It's been a very dry September...... October 3rd.
Or so the weather people say. England, at least at this end has had only 20% of its normal ration, but there have been floods in parts of the south.
But the jovial jock on BBC Look North said the Lakes and the Cheviots could be wet and windy today so five of us are setting off to Weardale which is supposedly dry. (Dave, Ray, John H, Ben and me)
The walk starts in Stanhope.  Stanhope has a very nice Information Centre (The Durham Dales Centre) and tea room which makes a good meeting place as we require two cars. Amazingly nobody had a bacon sandwich just a cup of tea or coffee, must be the absence of Brian the ankle)
Stanhope is a small market town with a very  large parish. St. Thomas's church has 12thC origins, the heritage Weardale railway ends here and one of its sons, William Crozier became editor of the Manchester Guardian. It also has an18th C castle, a petrified tree and an outdoor heated swimming pool! Stanhope means "stony valley".
The map to use is OS OL 307 Consett and Derwent Reservoir. The five star car park is at NY995393.

Five star car park with bays for workers in the centre shops, the police, short stay and long stay. 
                                                   And free, proper Yorkshireman's carpark.
Leaving the car park we turned left onto the high street, crossed the road, walked past the Pack Horse Inn and turned down towards the river to join the Weardale Way on the north bank. (Do not cross the river at the stepping stones to follow our route.)

                                               A large pond, not the heated swimming pool

                                                                     

                                            River Wear, low because of the lack of rain this September.
     
 The path crosses the Weardale Heritage Railway and continues close to the river. It is not the best of paths, stony and tussocky but eventually leads to a caravan park and short stretch of road into Eastgate. Eastgate was the eastern limit of the Prince Bishop's hunting area in ancient times. In even more ancient times a Roman soldier from Lanchester (Longovicium) killed a boar in the area and left an altar to the god of the woods as a thank you. A copy of the altar stone is next to the bus stop, the real one is in the British Museum.*

                                        Marcus Aurelius (no not that one) had this altar made

                                                  Info board.
At the bus stop a track heads north before turning north west, passing a farm and becoming a footpath, still the Weardale Way.It runs parallel to the Rookhope Burn, at times it disappears in undergrowth, it is perfectly safe for dwarfs as there are some low hanging branches but for upstanding gadgies there is a considerable amount of ducking required. At one point a yellow marker points across the river but only Dave followed it. the rest of us walked a short distance uphill to spot a gate leading to quite a decent path past some old mine works to a footbridge and stile.

                                               Pretty Rookhope Burn

                                        A Weardale Way marker, not the plain yellow one Dave mistakenly 
                                                                 followed.

                                                        Best stile for a while! The marker is on the post.
When we reached the stile we noticed that the marker for the Weardale Way pointed left, correctly, but we turned right along the road that led to Rookhope. As we passed Church House farm a sparrow hawk flew low down the stream, bird of the blog.

We spotted a couple of benches in the village and declared a Herbie Spot. Sandwiches, Ben's biscuits, Bakewell tart, chocolate hobnobs and Sainsbury's chocolate. Hard to get going again after all that.
Rookhope is on the Coast to Coast cycle route and in the centre of the village a bright blue C2C sign pointed us uphill on Boltslaw Incline. The remnants of a 19th century mining system it kept us going uphill for at least a steep mile until we came to the ruins of the mine.

                                                      A sign post at the foot of Boltslaw

                                      The Bolt's Law winding engine. In this area, iron ore, lead and limestone                                                                                         were mined.

                                               All that remains of the winding shed. Dave 
                                                wished he had been the brakeman on trucks
                                               going downhill, there was always the hope of
                                                a pint in the pub at the bottom.
From this point the old railway line curves in a huge arc across the moors back to Stanhope. The wind, which was quite strong, was at our backs, the cloud was low and there was some dampness in the air so we didn't hang around admiring the wide views, but soldiered on, past a line of shooting butts, across the road up Crawley Bank to the tea room at  the old Parkhead Station.

                                                   Parkhead tea rooms on the C2C
Here we joined another old railway line, now known as the Waskerley way. It goes from Stanhope to Consett and also had winding engines for the steep bits. (See "The Magical Waskerley Way, Oct 2012)

                                             I think this must have something to do with bikes.
From here the railway heads south and downhill, just what you need at the end of a long walk. As it nears Stanhope it goes through Ashes Mine. Up to the 1940s this mine produced limestone for local ironworks. It has left a long and strange looking area of spoil heaps, as Dave said, a young geologist could be fooled into having found a field of morraines!

                                                Ashes Mine spoil heaps

                                           Limestone was hauled to Consett for the iron works.

                                                  St. Thomas' church. It has Saxon origins.

                                                        and a petrified tree.

                                             Durham Dales Centre.
Changed we headed for the nearest pub, The Bonny Moorhouse in Stanhope which had Bitter and Twisted and Coast to Coast. Landlord, sadly, was off.

The Matrix MMXIV  R

A good week for pedometers, I have a new one which is a wrist worn pretty pink affair. (It's a long story but my wife thinks it brings out my feminine side.)
                               
                                                                                 steps                         miles


LIDL3D                                                                 35327                           16.1
ASDA BLUE                                                         32780                           15.4
Pretty Pink                                                              28940                           13.7  (But I forgot to switch                                                                                                                                on at the start)
Dave's LIDL3D                                                      31143                           14.32
Dave's USB                                                             30446                          13.93
My GPS                                                                                                       13.6
Ray's GPS                                                                                                     13.7
Ben's is at the menders.
Gadgie distance  343

                                                    Sparrowhawk
* I had forgotten the exact location, it's my age. I googled it and was sent to a blog called "Northern Pies" written by a certain Mike Knipe. Great blog, lots of walks and well worth a read but he doesn't have a logo.

An after thought. I keep getting Ukrainian readers. Interesting I thought they would have too much to worry about at the moment.

Seven go off to Russell's Cairn.  Sept 26th.
  The holiday season is just about over, Autumn approaches and it is time for gadgies to resume their normal Friday activities, which means that today we are back in the Cheviots, walking to Windy Gyle from Blindburn in the Coquet Valley.
To get to the start, A1 north, turn left at Morpeth on the A697, follow the diversion signs for Rothbury and stop at Tomlinsons Cafe and Bunkhouse for a fortifying bacon sandwich and tea. Continue through Rothbury, turn right on the minor road for Alwinton and drive past the farm at Barrowburn until you come to a small car park on the right hand side at the point where the Rowhope Burn joins the Coquet.
The map to use is the OS OL 16, "The Cheviot Hills" and the car park is at NT 859114.

There are seven of us out today, the usual crew of Harry, Dave, Brian, Ben and me having been joined by Ray, who has not been seen for a while, and John Clarke, qualified gadgie, who has managed to escape the duties of grandparenting for the day.

                                       Suited and booted in the car park on a beautiful day.
The path starts on the south side of the Rowhope Burn and soon climbs up a grassy hill over Hindside Knowe, goes alongside Swineside Law and over Black Braes. The scenery, as always, is magnificent, especially on a day like this, almost cloudless but with a stiff breeze from the west.

                                           Two views of the Cheviots on a bright late September day.
Just beyond the Black Braes the grassy trail continues but we turned down a path heading east towards the target. However it was agreed that in the first dip, just low enough to be out of the wind, we should declare a Herbie Spot. Close by was a small herd of the  feral Cheviot goats, five of them.
As a treat for the day Dave had weakened and brought along some mini pork pies which went down well with some of us, Ben had ginger biscuits and I had my Czech chocolate.

                                                  Still life with bins, sandwich and pies

                                       Only two Billy goats gruff, maybe the troll had struck
Lunch over we continued the steady climb to Windy Gyle and Russell's Cairn where we stopped to admire the views; north into Scotland East to the sea and south to Simonside, west to more Cheviots.
Russell's cairn is so named because either it was named for Sir John Russell by the king of Scotland in 1252 or it was named for the murdered Francis Russell in 1585.
At the cairn we chatted to a couple from Wales who were enjoying their first trip to Northumberland (or Scotland at this point) and thought it was absolutely awesome and beautiful. How right they are.

                                                A couple of young lads had cycled up,
                                               Harry admires their kit.

                                                      Russell's Cairn and trig point.
We went through the gate south of the cairn and turned left to follow the path that runs alongside the border fence to the gate that could have been a border crossing point if the Scots had voted Yes.

                                              The gateway to Scotland.
Here we followed the path south east before turning south and walking between two plantations on the west side of Hazely Law. The path met the road to Uswayford Farm but we turned right and followed the road  south west to Trows and Rowhope before arriving back at the car park. Unfortunately, somewhere along the road Brian twisted his ankle. Fortunately a soldier was in the area with his Land Rover and very kindly took the hobbling Brian back to the car.
 We changed and headed for our favourite watering hole, the Anglers Arms at Weldon Bridge. Dawn the manageress saw the hobbling Brian and immediately offered to make up an ice pack from the cubes on the bar. Neatly wrapped in a tea towel they gave some relief. But what service! How many other pubs would offer no more than sympathy. The beers on offer were Speckled Hen, Pedigree or Theakstons Bitter, all well kept of course.
Over re-hydrating we discussed the next AGM, which will be held in the Anglers of course. I remarked that the pub had a good website with lots of information on accommodation, menus etc.. Brian suggested we go instead to the Duck and Spider as that pub had a really great website. Obviously not in too much pain.
A great walk on a beautiful sunny day, give it a try.

The Matrix   MMXIV  P

                                                     steps                                    miles
LIDL 3D                                    24812                                    11.4
ASDA PED                                15652                                     7.35    rubbish
Dave's 3D                                   23780                                   11.63
Dave's USB                                23310                                   11.4
GPS                                                                                          10.96
John Clarks GPS                                                                       11.1
Brian's GPS                                                                               9.75 before he got a lift.

Gadgie distance 330

Scotland

                                                 The track through Trows Plantation

Contains OS Data, copyright. Crown Copyright and data base right 2014.

An few exras photos from Harry:

                                         The author, having ascended Russell's Cairn

     My wife says I look like a farmer. I don't know whether it is a compliment or not

                           Ray         Brian             John C     Moi     Ben                  Dave
(Photos by kind permission of Harry Nagel who isn't on it because he took it)

Walking with the Gadgette. Volume IV***
  On Friday September 12th, and 19th, I missed out on Gadgie walks to take my wife of 45 years on holiday to the beautiful Atlantic island of Madeira, again. We like it.
The holiday got off to a great start, we loaded on time, fastened belts, listened to the lady, and then   the pilot announced there was a problem with the navigational computer which needed fixing. Fair enough, don't want to end up in the wrong place. An engineer ran up and down steps looking at the underside of the plane and then announced all was well so off we went, an hour late. But we arrived, he knew what he was doing, pointed it in the right direction.

Having written in praise of the beauty of Bohemia, the historic sites of Northumbria and the neolithic tombs of Orkney it is now the turn of Madeira to get a free plug.

Several hundred miles from Africa and four hours flying from Newcastle, Madeira is a gem set in a sometime silver sea. As on the last two visits we stayed at the Pestana Promenade a few miles west of the centre of Funchal, island capital and second largest city in Portugal.

                                                   Pestana Promenade Hotel

                                            Early morning at the pool, not a towel in sight.

The gadgette is not a dedicated walker of hills so mostly our strolls were on fairly level surfaces. Like an elderly couple should, and accompanied by friends John and Evelyn who were in a different hotel, we strolled the promenade west of Funchal, stopping for tea and scones at the Magic Tea Shop. Refreshment over we continued in the same direction, passing the statue of Zarco, discoverer of the island (Although it was known to the Romans), down a slope towards a tunnel cut from the rock at Praia Formosa.

                                                  Is America that way? Zarco looks out.

                                                 Possibly the highest cliffs in Europe,
                                                   if Madeira is in Europe

                                                  Sea cave  near Praia Formosa

                                                                   Yogurt eating lizards                                                                           Inside the tunnel large openings gave a good view of a sea cave.                                                      Exiting the tunnel (how modern!) we continued along a board walk that saved us from ankle breaking pebbles on the beach. I spotted  something on the shingle that appeared to be covered by a blanket and was being watched, nonchalantly, by two policemen. It was a body, badly covered by the blanket so it was possible to see a man's stomach and arm. One of the policemen walked away and returned with a lady wearing a summery dress. She looked at the body, seemed uninterested, muttered something and went away. Maybe she was a doctor, confirming the deceased really was. (Turned out to be a Russian holidaymaker, what a sad way to end your trip) We walked on for a while and then turned for home pausing on the way for a rest and to admire the activities of the local lizards as they went for the remains of a tub of yoghurt.

That night we had little sleep. Not that we were worrying about the body on the beach. The Naval Club were holding a party and their headquarters were nearby. Apparently the yacht race from the Canaries to Madeira had ended that day and awards were being given out. The party continued until 5.30 am.

                                                        Yachts in the offing

As has been mentioned in previous blogs, Madeira is famous for its levadas, irrigation channels built to bring water from the high centre to the lower agricultural area. They are also popular for walks which can be easy as they almost contour, but can be extremely exposed or go through narrow low tunnels. We chose a section of the Levada des Tornos which is easily reached from Funchal. ( Take the bus to Monte or Babosa). It has a rather scary bit on it (See "Walking with the Gadgette") with exposed stretches a good couple of hundred feet above the next bit of ground so I carefully avoided this stretch, not wishing to end up in a divorce court, and we walked for several miles through dappled woodland, admiring a distant Buzzard who was probably out hunting lizards. After about six miles of easy walking we caught a bus back to Funchal.

                                                          Approaching the levada.

                                                           An easy walk

                                                   and very pretty

                                                 Cairns along the way

                                              Tree in the way? Simple solution
A second levada walk from Funchal turned out as a bit of a disaster, a certain member of the party finding the high temperature a bit too much, so we retired to an ice cream shop.

I'm a sucker for questionnaires; as we walked along the promenade one morning we were stopped by three students from the university, studying Travel and Tourism. (Do we need any more?) They asked us about the levadas, did we know of them, did we walk them, what safety precautions did we take and what was the emergency number? 112 I answered, they were surprised but pleased. The gadgette added that I only knew because she had told me last night.

Most evenings about 5pm I entertained myself with a sauna, followed by a steam room followed by the monster back pummelling jacuzzi and a dip in the indoor pool which was warm enough to broil a chicken. Usually the sauna was occupied by Germans, Russians and Boltonians. One afternoon there was a Hungarian who kept saying "Wembley 1953, Hungary 6 England 3, Puskas!" I asked him if Hungary had made it to the World Cup, he muttered something in Hungarian.

One evening we went for a meal in Moynihans Irish pub. (Wherever you go your bound to find an Irish pub).  The other reason for visiting was their pub quiz. As a pub quiz writer myself it was a busman's holiday but we were dreadful, scoring a mere 70 % and coming fifth. We don't know enough about celebrities.



There are several gardens in Funchal open to the public; Monte, the Orchid Garden and The Botanical Gardens. We opted for the latter and caught a bus to the entrance. A word of warning; the buses on Madeira are not for the faint hearted. The streets of Funchal and the rest of the island, are narrow and very steep. The drivers have degrees in negotiating extremely tight bends, missing walls by centimetres and generally causing heart attacks for tourists. The locals are obviously used to it and chatter away without holding on for dear life. As an alternative you can take the cable car to Monte, walk to Babosa and take another cable car to the garden. The gadgette prefers hairy bus journeys to terrifying cars swaying hundreds of feet above the banana trees.
 The gardens are truly beautiful. Plants from all over the world grow in the mild Madeiran climate. There are flowers to admire, patterns laid out to view, cacti to make an Apache feel at home. Here are a few:

You might have noticed the gadgette and I love this little island although on this occasion we did stay around the city.
Back to gadgiedom next week!
***
Gloria Raven. If you read this rubbish just to let you know:
The Old Bewick you write about is covered in "Troublesome Wind August 2011"
Most of Northumberland's mines were in the south east of the county but there were smaller pits  throughout. Mining near Old Bewick and Edlingham ceased at the back end of the 19th century.
For more information try www.experiencewoodhorn.com  which is a mining museum in Ashington and also the county archive is kept there. Another good site for mining is the Durham Mining Museum,   dmm.org.uk/archives/indexhtm   which covers pits all over the north not just County Durham.
Thanks for writing anyway, glad somebody reads it! (Apart from Anonymous and I know who she is)