Michelle

Ebchester (Weir) – Mill Burn – Hoodsclose – Spring House – Westriding Wood – Hedley-on-the-Hill – Woodhead – Hollings – Hollings Hill Quarry – Broad Oak Farm – Ebchester.

A real mixture. Snow showers early on, blizzards later. Freezing all the way round, windy, hailstones and some sunshine.

Michelle, Michael, Ron, George.

Ashley - Bad back.

Diane and Richard - Church meeting.

Sandy - Wuss that cuddled the dog.

Comments

The going was variable. It was muddy in places but not as bad as expected after two days of rain. Where it was more exposed to the wind and cold and where there was snow, the ground was firmer although a bit rough and uneven at times. About half the walk was in forest which was more sheltered. Michelle had problems on more than one occasion with iceballs under her gaiters.

Our lunch spot was beside a large pile of logs, which provided both shelter and comfortable seats. We were passed by a Labrador carrying a very long branch. The second stop was at the Feather’s Inn in Hedley-on-the-Hill. An aluminium plaque at the edge of the village displayed distances from several places, e.g. 600 miles from Oslo.

Heading out of Hedley-on-the-Hill we had to climb up some wooden steps and pass through a narrow cowpat-sodden farmyard full of dirty and smelly cows. Fortunately, Bernie was not there. Ron slipped on the slurry.

Some gates were tricky to open. One brand new gate was tied with string. There were also large brambles obstructing several paths.

Wildlife/Flora/Animals:

Birds: 5 Red Kites, pheasants, fieldfares,coal tits, mallards, gosanders. Heard a curlew.

Mammals/others: Unidentified beast in the forest, cows and a hare.

Ship Inn, Wylam. A bit noisy. Privately run. Service a bit slow. The lamb was good, although a bit pink in places. Curry OK. Nice puddings.

Crossing the Bridge

Stone

Snowy Woods

Emerging from the Woods

Steps

Who's crossing our Farmyard?