent but a very sharp two hours up on the excellent tracks with glimpses of Kielder Water. And what a site for a caravan park!SS08/02/2016
Unlike previous loggers, I walked this from Hawkhope CP at the end of Kielder Dam. Forest roads all the way - easy gradients but it's 12 miles there and back. A lot of snow lying today, and more came down during the walk which made it hard going.As others have noted, a beautifully block paved area at the summit with electric points - having emailed VisitKielder.com, I learn that it is 'used by the military for training exercises'.Crib Goch03/02/2015
Didn't try the bridge mentioned by moorsman. Looks to be ready to fall down. Simple to ford the river in the conditions. Didn't find the track mentioned by Moorsman so walk quite hard, probably in my top 20 of won't be back.MikeM17/05/2014
Parked in a pull in at Dove Sike along the Kielder Forest Drive (689 972). There is a bridge across Ridge End Burn where the forest track that runs south east ends. If you turn right after the bridge and walk to the old sheepfold shown on the map on the north bank you can pick up a tractor track all the way to the summit. Two easy miles away.moorsman21/08/2013
Easy parking south of castle. Gowanburn and Wainhope. Good track all the way to the summit. 25Km with all the twisting and turning on the forestry tracks.destaylor09/12/2012
Watch out for the radonsMartin R01/10/2011
Not the nicest hill - from the forest ride road to north - actually my second attempt since a month ago I hobbled back from near the top with a adly sprained footgigglejon27/08/2010
Parked at NY631927, cycled MTB to Monkside via Gowanburn and Wainhope. Strange top, it looks like a caravan site with hook up points. Note: Border county ride has some newish paths that wasn't on my map.Jhimmy24/06/2009
Has a trig point and what appears to be a patio with electric hook-up points. Climbed as a detour from the Three Pikes trail - deep heather but one hard-to-find track goes to the top - cairns are a clue.maknipe28/04/2007
Hard work; Rough grass,bog,tussocks, bracken and heather ascent w. Darren from footbridge to west on East Keilder Forest Drive. A local told us he thought the unusual block paving summit with electric points is used by military helicoptes(?). Certainly would be an easier way to reach the summit than the way we came.Chris Pearson04/08/2006
Kielder Dewey bagging: from 1km N of Kielder village 623946 - Deadwater Fell - Peel Fell - Carlin Tooth - Carter Fell - Wool Meath - Monkside (heather plod, good valley to N, block-paved summit!) - Kielder. RHW02/01/1998
Setting up Training/Development Equipment for Team Building Exercise including carrying up 5 Gallon water drums (plural) of drinking water on a framed rucsac (before the summit road was constructed! #oldschool) Always a stunning view from Monksidebutteryhaugh01/01/1987
Adrian27/08/2023
softsquare10/10/2021
Christo197921/03/2020
Dave Geere17/02/2017
chalky195316/01/2017
Kendall26/11/2016
Jackson16/07/2016
Derek_Snaith12/05/2016
Liz_N12/05/2016
DARRENG13/01/2016
AlanD24/04/2015
mae05/09/2013
jimbloomer05/09/2013
Andy West25/08/2013
Moorponder16/10/2012
GaryJones01/01/2012
MM27/10/2011
KM27/10/2011
stevent080915/06/2011
Alex C17/10/2010