Weardale – Doctors Gate and Black Bank

This was yet another Durham County Council guided walk – reccied by me and Lucky a few days ago in deep and soft snow – and even shiny snow in some places, and, after a bit of a thaw and a refreeze, completed again by me and 27 others including Compulsory Dave, Non-Compulsory Eric and Emergency Jo (who replaced Neville who seems to have contracted a  terrible flu-like lurgy) On the day, which was yesterday, as it happens, it was sunny and cold and the sheep poo which had emerged from beneath the snows was frozen, unlike the cow dung which had been freshly, and I use that word ironically, or, possibly, sarcastically)  spread in some places on top of the snow.  Pooee…

 

I’ll mainly let the pictures do the talking as there were no special dramas, accidents or, indeed, deliberates and, by some miracle, or possibly good balance resulting from practise of a week or more of slithering about on Co Durham’s frozen pavements, nobody fell over -  as far as I’m aware. (all kinds of things can happen with 27 peeps on a walk, most of which the Leader (me) is completely unaware of until the big yellow helicopter arrives….  or it could be that most of the time I’m not all that aware of what’s going on, which is why I keep turning round to see what’s happening behind me and/or making sure that I’m still being followed.

A couple of the pics have been donated by Graeme Ferguson.

The walk is slightly over 11 miles with 1500 feet of up. There’s just the one mile of rough moorland and two or three  two-heart-attack hills. (This is my new standardised measure of how severe an ascent is – a two heart-attack hill woild be fairly strenuous…)

Lucky stayed at home on the walk day cos he’s Not Allowed when I’m leading a walk. Just as well as he’d be exhausted trying to lick 27 hikers…