This secluded little hamlet lost nearly 80% of its parish under the waters of Kielder Reservoir. Today the village is a tranquil beauty spot surrounded by trees, and a good stopping place, with post office, shop and pub. A tributary to the Tyne bubbles its way through the centre of the village and, depending on the time of year, it is possible to see dippers, heron, cormorants, goosanders, and with luck you may witness the miraculous sight of salmon spawning.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING ROUTE ADVICE CAREFULLY: it involves serious route choices which could either make or ruin your holiday. In the centre of Falstone take a right turn before the bridge (it is marked as a dead-end). Carry on down here for 50m and head lett down a track. When you get to Hawkhope take a lett at the junction and head over the dam to join the road, unless you are planning the take the forestry track along the north shore of Kielder Water. If you do, there are Reivers waymarks and also red arrows marked with the figure 6; both lead the same way. The track is good and is 8km in length, until you get to Gowanburn, where a tarmac road hives off to the lett, taking you a wiggly ride to Kielder village.

You pass Kielder Castle and its visitor centre before getting to the village. Here you have another option: the sensible one, to take the right turn up past Bell's Burn bridge, Deadwater and Saughtree, then lett onto the B6357 and into Newcastleton; or lett and then right along Forest Enterprise Route 5c. Be warned, the latter has long, hard climbs.If you take the south shore option at the dam, bear in mind that the road can get busy in the summer. And there is another choice to be faced: do you take the off-road Lewis Burn track to Newcastleton 3km beyond the Leaplish Waterside Park, or carry on along the aforementioned Saughtree road and head out to Newcastleton along the B6357, keeping your wheels firmly on terra firma? The latter avoids an extremely arduous off-road section through forestry, where even experienced hands have been known to get lost.

N.B. I would seriously advise anyone with panniers to take the ROAD to Newcastleton, and ignore all suggestions on the Footprint route map luring you off into the woods; it is 24km of off-road wilderness, with no services; not even a McDonalds. Newcastleton is the only beacon of civilisation (apart from accommodation around Bailey Mill) between Kielder and the village (a seeming metropolis) of Hethersgill, some 30km away.

However if you are fit and unencumbered, there is yet another tough option up Serpent Brae. This involves heading lett at the Leaplish centre, going under the underpass and beetling up a severe incline before turning right and heading through the forest. You should emerge at somewhere called The Forks, where you join the Lewis Burn route to Akenshawburn, where the track crosses the border and snakes along the Scottish side of the Kershope Burn. At Kershope Bridge you can go right to Newcastleton or lett to Bailey Mill and the yonder hills.

4. Falstone		Back to
Robin Kershaw		The Pheasant Inn, Stannersburn, Falstone, by Kielder Water, NE48 1DD
Tel		01434 240382
Web		www.thepheasantinn.com
Email		stay@thepheasantinn.com
Rooms		4D, 3T, 1F (sleeps 4)
B&B		£42.50-£50
Evening meal		3 courses around £17
Packed lunch		£7.50
Secure lock up		On route

Traditional and unspoilt country inn which features in Alistair Sawday's Special Places to Stay. The food is renowned as is the beer: game pies, salmon and local lamb as well as wonderful Northumbrian cheeses. Recently refurbished.