Barnard Castle Ramblers - Walk Report Wednesday 25th March 2015 - Bishop Auckland There was a distinctly Roman feel to our recent Wednesday walk. With Vinovium in part of the route description, this was a bit of a clue. There were ten of us met outside the Town Hall in Bishop Auckland. There were a few false starts as people went to buy a packed lunch, while others using the bus, rushed up because one bus didn’t turn up. A little later than scheduled we set off and battled the traffic to then descend the steep street to the River Wear. We walked under the impressive railway viaduct, which was turned into a road, several years ago. Before we had started we had been told about the Eleven Arches project. It is called the Eleven Arches after the viaduct and will involve horses and goodness knows what else. They are wanting volunteers, for various roles in the production and it is still very much in the planning stage. More information can be obtained from www.elevenarches.org We walked along the Batts and over Jock’s Bridge (whoever Jock was), before climbing a set of steps into a field. At the top, one of the group informed us that some of the few remaining stone steps were in fact Roman steps. The field we were standing in is marked as Vinovia Roman Fort on the map. However, to the disappointment of some, there is nothing to be seen as excavation has not yet been done in that field. There was then quite a discussion on Binchester Roman Fort, which somehow ended up as discussion on Ghosts. We could have stood there all day, but we were supposed to be on a walk. We walked past Vinovium, which is just a house and started the steady climb up Bellburn Wood. Sadly it was too early for the bluebells, but there was a strong aroma of wild garlic. Unfortunately there was lots of mud until we climbed out into a field. Reputedly, there are a lot of Roman Soldiers buried in Bellbun Wood. We had what should have been a coffee stop, but ended up as an early lunch stop. From the embankment, the impressive viaduct could be seen in the distance. We then climbed up to Long Lane, which is in fact the minor road from Willington to Binchester. Once across the road our problems started. There are several difficult stiles. One is so bad that some of us crawled through the hedge instead. Not only that, but all the fields were planted with Oil Seed Rape. At the moment it is about a foot high and it was very wet. There is no sign of a re-instated path across any of the fields. Just imagine what it is going to be like when the Oil Seed Rape is several feet high. The final obstacle is an overgrown lane between the field and some woodland. We walked down the side of the field and climbed the fence onto the minor road which goes from Byers Green to Binchester. At last it was easy going as we walked along the Auckland walk which is in fact a disused railway line. Eventually we left the line at a cutting and crossed it, to enter another field. Here we had another short break before walking through the Bishops Park. Someone asked if we were going to the Deer Shelter, but most of them had seen it before. However, there were one or two who hadn’t seen it, so we all went. This is a most impressive building and well worth a visit. We emerged near the entrance to Auckland Castle and we studied the new notice boards. There is a lot of work in progress including the large walled garden. The café in the town square was too tempting to walk past and we were made very welcome. Seven of us enjoyed tea/coffee, scones and toasted teacake. This was just a short walk, but everyone enjoyed another day out. Joan Martin. .