Not an inspiring day ! Set off in poor humour because of the l-t accident. Made my way to Bishop Auckland - home of the chosen IT shop. Reached BA quite early then drove round in ever decreasing circles looking for shop. Asked local for directions to Victoria Avenue. No idea. Second local provided accurate directions. Arrived to find cheery notice in window say something to the effect 'we have moved' ! Fortunately that was just round the corner in the main street. Could not find shop so saw couple of yokels, opened window and bellowed out request for assistance. As [View Full Entry]

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Weather report Gloomy overcast start with threat of thunderstorms later. The latter did not materialise and the day remained dry with the latter part being sunny. Most of the day was spent crossing the moors in both directions between Weardale and Teesdale and then investigating the eastern margins of the dales region. The roads across the moors were attractive although not on the scale of the Yorkshire moorland crossings. I did manage to find some really remote gated roads - for the uninitiated that means every few hundred yards you have to stop, open a gate, get back in and drive [View Full Entry]

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Weather report Overcast and cool to begin with. Eventually rather humid with the sun gradually breaking through. Decided to abandon Yorkshire for the time being and planned to wander through north west Durham in the direction of Alston. Set off soon after 7 and within a few minutes was peering over the bridge at Mickleton where I saw a family of otters playing in the river (they of course may have called it work ....). This rare site I cannot prove because I had xited the car without the telephoto lens and by the time I had raced back to the [View Full Entry]

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Weather Forecast Largely overcast very humid. Spent the morning alternating one hour sessions on the library pc with one hour wanders in Barnard Castle. The former managed to resolve most problems and update blogs / reply emails. Viewd most of what there is to see in BC especially the castle which consists of an extensive medieval ruin that was obviously a significant structure in its heyday. Also followed the riverside footpaths to take various photos. In the early afternoon I parked up in a shady corner in a wood and had something to eat while listening to the England-Paraguay match [View Full Entry]

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Weather report Early morning mist on the tops thereafter very hot and mostly sunny - again. First stop Aysgarth Falls. Arrived soon after 8 - and paid £2 to park - no objection as the money goes straight into the coffers of the National Park. There are three falls - aptly named Upper, Middle and Lower. All within half a mile of the Visitor Centre / Car Park and accessed along paths through attractive woodland. Spent about an hour wandering around the falls which are attractive without being dramatic - really only a few feet height then mooched around the visitor [View Full Entry]

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Weather report Again lovely weather - hot and sunny. First part of the day spent exploring Wharfedale and then Langstrothdale which are both very attractive and have many interesting geographical features including drumlins (look it up !!!!!!!). This is of course the area that formed the backdrop for the TV series All Creatures Great and Small. In the afternoon my wanderings took me to Semer Water which is a large lake high up in the fells between the two dales mentioned above. The lake which is believed to be of glacial origin is very pretty and has the inevitable picnic spot. [View Full Entry]

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Weather report Very hot and mostly sunny. Haze largely disappeared. On the road just before 7.30 - slight delay because campsite management had forgotten to unlock the gates !!!!!! Set off towards Settle arriving just before 10AM. Spoke to a local who expected a train across the viaduct any moment so prepared cameras and waited. Train arrived a few minutes later so have number of shots of short passenger train crossing. Local said a freight train would be along shortly but I did not have the time to wait on the off-chance so departed along the upper Ribble valley taking a [View Full Entry]

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Weather report Summer seems to have returned ….. or at least the weather has changed yet again. V hot and generally sunny altho’ distant haze was not v helpful. Technical report In-car lap-top battery charger has died. That is a problem as it really is the only way of charging the laptop while camping. Fortunately tonight the kind campsite charged the battery for me. Life goes on … worse things happen at sea - usually to me. Really did not travel very far today but discovered some of the most spellbinding scenery you are likely to find. Traversed Askrigg Common [View Full Entry]

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Weather report Back to overcast conditions. Sun occasionally peeped through but not a good day for photography with little contrast in colours. Warmish and dry. Not a good nights sleep ….. v cold and noisy ….. owls, curlews ….. Anyway on the road shortly after seven and investigating Brough cas about 730 ! Benn there before - 1972ish … even less of this interesting ruin remains. Remainder of the day wandered across the north western dales. Early in the piece came across Pendragon Castle just to the south of Kirkby Stephen (bet that helps you !!!). Fascinating [View Full Entry]

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Writing this a day after the event - so may not be completely accurate. Memory trends to play tricks and once a day is done and dusted it does not stay long in the memory as it is replaced by the vistas of the following day. Perhaps I need an external hard drive (think about it). Weather report Warm and sunny and for the first time on this trip I wore shorts and T-short. Destination for the day was the campsite at Barnard Castle where I am booked in for the week. This I achieved by going the western parts of [View Full Entry]

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