One of the joys of the Cheviots is that you can get away from roads, buildings and pretty much everyone else remarkably quickly.
Large areas of the National Park are Open Access land, which means you're allowed to explore them on foot without having to stick to a public right of way. There are also hundreds of kilometres of footpaths, bridleways and other rights of way running through the Park.
That doesn't mean you can wander absolutely anywhere though, and there are a few things worth understanding before you start drawing adventurous-looking lines across an OS map.
Open Access doesn't mean everywhere
Most of the open moorland in the National Park is designated Open Access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.
On that land you can generally walk away from established paths, which is particularly handy in the Cheviots because sometimes there isn't much of an established path to begin with.
There are exceptions. Houses and their immediate surroundings, cultivated land, active quarries and some military land aren't covered by the general right of access. Access land can also occasionally be temporarily restricted for reasons such as land management, public safety, conservation or fire risk.
So if you encounter signs telling you an area is closed or access is restricted, don't assume they're merely decorative.
The path on the map might not look much like a path
This is something I've encountered plenty of times in the Cheviots.
You can be following a public footpath clearly marked on the map, look at the ground ahead and see absolutely nothing that resembles a path.
A public right of way is a legal right to pass along a route, not a promise that somebody has provided you with a lovely gravel track. In quieter areas the route may simply cross grass or moorland, and its line on the ground can be surprisingly difficult to spot. Public rights of way should be kept usable, but vegetation, terrain and how frequently a route is walked can all affect how obvious it appears.
This is another reason I don't rely purely on spotting a path with my eyes. Keep an eye on your map, look for gates, stiles, waymarkers and other clues and check your position if things stop making sense.
On Open Access land you've generally got more freedom to choose your line on foot, but that doesn't automatically mean the shortest line across the map will be the nicest one.
There may be a bog between you and your destination that would particularly like to demonstrate this point.
Some places really are private
Not every bit of land within the Cheviots is Open Access land, and being inside a National Park doesn't automatically give you permission to wander anywhere you fancy.
Where you're not on Open Access land, stick to public rights of way or other routes where access has been permitted. Permissive paths are provided by landowners and can sometimes be changed or temporarily closed.
The easiest approach is to check your route beforehand, use a proper map showing Open Access land and rights of way and pay attention to signs when you're actually there.
If our own walks cross anything where access needs particular explanation, we'll flag that on the individual route page too.
Otterburn Ranges
At the southern end of the National Park things get a little more serious.
The Otterburn Training Area covers around 23% of Northumberland National Park and is the largest single live firing range in the UK. It's an active military training area, not an interesting bit of themed scenery.
The area north of the River Coquet is the dry training area and is Open Access land, with no live firing. You may still encounter military training there, including blank ammunition and pyrotechnics.
Elsewhere there are controlled areas where live firing takes place.
Before visiting the ranges, check the current Otterburn firing information and, more importantly, obey whatever you find on the ground. Red flags during the day or red lights at night mean live firing may be taking place and you must not cross the range boundary. The MOD specifically warns that onsite signals take precedence regardless of published firing times.
Check the latest Otterburn firing times
Where public access is permitted within the controlled area, stick to the roads and waymarked routes and obey all signs and barriers.
And there's one particularly important rule.
Don't pick anything up.
If you find military debris or anything suspicious on the ranges, leave it exactly where it is. The MOD warns that objects may be dangerous and asks visitors to note the location and report them to Range Control or the police.