Qualla: Simonside Hills https://qualla.com/simonside-hills en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:24 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Simonside Hills https://qualla.com/simonside-hills Simonside Hills: Introduction https://qualla.com/simonside-hills/ Walk a Northumberland moor at night and the locals will tell you to watch for a light. Not a torch. Not a campfire. A small lantern held low, drifting through the bracken, beckoning you forward. The creature carrying it is the duergar - Old Norse for dwarf - and his sole interest is steering you over a cliff or into a bog. The hills where he supposedly walks are called Simonside, and whether or not you believe in the dwarf, the name carries a stranger story still: a name that may go back to Beowulf.

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]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/y/d/simonside-hills-wp/gcyd-simonside-hills-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Simonside Hills: The Name in the Manuscript https://qualla.com/simonside-hills/ A document from 1279 calls the hills Simundessete. By 1580 the form had softened to Simontside. Most etymologists trace this to Sigemund's seat or Sigemund's settlement. Sigemund is the Germanic hero who appears in the Volsunga Saga, the Nibelungenlied, and, most famously, the An...

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]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/y/d/simonside-hills-wp/gcyd-simonside-hills-the-name-in-the-manuscript.mp3 0:06 2 full Simonside Hills: Heather, Bog, and Grouse https://qualla.com/simonside-hills/ Tosson Hill, at 440 metres, is the highest point of the range. Most of the surrounding tops sit around 300 metres, low by mountain standards but high enough to feel exposed in the Northumberland wind. The Simonsides are designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for the rar...

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]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/y/d/simonside-hills-wp/gcyd-simonside-hills-heather-bog-and-grouse.mp3 0:06 3 full Simonside Hills: The Duergar Walks https://qualla.com/simonside-hills/ The dwarf's lantern has lit its way into the modern life of Rothbury, the town below. There is a children's book about the duergar, published in 2021 by local poet James Tait. There is a Red Deaugar Art Gallery on the main street. And there is an annual ten-mile winter night-time...

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]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/y/d/simonside-hills-wp/gcyd-simonside-hills-the-duergar-walks.mp3 0:06 4 full Simonside Hills: Climbers and Cartographers https://qualla.com/simonside-hills/ Rock climbers know the Simonsides for their gritstone crags. Several single-pitch lines run along the hillside, with Simonside North Face and Ravensheugh among the most popular. The hills also hold a small place in the history of British mapmaking. Until 1919, one of the Simonsid...

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]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/y/d/simonside-hills-wp/gcyd-simonside-hills-climbers-and-cartographers.mp3 0:06 5 full