The Otterburn Army Training Estate is a military training area near

Otterburn, Northumberland Otterburn is a small village in Northumberland, England, northwest of Newcastle upon Tyne on the banks of the River Rede, near the confluence of the Otter Burn, from which the village derives its name. It lies within the Cheviot Hills about f ...

, in northern England. It is owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) and operated by Landmarc on contract from the MoD's

Defence Infrastructure Organisation Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is an operating arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the United Kingdom, which is responsible for the built and rural estate. Its Chief Executive is Graham Dalton. History The DIO was formed in 2011 i ...

. The range is used for training up to 30,000 soldiers per year. The site was established in 1911 and covers about of the southern

Cheviot Hills The Cheviot Hills (), or sometimes The Cheviots, are a range of uplands straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The English section is within the Northumberland National Park. The range includes T ...

, 23% of the

Northumberland National Park Northumberland National Park is the northernmost national park in England. It covers an area of more than between the Scottish border in the north to just south of Hadrian's Wall, and it is one of least visited of the National Parks. The park ...

. The National Park was established in 1956, 45 years after establishment of the Artillery Range. Otterburn is the UK's largest firing range, and is in frequent use. The ranges are used by

AS-90 The AS-90 ("Artillery System for the 1990s"), known officially as Gun Equipment 155 mm L131, is an armoured self-propelled artillery weapon used by the British Army. It can fire standard charges up to using 39 calibre long barrel (com ...

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

and

M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American-developed armored, self-propelled, multiple rocket launcher. The U.S. Army variant of the MLRS vehicle is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s wer ...

s; Otterburn is the only place in the UK where the MLRS can be fired, requiring an 11 mile long by 2 mile wide firing range. Because of the danger posed by

live fire exercise A live-fire exercise (LFX) is a military exercise in which live ammunition and ordnance (as opposed to blanks or dummies) is expended. The term can also be found in non-military usage. Armed services Armed services usually use live-fire exercis ...

s, recreational use of the area is restricted, although it is possible for the public to use some parts of the estate subject to the relevant bylaws. The MoD publishes a booklet, ''Walks on Ministry of Defence Lands'', which offers advice on this.Walking guides on the Defence Estate, including Otterburn

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

Gallery

Image:Otterburn Ranges - geograph.org.uk - 63760.jpg, Otterburn Ranges. The road leading into the Ministry of Defence Ranges, and the red flag showing that the army are practising live firing there. Image:Turn left here for Otterburn - geograph.org.uk - 158911.jpg, Signpost for Otterburn Crossroads on the MoD ranges Image:Who goes there^ - geograph.org.uk - 158908.jpg, Entrance to the Otterburn Ranges near

Holystone Holystone is a soft and brittle sandstone that was formerly used in the Royal Navy and US Navy for scrubbing and whitening the wooden decks of ships. A variety of origins have been proposed for the term, including that such stones were taken fro ...

- note the

cattle grid A cattle grid – also known as a stock grid in Australia; cattle guard, or cattle grate in American English; vehicle pass, or stock gap in the Southeastern United States; Texas gate in western Canada and the northwestern United States; and a ...

References

External links

{{commonscat, Otterburn Ranges
DTE Otterburn - Public information leaflet
Defence Estates, Ministry of Defence
Otterburn firing times

, Ministry of Defence Bombing ranges Cheviot Hills Geography of Northumberland Otterburn, Northumberland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Northumberland Training establishments of the British Army Military training areas in the United Kingdom