Northumberland
Ward Law
484M
1588FT
About Ward Law
Tucked away in the quieter southern reaches of the Cheviot Hills, this rounded, grassy Tump offers a sense of deep isolation. Rising above the Usway Burn, its summit provides a clean perspective of the undulating border ridge and the sprawling, wild moorland of the Otterburn Training Area to the south.
Key Statistics
Rank
50th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Cheviot Hills
Prominence
?
34
Nearest Town
Northumberland
Geology
You are walking on volcanic rock called andesite. This stone makes up the Cheviot Volcanic Formation that forms the foundation of Ward Law.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NT864136
Latitude
55.4164°N
Longitude
2.2154°W
Did You Know?
- •The name combines the Old English 'ward' (a watch or guard) with 'law', a Northumbrian term for a rounded hill, reflecting its likely historical role as a natural lookout over the border valleys.
- •The summit is positioned near 'The Street', an ancient cross-border trackway used for centuries by Roman soldiers, medieval drovers, and notorious border reivers.
- •From the trig pillar, you can look directly north across the deep cleft of the Usway Burn toward the massive, flat-topped bulk of Windy Gyle on the Scottish border.
- •The hill sits on the edge of the Otterburn Training Area; while the summit itself is usually accessible, walkers will often hear the distant thud of live firing echoing from the southern valleys.
- •As a Tump, it is the kind of hill that remains perfectly visible from miles away while being entirely ignored by everyone rushing toward the higher 2,000ft peaks.