It was a lovely sunny day in May when a dozen intrepid walkers set out to walk along Coldberry Gutter, that notch in the horizon of the fells when looking north from Middleton in Teesdale
We met in Middleton and walked up the east side of Hudeshope Beck initially through some wonderful woodland courtesy of the Raby Estate on the King’s Walk and then through fields to the head of the valley.
After a coffee stop, we crossed the bridge over the beck and walked up to the mine shop at the base of the Gutter. The mine shop had been a lodging house for miners to save returning home at the end of their shift. We were asked to be very careful when walking over the area of extensive mining remains and everyone was quiet at this time. We climbed to the top of the incline, contoured along an old aqueduct and into the lower part of the Gutter.
Coldberry Gutter is an unusually steep sided gully about 1 km long. It was originally thought to be a large man-made mining hush but is now considered to be the result of a meltwater channel from the most recent ice-age.
After an enjoyable lunch stop at the crest of the Gutter, we descended the other side with some superb views of Upper Teesdale. There were also some interesting ironstone rocks on the track as we dropped down to the River Tees. We returned to Middleton on the west bank along the Teesdale Way where the meadows were at their stunning best at this time of year.
A welcome cup of tea was had in Middleton to conclude a very interesting walk of eleven miles.
Report by Bob Tuddenham Photo courtesy of Ian Royston