Category Archives: horse gins

On a Whim to William Gill

Posted on May 7, 2015 by

WILLIAM GILL is an offshoot of Arkengarthdale in the northern Pennines and is the shallow valley leading to the source of Arkle Beck. It???s a place only the lonely visit because it???s right in the middle of one of those … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Coal mining, English language, Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Pennine Way, Rivers, Ruins, Tan Hill Inn, Walking | Tagged , , , | 31 Comments

Arkengarthdale Moor and the Death of Sods Law

Posted on February 17, 2015 by

SOMETIMES when you walk through wild and lonely countryside you experience a creeping realisation that things haven???t always been the way they seem. The heathery moors to the west of Reeth, in the northern Pennines, are empty places except for … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mining, Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, History, horse gins, Hunting, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Pennine Way, Railways, Ranting, Ruins, Tan Hill Inn, Traditions, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , | 43 Comments

Black Gold, Tan Hill Tea

Posted on September 17, 2014 by

THERE was a loose plan fluttering about this morning like a threadbare flag above a roadside burger bar. But the wind changed and the plan got blown across fields and was last seen snagged on a fence alongside a ragged … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Ghosts, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Railway goods wagons, Tan Hill Inn, Teesdale, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Scaud Hill and Beyond ??? At My Leisure

Posted on May 2, 2014 by

An angry walk between Teesdale and Weardale . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Caving, Childhood, Environment, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Life, Mountains, Newsquest, Northern Echo, Politics, Ranting, Redundancy, Ruins, Second World War, Unemployment, Walking | Tagged , , , | 39 Comments

Arkengarthdale and the Hungry Hushes

Posted on January 7, 2014 by

IT???S midday and a storm warning has been issued by the Met Office. I???ve just set off across the northern spur of Reeth High Moor and can expect gale-force winds and up to 40mm of rain. The valley fields are … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Knut Hamsun, Life, Mountains, Patrick Kavanagh, Politics, Quarrying, Ranting, Ruins, Unemployment, Walking, Writing | Tagged , , , | 36 Comments

The Long Surrender: Brandy Bottle Incline

Posted on October 28, 2013 by

THIS is an account of a short walk in the hills above Arkengarthdale ??? but it has a back story that begins in the early 1980s and involves a group of mine explorers and an elusive portal into the underworld … Continue reading →

Posted in Allotments, Archaeology, Caving, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Potholing, Railway goods wagons, Recycling, Walking | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments