When It Snowed – Ireshopeburn Moor

The problem with my moribund PC is not yet resolved but it’s going to the vet tomorrow for treatment.

In the meantime, I’ve got this ‘ere laptop loaded with my pictures, documents, spreadsheets, livewriter, camera software, cuddly toy, cuddly toy…  but I’m a little bit behind with the blogposts.

The snow on the Pennines has melted in a warm Atlantic waft although this may not last till the end of the week. On Saturday, it was still cold and beautifully with blue skies and white hills and a few days before that there was a couple of days of fierce winter weather perishingly cold winds, driving snow showers and lots of ice and it was in just such conditions – probably because there were such conditions, actually, that I left the pooch at home with a kong full of cheese (you’ll have to look up “kong” to fully appreciate this statement) and slithered off up  Weardale to Matt and Rachels mountain hideaway for a brief foray into the wastes of Ireshopeburn Moor.

I had to leave the knipemobile by the phone box in the valley bottom since the road up to the eyrie was white and slippery – a good start…  and, I’d left the MOD snowshoes that I’d acquired at home – which turned out to be a mistake.

Hennyway, we crunched our way up the lane onto the moor, occasionally but brutally peppered by showers of sharp ice. And so, now sporting Propah Goggles (in order to see) – we wandered over by the Clints Crag gorge for coffee and then over the beck and then steeply up through occasionally deep snow to a locked shooting box quite near The Causeway by which we returned to the relative warmth (about –2C) of Upper Weardale.

The dog wouldn’t have coped with the snowy squalls – he hated similar conditions on Killhope Law but he might have enjoyed the deep snowdrifts. And I’m looking forward to playing with my snowshoes… and, maybe a sledge for the descents… Ah well, maybe it’ll all come back.

We did a bit less than 7 miles. Bits of it were outrageously hard work. One advantage to living up here, and not having one of those “job” things, is the ability to take advantage of snowy stuff – or anything else interesting – at very short notice. I only mention this to make you feel really jealous, really…