Category Archives: Teesdale

It???s the Poor What Gets the Blame

Posted on January 2, 2015 by

WE???RE going to try something different today. I???m off for a short run across the hills above Richmond, North Yorkshire, because it???s time I knocked myself back into a semblance of fitness ??? but this post is all about ethics … Continue reading →

Posted in Country Land and Business Association, Environment, Footpaths, Hiking, Hunting, Ranting, Running, Teesdale, Teesside, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , | 38 Comments

Sweet Tees Flow Softly (Black Friday Aftermath)

Posted on December 1, 2014 by

IN this land of eternal gloom, where fog hangs in grey air and moisture drips from autumn berries and bedraggled sheep, Romans once marched to distant outposts on a cold northern frontier. They crossed many rivers on their journey from … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Belfast sinks, Black Friday, English language, Environment, Ewan MacColl, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Iron Age, Jargon, Railway goods wagons, Ranting, Rivers, Ruins, Teesdale, Teesside, The Romans, Walking, Weather, York | Tagged , , , | 51 Comments

Not Everything is Black and White on Barningham Moor

Posted on November 27, 2014 by

I DRIVE the rattly van to the top of Barningham Moor and it gets stuck in slithery grass while I???m trying to park. I stall the engine and can???t start it again because the starter motor jams. Mist rolls in … Continue reading →

Posted in Allotments, Archaeology, Bronze Age, Camping, Cup and ring carvings, Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Great North Road, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Iron Age, Mountains, Shipping Forecast, Stone Circles, Teesdale, The Romans, Walking, Weather, York | Tagged , , , , | 47 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

In Between One England and Another

Posted on August 21, 2014 by

I’M in between mountains at the moment. And I’m in between jobs. I’m in between a lot of stuff. If I wrote a book I’d call it The Inbetweener but I’d probably get sued. Today I’m going for a walk … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleveland Way, Climbing, Footpaths, Great North Road, Hiking, Jargon, Life, Mountains, Ranting, Redundancy, Ruins, Teesdale, Unemployment, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

Green Hurth: Where the Big Wheel Turns

Posted on August 5, 2014 by

TODAY I have a mission. This is no ordinary walk into the Pennine hills. This is a voyage of discovery to a lonely place where ingenious and industrious men built wondrous machines. And ingenious men they certainly were. The Brunels, … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Environment, Explosives, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Ruins, Teesdale, Teesside, Walking, Waterwheels | Tagged , , , , , | 41 Comments

Cross Fell ??? Fiends, Rivers, Paths and Poets

Posted on May 23, 2014 by

A walk up Cross Fell and down the Tees and Tyne . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Footpaths, Ghosts, Hiking, History, Legends, Life, Mountains, Pennine Way, Poetry, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Religion, Rivers, Teesdale, Teesside, Tyneside, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments