Sunday, 24 December 2006

Country Ramble

A few weekends ago, Lucy had her cousin up so we all went in his car about an hour’s drive away to go for a bit of a hike – sorry, “ramble”! Now, the night before had been a great one, out watching a few bands, but also a late one so I was a bit reluctant. But even if I was out under false pretences (you’ll be able to cut the walk short if you’re tired says Lucy, hmmm) I was very glad we went. The walk was about 14 km (!) in the end, and well worth it. So here are a few photos.

First stop – the Angel of the North.

Angel of the North, from the SouthThree angel shadows and a photographer someone at the foot of the statue for scale

Some scenes from along the way…comments are in the mouse overs.

No, it’s not a stream, or a brook, or a creek – it’s a beckNow that’s how you put up the Christmas treeChook house – with extra pheasantsWe looked for ages for this so called gateWe were ready to jump the wall if we couldn’t find the much safer stepsEvery village needs a football pitch.Stables. I can imagine James Herriot visiting this place!Ok, I understand the theory – you dip/drench/vaccinate the sheep and then you mark it. But you do end up with lovely xmassy coloured sheep!The smart ramblers bring another pair of shoes – mine are still muddy after this walkQuick break while we check the map – the instructions are reasonably clear, if you can tell one stile from another.Through the little township on the way.A stile! Just like in the books, although no handsome gentleman appeared to make sure I didn’t sprain an ankle. There were any number of different types, just like every gate had a different mechanismAnother stile – the dry-walling around here is really impressive

After the walk over the river and through the fields and via the village, we went to Bowes museum. Bowes was an upstart bastard, who managed to inherit his father’s wealth but not the title and definitely not the respect of his neighbours. Whether or not this had anything to do with his decision to build a magnificent house, marry a beautiful French woman and assemble an impressive art collection is up to you to decide.

The first two pictures show the outside of the manor as we went in. The last shows as we were leaving…. at 4.30pm! The early sunset is still a little hard to get used to.


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