Distance 15.0 Km  (9.3 miles)     Ascent   317 m  ( 1040 ft)       Average moving speed  2.65 mph    Start  9.43 am   Finish  2.14 pm      (Heinrich led) 

We left the coaches at the Rothbury car park next to the River Coquet under a dark grey sky.  After crossing the footbridge to the north side of the river, we headed westwards along a good firm footpath.  The view across the river to the Simonsides was certainly threatening but we carried on until we were below Pondicherry when we turned south to cross the river before heading west again to join the minor road passing thro Summerville.  At the road junction we turned left up the hill to arrive at the old Tosson Lime Kiln.  The small car park and couple of picnic tables was to be our coffee stop.  So far although the air was damp, it had not rained although I was keeping my camera under wraps.  On our way again, we headed back down the road and then across the fields to the footbridge crossing the R Coquet at Thropton.   Making our way into Thropton we followed a path alongside the Black Burn up to Snitter Mill.  Since leaving our coffee stop there had been a couple of instances when the sun tried to break through so by this time I had 3 or 4 photos.  Leaving Snitter Mill, the climbing started as we headed to Lynnholm and then after a short level section we started a steep climb followed by a more gradual ascent up to The Carriageways.  The view to the south was becoming more and more bleak and as we headed along the Carriageway the rain started.  It was a case of head down and keep walking.  The rain continued as we entered Addyheugh Wood and then thro Addycombe Wood.  Heading SW down past Addeycombe on a slippery path, we then joined Hillside Road heading west.  With the rain still falling we cut through the old part of Rothbury with its attractive houses and made our way back to the coaches.  Even though we had returned early because of the weather, some of us stayed on the coaches as the rain became heavier and it was not worth getting soaked going to the pub.  We were even wondering if the Coquet was going to flood into the car park but by the time we left it still had a little way to go.  What could have been a lovely scenic walk unfortunately, in my view, spoilt by the weather.