Walking backwards

Date: 19th November 2014

Route: Stanley Crook - Waterhouses - Ushermoor - Bear Park - Ushermoor - Waterhouses - Stanley Crook

Distance: - 16 miles

Weather: - Overcast, showers, sun

Another 10am start and drive (with the hounds) to Stanley Crook to start our walk where we normally end it. It felt a bit odd walking the route backwards and daft as it sounds you see the same sights differently - it certainly messed with my OCD mind!!

The conversation as always began with rugby and our hopes for a new season, the good thing being the announcement of the Magic Weekend in Newcastle.
We also had a gig at a business conference in Newcastle where we had agreed to do a talk on Business Improvement. Unfortunately in some fit of madness we had decided to make it an interactive session and do some role play / acting so our minds were working overtime trying to sort out how that would work!

What was surprising was the lack of wildlife observed on this walk, normally we see the usual birds and the odd surprise but we struggled this time to see anything.

We stopped for lunch for half an hour at the picnic tables at Bear Park before beginning the walk back, conversation must have been good as I never actually got round to taking any photo's on this walk!

We arrived back at the car for 3.30pm, a most pleasant if what uneventful walk.

Butterflies and caterpillars

Date: 16th July 2014

Route: Bishop Auckland - Hunwick - Willington - Brancepeth - River Wear - Hunwick - Bishop Auckland

Distance: - 15 miles

Weather: - Warm, Humid & Sunny

What a glorious Summer we have been having and yet another fantastic day for a walk. Bob drove over to mine and we loaded the dogs into my car and drove the short distance to the viaduct car park. From here we headed along the railway track to Hunwick and eventually Willington, dogs in tow. 

The main topic of conversation as always was Hull FC’s performances. Another season the had promised sooooo much and again failed to deliver. Still, being the optimists we FC fans are we focused on the excellent development of our young players and convinced ourselves that next season would be “The One”!

Bob was also happy as his daughter had fixed a date for her wedding so I took great delight in reminding old Ebineezer of the extortionate costs of weddings!

Despite my winding him up I still had an invite to his brother-in-laws BBQ which was billed as “The not-to-be-missed Event of the Year”. Beer was free so I was sold from that point onwards!

We soon found ourselves at Brancepeth and Bob graciously allowed us a 10 minute pitstop to water the dogs and grab a banana. Then it was back up along the railway track before branching off towards the river Wear.

With all the good weather, sprinkled with a bit of rain, the local flora had really benefitted. We were blessed with a plethora of gorgeous flowers which in turn attracted the butterflies. We hit one field where the thistles had really took off and the surrounding air was alive with numerous species of butterflies - I’d never seen so many.

We found a nice spot by the river and stopped for lunch. The dogs were well knackered by now, little knowing how much further we still had left to go!

After a pleasant 30 minute break we resumed our walk along the river noticing how some particular plants were alive with caterpillars - that explained all the butterflies!

As the riverside path ran out we climbed up and away and re-joined the railway track at Hunwick and 20 minutes later arrived back at the car.

This was without doubt the best walk we’d had this year.

(NOTE: Once home the dogs never moved all afternoon / evening and had to be forced to go out for their evening walk!)

Breaking in the Boots!

Date: 21st March 2014
Route: Willington - Brancepeth - Brandon - Broom Park - Brandon - Brancepeth - Willington
Distance: - 13 miles
Weather: - Dry and bright

Was it really nearly 6 months since we were last out for a walk? The great British weather had produced a seriously wet Winter and as such had not really availed itself to us fair weather walkers! So eager to try out my newly purchased walking boots (bought in Ambleside during a 3 day walking break during Feb half term with the missus) Bob picked me up and drove the short distance to Willington to park near the Co Op where we picked up the old railway line.

We set off from Willington at 10am and must have looked a sight hobbling away, kitted up with rucksacks & waterproofs -  Bob was carrying a leg injury and I had pulled my calf muscle the day before so this was going to be a long walk!

On the rugby front we once again had the highs of a Bradford victory followed by a poor performance against Cas where FC did a great job of losing the game! Who'd be an FC fan........oh us!
With the good weather I thought I would get a few snaps but as this was our first jaunt in a while I had forgotten the full kit list and left the camera at home - muppet!

Despite only having 2 good legs between us we made good time and practically ran on auto-pilot having done this walk so often.

On the work front we had a pending Training course in Cardiff which was actually a good gig as we were getting paid for 2 days but actually only delivering for a couple of hours each day - result! We were also doing our bit for the local community and were working with Penny's tea room in Barney - the result of them winning a raffle prize of a day with the Lean Team.

With our usual non-stop review of rugby and work we were surprised at how quickly we arrived at Broom Park. A decent stop for lunch, Bob obviously forgetting his reputation for 15 minute breaks!, and we were on our way back.

Everywhere was starting to look greener and Spring was definitely here. It always surprises me how a bit of sunshine and some greenery around you can make you feel so much better.

Anyway our non-stop talking and putting the world to rights not only made us feel better (and believe  me we would make great Prime ministers!) but meant we were back at the car before we knew it. So at 3pm we gratefully sat in the car, massaged our sore legs and headed back home - a good run out.

Spring is in the air

Date: 11th April 2013
Route: Croxdale - Durham - Croxdale
Distance: - ~9 miles
Weather: - Dry, cloudy with sunny spells

Was it really January the last time we were out! A combination of work (damn, does tend to get in the way a bit) and poor weather meant the Airlie Ramblers were chomping at the bit to get out for a bit of fresh air. As luck would have it Mr Garton had need to reconnoitre a route in preparation for an upcoming footy team reunion and so with a pleasant change in weather conditions we had our opportunity.
Bob picked me up and we headed to the Honest Lawyer (is that an oxymoron?!) pub to park up and begin our walk. 10.00am and we headed up through fields and woodland, intemitently walking alongside the river Wear. It wasn't the greatest of starts as within 20 mins our navigation skills had let us down and we headed off in the wrong direction adding an extra 30 mins onto our time as we retraced our steps. As always we got the rugby conversations out of the way, always best to get the miserable stuff over and done with! Our top 4 aspirations and the strap line of "Believe" were well and truly pie in the sky stuff. However, 3 victories on the trot had tempered our anger towards coach and players and perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Old Chapel

Outbuildings

 














Our walk took us past an old chapel and some unusual outbuildings, following the edge of a forest before eventually bringing us out at Shincliffe garden centre. From here we headed on towards Durham, picking up the river Wear and enjoying a very scenic stroll into Durham centre.

University rowers

Around 12.30pm, just before we hit the town centre, we found a bench and with cracking views of the Cathedral and Castle we sat down for lunch.

Durham Castle & Cathedral

Durham Cathedral & Castle

Conversation had now turned to an upcoming teambuild event I was running later in June in Shanghai for around 20 Chinese staff. An interesting challenge given the significant cultural differences. Still us Yorkshiremen are used to dealing with different cultures such as those from Lancashire or the South!
After a whole 24 mins for lunch (this could be a record for the longest break!) we headed off into Durham, along Elvett Bridge and headed up towards the heart of student land. There we picked up a track past the Botanical Gardens and once again headed off across fields to pick up the river Wear.

 After a minor detour and retracing of steps (map reading skills were very rusty) thanks to the help of a dog walker we finished the final part of the walk along the river and back to the Honest Lawyer pub. At 2.15pm it wasnt the longest walk we'd ever done but it was just nice to get out in some decent weather. That and a nice pint helped!

Wicker woman art

Roadkill Ramble

Date: 23rd August 2012
Route: Willington - Brancepeth - Brandon - Broom Park - Ushaw Moor - Esh Winning - Waterhouses - Stanley Crook - Willington
Distance: - 17 miles

Weather: - Dry and bright

Back from cruising the Med I was carrying a few extra pounds and in need of a good walk out. The great British weather was its usual unpredictable self as Bob picked me up and drove the short distance to Willington to park down a side street opposite the church.
We began the short walk back into the town centre at 9.50am and the Co Op where we picked up the old railway line. There was plenty to talk about, certainly on the rugby front with the usual highs & lows of following Hull FC. A couple of wins including Catalan and a top 4 finish was in our mind. However this was blown away with a whooping at Widnes and a serious reality check. For the third season in a row all talk at the club is about the next season!

Rain + Sun = Beautiful English countryside

We passed through Brancepeth & Brandon and soon arrived at Broom Park, heading on towards Usher Moor & Esh Winning before stopping at our now familiar spot by the river near Rog Path woods for lunch. With all the rain & sun it was massively overgrown and Bob looked like a garden gnome sat amongst the wild rhubarb fronds! After half an hour we were packed up and heading off again through woodland as we followed the river through a series of small towns & villages on our way back to Willington. The size of some of the vegetation along the path was almost tropical in appearance. We had to take shelter as we were suddenly hit with a 30 second downpour before the sun came back out - how odd is our weather at the moment?!

Fern tree!

Wild rhubard trees!

Rugby continued to slip back into conversation as did talk of all the potential clients we have - fingers crossed some of them commit to dates in the diary. The walk had been surprisingly lacking in wildlife, plenty to be heard but little to be seen. We did however stumble across plenty of roadkill, or should that be pathkill!

Mr Mole

Mrs Mouse

We soon came of the railway track to hit the road back to Willington arriving back at the car at 3.30pm. The weather had held up for us and it had been a good run out after another long lay off from walking.

Avoiding the Puddles - Willington circular route

Date: 30th April 2012
Route: Willington - Brancepeth - Brandon - Broom Park - Ushaw Moor - Esh Winning - Waterhouses - Stanley Crook - Willington
Distance: - 17 miles

Weather: - Dry but overcast

After 3 weeks in China followed by Easter and incessant rain it seemed an eternity since our last wander out. With so much rain over the last week or so and lots of flooding our routes were severely restricted. Anywhere over grass would have been boggy and very wet so we decided our best bet was to head out along one of the railway tracks as they would be drier. So Bob picked me up and we drove the short distance to Willington to park up near the Co-Op store and repeat our first walk of the year.
With such a long time passing since our last venture out there was plenty to talk about, certainly on the rugby front - a good start to the season followed by a horrendous injury list (9 first team players out) meant a series of defeats to Huddersfield & Wigan in the league and knocked out the cup by Huddersfield again. Some promising displays from the miriad of youngsters who had been bloodied. Still, things were looking better for our impending visit of Leeds with most of the injuries cleared up.
The paths were incredibly free of puddles though there were plenty of signs of all the rain with the streams, becks & rivers all full and fast flowing.

Small becks become rivers

Fast flowing rivers

We passed through Brancepeth & Brandon and soon arrived at Broom Park, heading on towards Usher Moor & Esh Winning before stoping at the same spot by the river near Rog Path woods for lunch. As usual Bob kept our stop to a minimum and after 20 minutes we were packed up and heading off again.
The scenery changed to woodland as we followed the river through a series of small towns & villages on our way back to Willington.

The village of Waterhouses

Rugby continued to slip back into conversation as did talk of all the potential clients we have - fingers crossed some of them commit to dates in the diary. As we came of the railway track to hit the road back to Willington we were joined by a small flock of Goldfinches who accompanied us for half a mile or so. Bob also decided to taunt a large Alsatian dog through a fence as it tracked us barking at Bob's verbal - though this quickly stopped as he realised that there was an open gate & the dog was in fact not fenced in!
Starting at 10.50am we finally got back to the car at 4.15pm and incredibly the weather had remained dry, though the forecasted sun only appeared bang on 4pm (as predicted) for a full 2 mins!!
A good run out after such a long break from walking. Good preparation for our trip out with the Jolly Boys in a couple of weeks time in Kettlewell.

Sunny in Tow Law!

Date: 16th February 2012
Route: Tow Law - Salters Ridge - Waskerley - Waskerley Reservoir - return
Distance: - 16 miles

Weather: -Bright & sunny to start (& finish), overcast & windy on the Moor

An early start saw Bob pick me up just after 9.15am for the short ride up to Tow Law. We parked up in a layby near High Houselop and with shades on set off to pick up the old railway line that would eventually get us up to Waskerley. The going was pleasant and the scenery impressive as we quickly discussed business before turning our attention to rugby.

Sunny in Tow Law - unheard of!

It wouldn't be Tow Law without wind turbines!

Reservoir

 











With FC's game against Catalan been called off the conversation was unusually short on this day. The focus was more on the mentality of groundsmen who "soften" pitches by watering them in minus 7c temperatures, and then wonder why the pitch is unplayable due to frozen surface water!!!! Deep in conversation we followed what we thought was the track only to find our way ahead halted by a large padlocked fence & gate. A trek back up the path (so a mile or more extra walking!) and subsequent review of the map did little to help.
It appeared that our way forward had been thwarted by some poor pre-walk assumptions about public footpaths! After 10 minutes of careful scrutiny we managed to find a detour around a large plantation of trees that would eventually meet up with Waskerley Way railway line. The interesting thing we noticed as we walked around the plantation was the large concrete fencing all around it - why?

"Who put this here?"

Who are you trying to keep out? Or should that be in!

We came to the conclusion that it maybe had something to do with the MoD or perhaps an old PoW camp. By now we were up on moorland and the scenery was much bleaker with little sign of wildlife other than the large numbers of Grouse. It wasn't long before we hit the railway line we had been aiming for and the going should have got easier. However, a constant steady climb up into a very strong headwind meant we were only making <2 mph and with the wind howling in our ears conversation was somewhat subdued.

The Waskerley Way

After what seemed an eternity (but was in fact only 45 mins) we managed to find the smallest bit of shelter and stopped for lunch.

Wind breaker!

As the windchill factor began to bite into our hands we wolfed our scran down in 10 mins and set off back on the return leg. Downhill with a tail-wind we made excellent time. As we left the Waskerley Way and headed back towards Tow Law the wind died down and once again the sun was out - a welcome warmth on the body. Incredibly we managed to get ourselves lost and ended up trekking across a field and over a wall to get ourselves back on the correct path. It never ceases to amaze me how different a route can look coming back the opposite way - why is that??!! We managed to find our way back to the car by 3.30pm and despite a cold spell it had been another cracking day for the time of the year.