Elsdon to Gamelspath road (The Great Drift Road) (Rochester and Byrness; Elsdon; Otterburn)
Old road down to Elsdon. Photo by Harry Rowland.
This trackway led off from Dere Street near Featherwood and continued south-eastwards towards Elsdon following the moorland watershed between the Rede and Coquet rivers. The track may have a very long history and might even be derived from a prehistoric ridge way. (1)
The Great Drift Road was an important droveway that can be traced from Featherwood, where it branches off Dere Street, across the moorland watershed between the Rede and Coquet before descending to Elsdon. The route then ran south towards Stagshaw Bank. For most of its route it is marked on modern Ordnance Survey mapping by a bridle path, but its course is often difficult to trace on the ground. (2)
NT 86680020. West of Dudlees, a length of the Great Drift Road is clearly visible on lidar imagery as an earthwork running between fields. (3)
The Great Drift Road was an important droveway that can be traced from Featherwood, where it branches off Dere Street, across the moorland watershed between the Rede and Coquet before descending to Elsdon. The route then ran south towards Stagshaw Bank. For most of its route it is marked on modern Ordnance Survey mapping by a bridle path, but its course is often difficult to trace on the ground. (2)
NT 86680020. West of Dudlees, a length of the Great Drift Road is clearly visible on lidar imagery as an earthwork running between fields. (3)
N13570
AERIAL INVESTIGATION AND MAPPING, Redesdale Lidar Landscapes project ; Oracle Heritage Services
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Please note that this information has been compiled from a number of different sources. Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council can accept no responsibility for any inaccuracy contained therein. If you wish to use/copy any of the images, please ensure that you read the Copyright information provided.