Long Walks–Waskerley Wabbits

Ashley, there’s only one wabbit involved – one with Mixie that LTD grabbed but then let go…

Anyway – this walk is 20 miles, although some GPS readings claimed it was 21. It also has 2250 feet of ascent, which probably isn’t all that much for 20 miles.

We began at Wolsingham Railway Station aka ice rink being well iced following a cold night – and a dawn start, obviously.  “We” being me, LTD, six other peeps plus Captain the dog,  either from previous walks or as a result of info provided on Wolsingham Wayfarers Faceache account..

It was Very Cold. In fact, the night before had seen freezing rain and just a dusting of snow. This meant that all of the footpaths and tracks were liberally coated with a thick..er…coat .. of ice. This made the paths impossible to walk on, specially the steep bits where hands and knees had, sometimes, to be employed.

However, this did not seem to influence our pace, which managed to remain fairly brisk throughout at about 2.5 mph including the stops.

Our slippery route went through Wolsingham City Centre to Thistlewood, passing County Durham’s #1 dogging spot and WW2 ammo storage facility at Salters Gate  (much too cold/early for any hanky panky today I would have thought), on to the Waskerley Way all the way to Parkhead, Stanhope Dene, the public conveniences at the Dales Centre and road and riverside paths back to Wolsingham, where we arrived just as it went dark. The route would be obvious should any reader care to consult a map – it’s pretty straightforward and has little in the way of actual navigation. The mind is also able to wander at will on several sections, either to warmer places , or trying to remember if one has completed all of the Christmas shopping.

And, as proof that there really is a Father Christmas, he was seen to be in consultation with some peeps on the Train To Christmas Town as it passed us by as we finished.

We seem to have managed to increase the attendance at these long walks somewhat. There’ll be another Long Walk on 13 January 2019, should anybody feel like it. I’ve not decided the location yet, but, given the lack of daylight etc, it probably won’t be all that far away from Weardale or Teesdale.