Guided Walk Recce Up Teesdale

Before anybody leads a guided walk for Durham County Council, they’re supposed to do a reccy.
I’m leading a guided walk next Wednesday (6 April) from Bowlees so yesterday, me and LTD did a reccy.
It was sunny but , frankly, nithering.


The walk is 11 miles and starts at 10:00 sharp and the route is from Bowlees, over The Wobbly Bridge and up to Holwick Scars and thenh over Crosthwaite Fell to join the Pennine Way at Wythes Hill Farm which is followed back through Middleton and alongside the river back to Bowlees.

The views are crackin. There’s lots of friendly contours which are good for the heart, a few brave wild flowers, lots of lapwings, curlew, snipe, meadow pipits and skylarks; some lambs, an exciting (not very exciting) beck crossing and some more cracking views as well as good, friendly conversation and a hot cuppa at the end for those who venture into the cafe at Bowlees. And all for Four Quid.


Despite the sign on the gate on the PW at Low Force, the walk is both non-smoking AND warm clothing advised, specially if it’s as chilly as it was yesterday.

Seems unlikely that in these temperatures, that many people will be taking advantage of this. Apparently it’s one of seven such paths created on sections of England’s LDP’s to bring them up to the same standard of similar nature (!) trails in Germany. – I’m not sure what the other ones are, but I’m told that most of the Cheviot border ridge is included and Black Hill in the south Pennines, plus bits of the South and North Downs Way and the South West coastal path.  Does anybody know anything about this?