Barnard Castle Ramblers - Walk Report

Wednesday 19th December 2018 -

The recent Wednesday walk was one of our Mix and Match walks. Ian and I were going to do the linear walk from Low Coniscliffe to which is a distance of 5 miles. There was the option then to do the extra 3 miles to Gainford. We were going to use the bus from and it was up to people to decide where they parked their car or whether they used the bus. We were watching events unfold when the Arriva drivers decided to go on strike this week. That of course would have prevented us doing a linear walk, so we breathed a sigh of relief when the strike was called off.

With a day of incessant rain on the Tuesday we knew it was going to be muddy underfoot. Thankfully the Wednesday dawned dry if not bright sunshine. We were delighted to find that nine people had turned up to go with us. One of our members from Aycliffe said that her and her friend were only walking to and back. This was because she had just had the bad news that her daughter had, had an accident. As she was still waiting for more details, she thought she was better coming out with friends for a while instead of sitting at home fretting.

Eventually we got underway and walked down through the village to the riverside. As expected it was very slimy so care had to be taken. The river was high after all the rain but thankfully not as high as the footpath. A coffee stop was had near a ford which is still used by tractors when the river is much lower. Before we got to High Coniscliffe someone spotted a Heron on the opposite side of the river. Normally they fly away, but this one just stood like a statue.

Down to nine of us we walked along the village and dropped down to the riverside again. We walked past the ruins of Carlbury mill and crossed Piercebridge beck with the old mill race to our right. It didn't take long to walk into Piercebridge where we had lunch at the Roman Fort. Three members decided to walk to Gainford and two left us as they had used cars which left four of us. As we had just missed a bus back to Barnard Castle, we went to the farm shop and made a few purchases. The bus was on time and we were back home nice and early. Even our member from Tyne and Wear said she would get back home before it was dark. Again we had enjoyed an easy walk with friends.

Joan Martin