North Pennines

It’s almost like a watercolour, isn’t it? The light was so beautiful on that late December day in Teesdale, and the sense of freedom was intoxicating. The days on either side of it had sheeted with rain, and there was little doubt in my mind that the Tees would be in full spate. Where better to head than spectacular High Force waterfall, situated within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Beauty?

From the car parking at High Force, you can walk down to view the falls and then follow the river downstream to Low Force, pictured in my first photo. A sign at the top of the path grabbed my attention- a reminder that the power of nature is nothing new at all.

High Force formed where the River Tees crosses the Whin Sill– a hard layer of igneous rock. The waterfall itself is comprised of three different types of rock. The upper band is whinstone, or dolerite- a hard igneous rock which is slow to erode. The lower section is carboniferous limestone- much softer and easily worn away. Between the two, carboniferous sandstone was baked hard when Whin Sill was molten 295 million years ago. This combination means that the waterfall is slowly moving upstream as the rock wears away.

I had no sense of this, as I stood there, enveloped in a world of water. The temporary fine weather, and the respite between Christmas and New Year, had brought the crowds to gaze in wonder. I edged as close as I could, happy to worship alongside them.

As I walked back up the path, the rocks streamed with water, and the frailty of the trees was visible all around me. It’s many years since I was last at High Force, and I had to ask myself why. The countryside is so beautiful!

Looking at the map in the car park, I followed the river along to Bowlees Visitor Centre, and my attention was caught by a short walk to Gibson’s Cave. Something new to me! My husband knew from the glint in my eye that this was my next target.

I was delighted to find that the somewhat muddy path followed a tributary of the river, and that there were more waterfalls in store.

The route bypasses abandoned Bowlees Quarry and I stopped to read the signs. It was too wet underfoot to do more.

The drystone walls and even the fences were covered in spongy, green moss, but it was the bed of the river that captivated. The rock formation was unlike anything I’d seen before- an intricate scratching of patterns .

You can see the path, running alongside the falls. It was a little slippy in places and I had to scramble through a fallen tree, but the end was in sight- Gibson’s Cave. But who was Gibson? A ‘lovable rogue’, apparently.

Did you read the explanation of the patterns on the river bed? Layers of grey limestone, sandstone and dark shale, in a tropical sea about 330 million years ago. Quite incredible! And Gibson? A happy, 16th century outlaw.

That wasn’t the end of my adventures for the day, but I think that it’s a good point at which to stop. The Bowlees Visitor Centre is nearby and, if you’re lucky, it might be open. Cake, or something more substantial?

Next week we’ll carry on to Low Force. It’s just as lovely, so I hope that you can join me.

First things first- let’s put the kettle on and get settled for a good read. Huge thanks to my lovely contributors! If you have a walk you’d like to share I’m always happy to have you along. Details of how to join in are on my Jo’s Monday walk page. Just click on the logo above.

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Let’s start with Debbie, and some beautiful views of Edinburgh :

Up Calton Hill

Jackie is still enjoying Mexico!

Monday Walk- La Noria

And Amy takes me to a beach I remember from long ago :

Monday Walk : Clearwater Beach

There’s one thing my friend Drake has for sure!

Independent Mind (And a love of beautiful places too)

Back to the rain forest with Lee Ann for two super walks, in quite different places!

O’Reilly’s Tree Top Walk

MacRitchie Trails Rainforest Walk

Anyone ready for a snowy walk yet? Not too much snow, I promise!

Alone in the Snow : Mynydd Mawr

Surely one of the prettiest walks from the festive season! Many thanks, Jude :

Christmas Glow

Meanwhile, Richard is topical (and maybe a bit windswept!) :

There’s more to Boscastle than floods

And Denzil is eating blackberries :

Masbourg : How Green is my Valley

If you had a garden like Pauline’s, you would never mind coming home :

Back Home in the Garden

That’s it for another week! My walking group will be out today, weather permitting. First walk together after the New Year, and we’re sticking to footpaths- no boggy fields! Take care of yourselves!

I am a compulsive collector of leaflets and travel articles. Tell me whereabouts you’d like to go and you can be sure I’ll dig deep and find the very leaflet to take you there and show you everything there is to see. Trouble is, I end up with far more leaflets than places I’ve been to. So life with me is a constant struggle to keep up with the leaflet collection- just ask my husband! But sometimes we end up in the most beguiling places.

Weardale poster

Take Tuesday, for instance. A bit of a grey and murky one, but that hint of Autumn colour’s still out there. How long will it take us to get to Wolsingham? I ask the unsuspecting husband. My motive? One of the prettiest train rides I’ve ever taken.

Our diesel train awaits at Wolsingham

Wolsingham is a pleasant market town on the River Wear in the North Pennines, an area of truly outstanding natural beauty. The railway station is on the edge of town and was completely deserted when we arrived. The conductor was more than happy to discuss options. It was a designated Heritage Day, which meant that a steam train would be running at intervals throughout the day. We were more than happy to climb aboard the waiting diesel, certainly the first time we’d ever had an entire train to ourselves. How could this railway line pay for itself we asked the conductor. He explained that it had been purchased primarily for freight, but that in Summer it was easily viable.

On the Weardale Railway

We were soon to see why. The railway closely follows the River Wear along the valley and we were constantly rewarded by chuckling, gurgling stretches of water. At one point the guard was required to climb down from the train to manually open the crossing gate- when did I last see that happen? We were heading for Stanhope, just 20 minutes away, but first we would pass by Frosterley. We had noted from the timetable that if we wanted to disembark there we needed to tell the guard in advance. Just as well we didn’t as I later discovered that the Black Bull Inn, one of the main reasons to go there, only opens Wednesday to Sunday.

Fully restored in 2005 to a traditional English pub of the 1800s, with flagged floors and open fires, the food looks fabulous. Interestingly this is the only pub in England with its own peal of bells, housed in an adjoining building.(Telephone 01388 527784) On the website www.blackbullfrosterley.com the links More and Bells will lead you to “The Bellringers Tale”.

Hard to capture

Passing through thickly wooded slopes, the friendly conductor told us that the views of the river were better at this time of year. In Summer they would be lost in leafy foliage. Camera in hand, I tried hard to capture the abrupt splashes of red, but never quite made it. A couple of weeks earlier we would have been bathed in an amber glow.

Stepping stones at Stanhope

In no time at all we were gliding into Stanhope station. I had previously walked the river banks and crossed the stepping stones here. Today’s excitement for me was the train, but Stanhope is a lovely small town. The Tourist Information office is situated in the Durham Dales Centre on Front Street, an interesting venue in its own right. A happy hour or two could be spent here on one of those cold, dreary days that sometimes hit this part of the world. The café sells a good array of warming food and there are several craft shops to browse.

Durham Dales Centre

Stanhope Castle

Fossil Tree

Further along Front St you have fine views of privately owned Stanhope Castle, while 12^th Century St Thomas Church overlooks the Market Place. A real crowd pleaser, the 320 million years old Fossil Tree stands in the grounds, while the Victorian font is made of Frosterley marble. Dropping down The Butts will bring you to the riverside walk and Castle Park, home of the county’s only open-air heated swimming pool (May to August). Or you could walk (or drive) to beautiful Tunstall Reservoir.

Lovely Tunstall Reservoir

Back at the station the steam engine is warming up for the journey back to Wolsingham. Manned chiefly by volunteers, steam events take place throughout the year. From 26^th November the Santa Specials take to the rails. For full timetable details and the history of the railway: www.weardale-railway.org.uk The railway continues on to Bishop Auckland, a short walk from the main-line station.

Wolsingham Station

In Wolsingham we park at the Demesne Mill picnic area and wander back to the High St. All is quiet and peaceful and we pop into Peggotty’s Tea Room, off Market Square. Mince cobbler, a favourite of mine, is on the menu for £6.95, and in the attached bakery a variety of Tiffins are displayed. Cranberry and white chocolate is barely resistible for 99p.

Old stone cottages, Wolsingham

Time to return home, just an hour down the road, and move the leaflet to the bottom of the pile- mission very happily accomplished!

restlessjo

Roaming, at home and abroad

Jo’s Monday walk : High Force and Gibson’s Cave

On the right track in Weardale

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