Powburn another dangerous place

24 July and we wanted a safe, peaceful walk. Powburn in the Northumberland countryside what could go wrong?

10 miles of lovely countryside, lots of sheep. I like sheep they run away when you approach them, thats my kind of animal. Cows, we havent had problems with in the past but today a young looking cow or bull ran for us, Mark shouted and it just dug its hooves in and snorted!!

We were near the end of the field going down to cross a small burn and up to a gate. We rushed across the burn and luckily it stopped on the bank. I have been saying for weeks cows are dangerous and today was proven right. I googled it and a couple of people are killed every year by cows crushing them. There is no real advice on how to deal with them other than let your dog run free as its this that normally spooks them.

WE DONT HAVE A DOG ..........

The rest of the walk was lovely, we got lost a little bit after fighting through some head height bramles and prickly bushes but back home in time for some sun-bathing and a glass of Pimms.

I forgot to say we did some 'gathering' today, tasty rasberries (had some with fresh mint in my Pimms) and also found a ear - possibly a sheeps.

Muggleswick can be a dangerous place !

Nice horse I think not!!!


It was sunny and Mark had found a fairly flat jaunt for us to romp around and its definitely a walk I would recommend you do apart from the horses ...

Mark is always saying he's not keen on horses and I'm oh they are lovely, so elegant and powerful and well as it turns out quite scary. We had to cross a field with a dozen or so horses in and like a lot of animals they head over to you thinking they are going to get fed. No these just wanted to 'have' us. The leader horse was really quite lively and even though Mark was shouting at them (whatelse can you do?) they contined to pursue us.

I was getting quite scared and we ended up running to the stile to climb over, not easy when you are in a panic, to then feel relieved we made it through.

A lovely meander through forest, crossed a proper mini river about a foot deep, our boots were great. Mark's feet were dry as he belted across, I got some water in as I took a bit longer. Our Meindl Ultra GX boots from LD Mountain Centre have been amazing, http://www.ldmountaincentre.com

Interesting fact re LD Mountain Centre, its where Berghaus was created in 1966 and later sold to Pentland Group PC. If you need any kit the guys at LD Mountain are very helpful.

It wasnt all over though, the bad news being we had to go back through the field of horses. I was so scared, Mark agreed to walk ahead and distract them and I stuck close to the fence line. No hope of getting over this in a hurry as it was barb wire. The leader horse still did a bit of chasing but Mark shouted somemore and it cleared off. Stressed or what? Would we do it again, yes with a big bag of carrots to pelt at the horses.

Cheviot Summit - 3 July 2011

Our highest climb so far but we were ready for the challenge he he. A brilliant weather forecast so its t-shirts all the way. Our route would take us on a meandering walk following Harthope Burn to its source. A very pretty walk and along the way Mark got his eye on a sheeps skull complete with horns sitting on a rock in the burn.

Whoppee, its in great condition and was the envy of many walkers we passed on the way down Cheviot. The summit is not as impressive as Windy Gyle and although dry the aircraft much discussed in write ups of the area was sadly not visible.





The descent was hard going, we both have dodgy knees, but we felt happier going down than thinking about the folk we passed who were heading up. The route we took would definitely be my favourite. A longer stretch but more of a gradual climb until you reach the ascent for Cairn Hill.

You see some amusing things when out and about. Two men searching for spectacles they put down whilst taking a photograph (they were never going to find them); people wearing inappropriate or no clothes - bare chested men (you could see the sun burn developing) and then people like me with a sheeps head attached to my rucksack looking like I'm out on a satanic mission!

A fab day but a walk Mark said we wont be doing again.

Our Week at Rothbury

It didnt start off with the best weather for our arrival on saturday but thankfully we woke up to sunshine on Sunday. Our cottage was lovely and comfortable with everything you need for cosy holiday. For more info see www.conwaycottage.co.uk

We had a mix of moderate and strenuous walks to keep us busy over the week along with high energy snacks, thats chocolate bars!

This is a great base and our walks included Cragside Carriageway, Broadsruther, Windy Gyle and Felton to Morwick. We were lucky with the weather and Windy Gyle was a fabulous day with lots of sunshine. We were fortunate enough to spot the elusive wild black goats, found a sheeps skull and also both felt a real sense of achievement when we reached the summit, see the photos for our smiling faces.




It was strange as it had been a peaceful walk to the summit and when we reached it, feeling rather exhausted, I stretched out on the grass and thought ahh how lovely. Two minutes later a dozen or so walkers came bounding up, trampled around, made a bit of noise, took some photos and then disappeared as quickly as they arrived.



A shame we thought as the views were tremendous on such a beautiful day. It seemed a along walk to just 'stop and go'. Maybe they had a very long walk ahead of them.

Our Felton Morwick walk was a hoot, we ended up crossing the main line railway, via climbing over a fence and tied up gate. Not sure it was still an access route but no going back sometimes.

Lordenshaw and Spylaw Round 1 and 2 ....

Our first attempt at this walk was a wintery day in February and our first 'hard' walk. Climbing through foot high heather, up a hill, with no poles was a challenge. We had wet feet, wet trousers and felt thoroughly miserable. We were blown away by reaching the top of a climb to find a lake shrowded in mist (looking quite oriental) hidden away. A slippery walk through a forest was also beautiful and the good points do outway the bad ones and we knew we would like to go back on a sunny day.







Round 2, 29th May and we head back up to Lordenshaw, nice car park and we are first there as usual. New boots since last visit and very comfy. We decided to go for our Paramo smocks, still adjusting to having a smock in my wardrobe. Probably more of an adjustment for Mark I reckon!

A good start, weather was okay and we headed off across the moor confidently. We spotted a deer at Selby's Cove. Barking loudly like a dog it made us both smile. A hard work walk with a slight detour through the heather making us both feel it may not be our favourite walk. Mark said 'never' again, I reckon its our nemesis for now and we will return he he.

St Mary's Lighthouse

This was a early morning in December and Mark took some amazing photos. The lighthouse looked so eerie it could easily be a movie location. I'm missing wearing my hats, scarves and gloves. Winter attire is so much easier to organise, you layer up as you know its going to be cold .... Spring comes along and you think great. Well actually its really hard work and we go out wearing an assortment of t-shirts, tops, body warmers, water proofs and anything else we can think of. You are then faced with stopping regularly to take something off or put something back on. We are currently testing out a couple of Paramo and Montane items, more to follow

New hat ..

Not actually my hat, Mark bought this but I have acquired it and he has progressed to a Tillie hat, indestructable and a lifetime guarantee. I feel he might need it!

The idea of this blog is to plot our efforts (adventures) around the local countryside. We may move to beyond the north-east but for now we are finding pleny of places to wander at the weekends.

As we started walking seriously in January I may reflect back on our journey's and some of the fab photos Mark has took including lots of me wandering off into the distance, I'm hoping as time goes by my rear gets smaller and not just because I am moving farther away he he.