Local Walk Today Due To Storm Ali

We had planned to go to Alston for our walk today but Storm Ali soon put a stop to that. It was decided we would walk round Jenny Nobles walk in Langholm and along the old railway line. It was a bit scary at times as the trees were suffering in the wind and several times there was branches broken and in our way. When it rained it was a deluge but never for very long, thank goodness.  

The path along the old railway line 

The river Esk just above Skippers Bridge 

Back into the town and there is a load of rain hitting Whita Hill. Despite the weather and the fact we were fairly drookit by the time we got home it was an enjoyable walk in good company. We finished up with lunch at Whitshiels Cafe, where the food and service was excellent as per usual. 

A Get Together in Moffat

This was not really a Birthday Walk, although John has recently had a birthday so it was a get together for him and also to say goodbye to Niall & Elspeth as they will be heading back to Australia soon. It seems no time since they arrived in April and what a summer they have had. Moffat was the ideal destination as it is just under an hour's journey for everybody including Peter and Elizabeth who now live near Carlisle. Gaye joined us as well but she did not walk but enjoyed the shops in Moffat.  

Peter and Ken almost always bring up the rear as they are in deep conversation, mostly about politics during the walk and Ken finds it difficult to talk and walk at the same time. Peter has no problem talking and walking at the same time, but being a gentleman he keeps the same pace as Ken.

A large field above Moffat. we crossed to the other side of the valley and climbed higher for a bit but not to the top of the hill on the right. 

Starting to climb to about 1000ft. Tom bringing up the rear. 

Almost there 

This is the Moffat Well on a burn called Birnock Water. This is the reason Moffat became a Spa Town. In 1769 a local Physician Dr. Hunter improved the access road to this well and was then able to charge visitors who came to take the waters. In 1878 a Hydropathic Hotel (Hydro) was built in Moffat. It had 175 bedrooms but unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 1921. Sorry for the poor photo but it was very dark and its a good job you cannot smell the photo as the stink of sulphur was very strong. 

The view over Moffat on the last leg of our walk. We walked 5.5 miles and then enjoyed a lovely light lunch in Brodie's

This is the map of our route which was slightly longer than shown as my lines on the map were a bit too straight.

Glorious Galloway especially Rockcliffe and Kippford

Each year we like to do at least one walk on the Solway shore at Kippford so we headed off today and what a glorious morning it was. we parked up at Colvend where we had a walking holiday in 2017. We had walked a route from our holiday house then so we did it in reverse today heading first of all into Rockcliffe. Unfortunately the tide was out but the views were still stunning.  

This is the Island of Heston at the mouth of the Urr Estuary. I have never been able to walk out to it as it has to be done at extremely low tides from the other side of the estuary.  

We stopped for the compulsory group photograph in Rockcliffe village. Tom still has his walking stick but we bought an ice cream each at the van in the background and he left it there propped up against a litter bin. It was a mile to two later he remembered he had left it so we waited until we had finished the walk and headed back down to Rockcliffe to see if it was still there. Indeed it was as it had been given to the Ice Crean seller and he looked after it for Tom.  

This is Rough Island and it is easily accessible at low tide.We did not have time to visit it today but we have been over many times in the past. 

The walk between Rockcliffe and Kippford is one of the nicest walks in Scotland so we had a seat on the outskirts of Kippford village to admire the views. This beach is made up totally of sea shells. 

Millions of Sea Shells. I have never seen a beach like this anywhere else in Scotland

The River Urr at low tide in Kippford  

The last section of the walk from Kippford was through the Dalbeattie Forest. We planned to go back to Kippford for a bar meal after the walk but it was just a few minutes after 2.00pm and both the pubs in the village refused to serve us as the kitchens closed at 2.00pm. We headed back to Colvend and had a lovely afternoon tea in the small cafe there. 

A Featherstone in Northumbria Walk courtesy of the Times

A couple of weeks I was reading the Times on Saturday and found that the Walk of the Week was just 50 minutes drive from us near Haltwhistle. For years and years I have hoped to do one of the Times Walks but they have never been local. We met Peter & Elizabeth at the start near Featherstone Castle and headed of on what was to be a 4 hour 9 mile walk in beautiful weather and lovely countryside. It had everything, old railways, moorland, river valleys, woods, and small villages. We only met 2 other walkers and that was near the end of the walk in a more public area at Featherstone Castle. 

Tom and Elizabeth bringing up the rear but catching up on news.  

Up on Ramshaw Fell we came upon this lovely waterfall on Park Burn

We only skirted the moorland area for a while and then dropped back down into the valley to cross the same Park Burn over this lovely bridge for walkers.  

There were loads of stiles on this walk and I told Elizabeth that I have difficulty getting my leg over these days which resulted in loads of laughter from her.  

Eventually we reached the South Tyne and followed the river for about 2 miles.

Along the bank of the Tyne we came upon these ruins of what was Camp 18, an old German Prisoner of War Camp from the 2nd World War.  

These were all that was left of the camp but you could see the concrete foundations of many nissan huts. There should have been some descriptive signs there as it looks to be a very interesting place. A couple who me met close by told us several of the internees settled in Hexham after the war as they loved the area.    

The south Tyne is gradually eating into the farmland next to it and this all road is only half the width it used to be and will soon disappear.  

Eventually we arrived at Featherstone Castle

The last section of the walk was along an old country road where we came upon a sign that the local Molecatcher has been busy. Its a long time since I have seen as many Moles on a fence. 

After the walk we headed a few miles back towards the A69 to Blenkinsopp Castle Inn where we had a very enjoyable light lunch. This has been one of our most enjoyable walks for quite a long time. The only downside is that when walking in England local farmers do not like having walkers on their land and we frequently had to divert round farms and property and on one occasion we took a wrong turning and within seconds a farmers wife was out to tell us we were on their land. If only England was like Scotland and we could walk anywhere as long as we were responsible and adhered to The Country Code. 

A Visit to Buccleuch Mill

Our first visit in Buccleuch Mill was to Elliot's Shed which is owned by Lynn Elliot who works with British  Wool to produce his range of Tarras Tweed, a soft handling Shetland cloth which has found favour for many end uses.

Our next visit was to Kynoch where I was delighted to meet Kay who I used to work with in 1983 at R G Neill & Sons.  They are doing very well and getting some very good orders for their expensive luxury cloth.

We then crossed the yard to FTS Dyers who are specialists in dyeing wool and its associated blends.They employ 31 people and business is very good with a possibility of an increase in capacity from new clients soon which should add new jobs to the company.  

David enjoyed the visit as he joined the company when it was Langholm Dyeing & Finishing and run by his father Drew Stevenson in the late 60s. 

We were given a superb look round the mill by Manager James Blackburn and his enthusiasm for his work made it such an interesting visit.  

Our next visit was to Doctor Grow where these two brothers have started a small garden and horticultural supplies company specialising in growing mediums and fertilisers. They are very enthusiastic and hard working and seem to be doing very well. 

Next door is Glen Isla where top quality scarves are inspected, labelled, and despatched from this work shop.

From expensive cashmere we moved to a firm Askerebe Clearance who buy anything thats cheap from bankrupt companies and sell the products on to anybody who wants them.  

The next company was Yarns to Yearn for owned by Alan Miller. He sells a wide range of yarns  all over the world mostly to people who wish to make their own items of clothing. He has shipped to over 60 countries over the last few years. He also sells these special Bears in Tartan and this Bear is going to accompany him on a Lands End to John of Groats cycle trip in September and then will be raffled and won by a very lucky person. 

This piece of wood from Daniel Lacey Design & Furniture is about 7500 years old and is a Bog Oak found near the Solway a few years ago. He will make it into a superb item of furniture. The quality of his work is second to none and he is one of the finest furniture makers in Europe. I never tire of visiting his workshop and of course can only dream of owning a piece of his very expensive furniture. 

Our last company visited was Eskdale Solutions a web design and marketing agency. We also visited Drove Weaving but I forgot to take a photograph there. The tour round Buccleuch Mill was excellent and most enjoyable. I reckoned up that there are about 80 people working in the old mill buildings and that could increase soon. 

Castle O'er in the Rain

Only Tom, Peter, and myself today and the forecast for this morning was awful but we were determined to do this 5.5 mile walk despite the weather. The plan was to do the walk and then have a soup lunch back at Ardlui followed by a visit to Buccleuch Mill to see the many small companies now occupying the old mill.

Castle O'er Hill Fort which is the largest in the area.

I have added this old tree stump covered in Lichen and Moss for my friend Tom who is always interested in this. Unfortunately the bad weather and dark conditions did not help but this is quite spectacular. The weather was pretty awful so no more photos were taken but we enjoyed the walk and also enjoyed the home made soup provided by Gaye on our return to Langholm. We then headed to Langholm Initiative office for our trip round Buccleuch Mill at 2.00pm where we were joined by David who had missed the morning walk.  

Talkin Tarn and Brampton with Exile Peter

Its almost 6 weeks since we last saw Peter for a walk as he has now moved to Carlisle.We were keen to get him back with us on a regular basis and so was he after the stress of moving house just on the same day as his daughter in London gave birth to twins. We met him at Talkin Tarn and did a 5.5 mile walk round the Tarn and then on to Brampton along an old disused railway line and then back to Talkin through country lanes. Tom unfortunately had to call of due to him getting a visit from his cousin so it was a quiet walk with no arguments. 

Along the old railway line there were loads of Apple trees laded with fruit. 

John following a path through the field of Barley

While Peter and Niall keep to the edge and try to avoid the many Thistles

It looks from the distance to be a fairly good crop but I think it has suffered from a lack of rain during June and July. We completed the walk and then had a nice light lunch in the cafe at Talkin Tarn  and were back in Langholm by 2.00pm.

The sun was shining so Gaye and I went out for another walk. I pass this Rowan tree at Greenbank every morning  and rarely pay any attention to it but today the sun caught it in all its splendour and it looked magnificent.