Last of the Summer Wine Walkers Back Together Again

On a bitterly cold day for May this was the first time The Last of the Summer Wine Walkers had been together for almost a year and we selected a walk round the lower part of The Tarras Valley Nature Reserve since we had all contributed to its purchase. The Cumbrian Fells in the distance give an idea of how cold it was.

 The group all together next to the Tarras river and if you look carefully you will see the coal seam in the banking of the river. 

Elizabeth and Sandria leading the way across this rickety old bridge

John on this famous Tarras bridge recently repaired by John Murray of Claygate and an excellent job he has made of it as well.

Tom proceeding with great care

Me next to the Coal Seams on the Tarras. These are the same coal seams that are also in West Cumbria

Crossing a stream now.

John and David crossing the bridge. We walked 4 miles and then completed our get together with an excellent lunch at Whitshiels. The girl who served us was excellent and a real character so was well tipped for her efforts. As she was masked up I probably won't recognise her if I met her in the street but she just made an excellent ending to a good day. 

A Misty Tarras Valley

John chose the route for this walk as he had to visit Tarras Lodge so when we planned it we thought the weather would be good but today proved different as it was very misty and at times we could hardly see more than 20 yards ahead. We started at the car park near Tarras Lodge where this photo was taken. 

The idea was to walk the 2.5 miles up the valley to Lodgegill and then walk back. The mist was at its worst at Lodgegill

This is the old farmhouse at Lodgegill which was destroyed by fire a few years ago. We had hoped to see plenty of wild life on this walk as the Tarras valley is famous for it, but we saw nothing and heard nothing. The bonus was the conversation we enjoyed on our walk with just the odd argument. We ended our walk with lunch at Whitshiels Cafe where as per usual we are very well looked after.

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.