On Wednesday 20th May, a group of twelve plus the leader met on the edge of the moors above Wolsingham in Weardale for a walk mainly on very quiet roads and shooting tracks. It is considered by many unacceptable to walk in a group of thirteen, but fortunately none of us were superstitious, touch wood! There was a fresh westerly wind blowing, with the sun only managing to put in the briefest of appearances, but at least the rain, which had been heavy the previous day, stayed away. We paused briefly at Doctor’s Gate, which apparently is so called because it is where the Doctor from Wolsingham would ride to on his pony to hold an impromptu surgery for the people from Bedburn and Hamsterley. (Though if you could walk the five miles from Hamsterley to get there, presumably there wasn’t much wrong with you!). We then walked west for a few miles before turning north, admiring some of the swankiest grouse butts we have ever seen, and then paused for lunch, sheltering from the wind behind the wall at the turning to Allotment House. Then onward to the “Elephant Trees” (see photo) and along Sunnyside Edge back to our starting point.
An enjoyable and invigorating walk with magnificent views over open moorland. Eight miles with no stiles and hardly any mud. We made it back to the cars ahead of schedule (I am sure that the absence of stiles and the stiff breeze on our backs for the return leg helped!) which meant that we had plenty of time to adjourn to Wolsingham for some very welcome refreshments.
Report by Alan Kenwright; Photograph by Caroline Thompson.