I've wandered around Ingram and the Breamish Valley plenty of times, and it's one of my favourite parts of the Cheviots. You've got the River Breamish winding along the valley floor, hillforts dotted around the landscape and a great mix of smaller hills and bigger days out if you fancy stretching the legs.
Ilderton Dod Barns puts you right amongst all of that, on a working hill farm between the Breamish and Harthope Valleys.
You can head for the hills if that's the plan, or quite happily stay lower down and explore the valleys instead.
The Barn and Cuckoo Cottage
There are two places to stay, The Barn and Cuckoo Cottage, both converted from old farm buildings on an 1,800-acre working hill farm.
The Barn is the bigger option and started life as cow byres with a hayloft above. It's now been converted into a large open-plan place to stay, while still keeping plenty of the character of the original building.
Then there's Cuckoo Cottage, which was originally the farm's stables and kennels. It's a little smaller, with a king-sized bedroom upstairs and an open-plan living space below, making it more suited to a couple or small family.
Both have woodburning stoves, which immediately earn points from me. There's something particularly satisfying about coming back after a day exploring the Cheviots and sitting beside a fire while your legs slowly forgive you.
Dogs can come too, and cyclists get secure bike storage, e-bike charging, tools and somewhere to wash the bikes down.
You can even bring your horse, with grazing available on the farm and bridleways heading out into the surrounding hills. I can't imagine this will be relevant to most people reading this, but I don't get to write that very often!
The Breamish Valley outside your door
This is probably what I'd enjoy most about staying at Ilderton Dod.
The River Breamish runs through the valley, with hills rising on either side and enough hillforts and ancient sites dotted around to keep me occupied for days.
And you don't necessarily have to climb anything to enjoy it. The valley floor is lovely, so you can have a wander along the river, drive further into the valley or gallop up the hills.
If you do fancy getting higher, you've got Hedgehope and plenty more of the Cheviots around you, along with footpaths and bridleways crossing the farm.
That's what I like about this part of the Cheviots. You can spend the day wandering over the hills if you want to, or stay lower down, follow the Breamish and admire them from below.
Then head back to the cottage, get the woodburner on and congratulate yourself on all the hills you successfully avoided climbing.
