Teesdale

A year as a Mountain Rescue trainee

I spent Saturday evening high up on the moors of the North Pennines in driving rain and strong winds trying to find small features in the dark using only a map and compass. There were no paths to follow, so we waded through knee deep heather, bogs and streams hoping that after pacing 800m onContinue reading “A year as a Mountain Rescue trainee”

A night on Meldon Hill

When the Government announced they were relaxing the Covid rules for 5 days over Christmas I made plans to squeeze as much activity as possible into those 5 days. Two and a half days with my family and one day driving my mum home on the 27th. That left the 23rd and half of theContinue reading “A night on Meldon Hill”

Burnhope Seat

Winter is definitely with us. No clear blue skies and frozen ground though, at least not today. Instead we had North Pennines winter conditions of soft snow, peat hags, low cloud and drizzle. We started at Burnhope Reservoir just up from Wearhead at the top end of Weardale. It was deserted, perhaps unsurprisingly on aContinue reading “Burnhope Seat”

The Cheviot and back to Teesdale

Two very different walks this week, but variety is good. On Thursday I went to Northumberland for the first time in many years for a long walk with my brother Jim. He was wearing trainers and a lightweight rucksack, prepared to walk as fast as he could. I was as usual in my heavy bootsContinue reading “The Cheviot and back to Teesdale”

Fendrith Hill and Chapel Fell Top

Lockdown v2 is giving me an excellent excuse to explore my local hills a bit more. I’m ashamed to say that although I know the Lakes like the back of my hand, I rarely visit the remote hills in Teesdale and the North Pennines. There is a good reason for this – long walks overContinue reading “Fendrith Hill and Chapel Fell Top”

A sense of deja vu came over me this week. Lockdown v2 seemed to be as unexpected as lockdown v1 and once again I had time for one last trip to the Lakes. Driving over there I wondered what would be stopping me from coming this way over the next few weeks, but deep insideContinue reading “Teesdale”