There are places you stay near the Cheviots, and then there's Kidlandlee.
Surrounded by Kidland Forest, high in the Upper Coquet Valley, you're already well into the hills before you've even unpacked the car. There are eleven cottages spread around Kidlandlee, with walks and cycling routes heading straight from the door.
So if you've come here to spend a few days exploring the Cheviots, you've got a bit of a head start.
The cottages at Kidlandlee
There are eleven cottages altogether, ranging from cosy one-bedroom places for two through to larger three-bedroom cottages for families and groups. There's a mixture of restored stone buildings and newer off-grid cottages amongst the woodland, so you're not simply choosing the same cottage in eleven slightly different sizes.
Log burners, gardens and huge views across the Upper Coquet Valley feature heavily, which is pretty much what I'd be hoping for up here. Some of the newer cottages also have outdoor Shaanti baths looking across the hills.
After a full day wandering around the Cheviots, sitting in hot water admiring the view sounds considerably better than my usual routine of removing my boots and waiting for my knees to start working again. With eleven to choose from, I'm not going to attempt to pick one for you. Have a nose through Kidlandlee's website and commence the inevitable argument over who gets which bedroom.
The hills on your doorstep
One of the best bits about Kidlandlee is that you don't wake up, have breakfast and then spend an hour driving to the Cheviots. You're already in them.
Kidland Forest surrounds the cottages, with walking routes heading straight from Kidlandlee into the Upper Coquet Valley and surrounding hills. If you're anything like me, this also means you'll immediately start looking at the map and wondering how many hills you can reasonably squeeze into one day!
Kidlandlee itself is completely off-grid, generating electricity from solar and wind, with its own water supply and wastewater systems. Don't panic though, you won't be completely cut off from civilisation. The cottages still have fibre broadband and generally good 4G coverage.
There's also an on-site spa cabin if you've decided the legs have done quite enough, and after dark you're inside Northumberland's International Dark Sky Park.
So you can spend the day walking straight out into the Cheviots, come back for a soak and, on a clear night, head outside for some of the best stargazing in the country. The difficult bit might be convincing yourself to go home.
