Brough Law Hillfort, Northumberland

Brough Law Hillfort was an Iron Age settlement and its remains can still be seen at a height of around 288m (GPS: 55°26’29” N 2°0’15” W) on top of the hill named Brough Law, close to the village of Ingram in the Breamish Valley. You can still see the near circular layout of the stone ruins.

Looking north-west from Brough Law Hillfort towards Linhope

Historic England describes Brough Law Hillfort as “…a massive multivallate hillfort probably dating to the late Iron Age. It has three lines of defense (sic) in the form of stone walls and rubble core banks, as well as several entrances.”

Multivallate?

According to Oxford Dictionaries, it means “Surrounded by two or more ramparts forming multiple lines of defence.”

And in fact, in some places, you can still see evidence of a second outer rampart.

Remains of two ramparts

In addition, the circular outlines of a number of ‘huts’ within the hillfort can also be seen.

Circular hut remains (foreground); inner rampart in the distance

Getting there

If you haven’t visited Brough Law Hillfort, it’s worth the effort. You can access the site from Bulby’s Wood car park, which is just half a mile from Ingram village.

There is ample parking at Bulby’s Wood (GPS: 55°26’30” N 1°59’22” W) and there are toilet facilities.

There’s a fairly steep climb from the carpark up to Brough Law but there are a number of ‘flat spots’ where you can stop, take a breather and enjoy the views.

Looking back towards Ingram on path to Brough Law

Once at the top of Brough Law, as well as the hillfort itself, there are wonderful 360-degree views of the Breamish Valley.

Spectacular views of the Breamish Valley from Brough Law Hillfort

Can I see more?

3D model

Although it’s not easy to see the full circle from the photos on this page, a good interactive 3D model of Brough Law Hillfort can be seen here.

Aerial views

And here are some wonderful aerial photos of Brough Law Hillfort taken by Simon Hawkins and originally published on the website Fabulous North [All images are copyright © Fabulous North and used with permission]:

You can read Simon’s full travelogue ‘Brough Law and Ingram Hillforts’, with more fabulous photographs and a full explanation of his walking route starting at Bulby’s Wood Car Park, via the following: