Gadgie Walks

A year in the lives of the gadgies.

As with the rest of the population gadgie activity has been seriously curtailed this year by the pandemic. For the first few months several of us walked alone, staying close to home as requested. I became quite familiar with Northumberlandia, the huge earth art work just outside Cramlington. She is constructed from the rock and soil excavated to allow access to the coal beneath.

In March I was adopted by Brian and Margaret and joined their bubble. Arriving in separate cars and greeting with "Fancy seeing you here" we had several socially distanced walks close to Newcastle. Our days out included conquering the three peaks of North Tyneside; the old pit heap at Weetslade, a heap at Rising Sun Country Park and a heap at Silverlink Nature Reserve.

The gnomon at Silverlink. The clock was fairly accurate too

Mount Weetslade, a country park near Killingworth. Popular with dog walkers.

But in April the government allowed pubs to reopen - provided you ate or drank outside. To celebrate our freedom five of us; Brian, Margaret, John Hall, Harry and I did a favourite walk based on Rothbury.

(Never mind the walk, the pubs are open; April 14)

On the way home we sat in the garden of the Cook and Barker ay Newton on the Moor, wrapped in padded jackets. The waiter brought a list of drinks. On e simply said Real Ale. When asked what sort he said Timothy Taylor's Landlord. Oh happy day.

The Cook and Barker, Newton on the Moor.

By June life was back to normal, almost. On the 9th several of us walked from the church of St. Andrew at Bolam , not far from Newcastle. It is an easy going walk, few climbs but on this occasion was made difficult by the team having to cross a field of oil seed rape. The farmer had kindly left a track between the rows of the crop but the ground was a tangled mess of stalks, causing more than one to trip.

The path looks never ending, felt that way too.

In July we were joined on a walk from Blanchland, a village just in Northumberland, by the famous cat detective William and his two lady friends Helen and Kate.

Kitted out for hiking William joined the gang in Blanchland.

The proposed long distance walk on the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Fort William had to be postponed this year but four of us managed to squeeze in a shorter walk from Skipton to Kirby Stephen. Most nights we stayed in pubs, several of them dispensed Timothy Taylor's Landlord too. A good walk and thanks to Mickledore for their excellent, speedy service when one night's accommodation had to be cancelled at short notice.

Somewhwere in the Dales on the Lady Anne Way

Lady Anne in Kirby Stephen. She was a 16th century landowner who helped the people living on her estates.

In September one of the month's Fridays was devoted to walking the coast of Northumberland from Warkworth to the River Aln and back through the dunes. The Northumberland coast has miles of sandy beaches as Britons having to stay at home for their holidays have discovered. Thankfully it never gets too hot.

Northumberland beaches are seldom crowded.

Also in September we had for me a new walk, starting from Slaley a linear village high up above Hexham. This walk at this time is to become an annual event, a memorial walk for Ray Craven who was one of the original gadgies. Ray sadly died this month, missed by all.

I should keep a log of the stiles we have crossed on our walks. This one, a proper stone one imported from Yorkshire is a proper stile. Ladder stiles are fine but can be slippy. Some of the simple bar and pole ones are dangerous, especially those where the farmer has left a strand of barbed wire on the top.

And in December we finished with a walk from Rothbury, days after storm Arwen had caused havoc in the woodlands of Northumberland and my garden fence! Some of the paths through woodland were impassable for gadgies and we cut them out, using roads.