Teesdale Trip

 Back in May we took a trip in the motorhome to visit Teesdale for a few days. We stayed at the Camping & Caravanning Club site just outside Barnard Castle, which is an ideal place to explore the surrounding countryside, whilst just being a ten minute bus ride away from the town.

We arrived mid-afternoon and got the motorhome and awning set up before tea-time. We had a relaxing evening and didn't venture far from the campsite. The next morning after breakfast, showers and chores we went for a stroll in the countryside near to the campsite:

Farm Track near Campsite

Tracks Through the Fields

There are plenty of countryside walks around this area, ranging from strolls along farm tracks to yomping over the moors. We opted for the leisurely stroll but we still saw plenty of wildlife, including Lapwing, Buzzard and Curlew:

Lapwing in the Field

Beautiful Male Lapwing in Breeding Plumage

The Buzzard was flying high and proving difficult to photograph, but I did get a short video clip:

The Curlew was also proving elusive, we could hear a few of them calling but couldn't see them. We also saw one doing a display flight but didn't catch it on video before it dropped down behind a wall.

I did get a video of one Curlew flying past, whilst others were calling in the background:

We carried on through a gate and further along the farm track:

Field where the Curlews were hiding

Looking back along the farm track

There were also plenty of Swallows about, zooming down and hoovering up insects from above the fields and hedges. They were impossible to photograph so I didn't bother, maybe I caught some on video when I was filming bigger, slower birds!

On the way back to the caravan park we saw a couple of Lapwing performing a display flight; which was great to see and challenging to film:

Back at the motorhome we had some well deserved lunch (I know we only had a leisurely stroll, but we felt we deserved some lunch).

Later on that day I went for another walk in the countryside, this time I headed in a different direction, back out along the narrow road we drove in to the caravan park the day before:

Road Leading to Caravan Park

I could hear plenty of birds on this walk; Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Wren, Blackbird to name but a few, but they were all hiding in the trees and bushes and not playing the game.

Then on a hillside at the side of the road I noticed something moving............. it was a sheep! ............ but wait, there was something else on the top of the hill;

Curlew on the top of the hill

Curlew, showing well.

I thought that it would make a good video clip:

Just my luck it decided to tuck its beak in and take a nap.

The weather was a bit changeable the next day with some heavy showers, so we took the opportunity between showers to walk down the track to the 'main' road to catch the bus in to Barnard Castle. There isn't an official bus stop you just stand on the grass verge and wave down the Scarlet Band bus as it passes.

Within minutes you are in the lovely market town of Barnard Castle. We did a bit of shopping for provisions, looked in some clothes shops, grabbed a spot of lunch at Clarendon's then had a meander through the town before getting the bus back to the caravan park entrance road. a fifteen minute walk and we were back in the motorhome before the rain came back on.

Later on in the day the rain had stopped and the sun came out so we decided to go for a little stroll. We didn't go far, literally the field next to the caravan park, where they graze some of the horses from the nearby stables:

Horse Grazing in field next to Caravan Park

Not only do the horses like this field, it is also popular with the local wildlife. First up was a Mistle Thrush feeding on insects in the field:

Mistle Thrush feeding in the field.

Sorry for the poor picture, it was a bit far away and I also didn't realise I had a spot of rain on my camera lens. Maybe the video is a bit clearer:

Anyway you get the picture! a bit larger than a Song Thrush with a more upright posture. We walk on for another few steps when we heard a Blackbird calling from one of the trees along the roadside:

Blackbird on a Branch

Again I managed to get a video of this one:

A common bird to see in the garden, but still nice to see in the countryside. We moved a little further along the track and I caught sight of a Hare grazing in the field:

Hare Grazing in the Field

Not the best photo but you can tell it is a Hare not a Rabbit at least. The video below probably better highlights the long face and black-tipped ears, distinctive Hare features:

We had been out walking for half an hour and had probably walked less than a mile. By this time I think Moira was getting a bit fed up with me stopping to photograph and video every creature I saw:

Are we stopping again?

I'm off!

We walked on a bit further.................. but not very far before I saw this Mallard near the fence in the field. There was no water about apart from a few puddles so not regular Mallard habitat:

Mallard in the field

Mallard by the fence

I refrained from capturing the Mallard on video.

Then the Hare we saw earlier bounded over towards the fence, it was now a little closer to us:

Hare near the fence

It then decided it had enough of this field and bounded towards the opening to the next field:

It was moving quite slow (for a Hare) but you did get to see its long, powerful rear legs, which is another thing that distinguishes it from a Rabbit.

The weather was staring to close in again so we decided to head back to the van before we got soaked. I did however notice a curlew feeding in the field and couldn't resist photographing it:

Curlew in the field

Okay so I got a video as well!

At least this time its beak was clearly visible.

We got back to the motorhome before the rain got heavy, just in time for a cup of tea and a biscuit before settling in for the evening.

The next day the weather started off a bit brighter so we decided to go for a longer walk. The aim was to walk down the track, across the fields and reach the old railway line that use to run from Barnard Castle to Tebay in Cumbria. We weren't intending to walk to Tebay, but we could pick up the old line and walk to the village of Lartington, from there we could walk along Lartington Lane (B6277) until we reached the entrance road to the caravan park. This is where the bus from Barnard Castle normally drops us off and it's only a further 15mins walk to the caravan park.

So off we went, stopping briefly to photograph some birds in a tree. See if you can find the birds and identify them:

Bird in a tree

Can you see it?................................ It's a Goldfinch of course:

Goldfinch in tree

How can such a colourful bird be so hard to spot?

What about this one:

Another bird in a tree

Maybe a bit more difficult, luckily we heard it singing so made ID a bit easier:

Chiffchaff in a tree

Pretty well camouflaged, but it's song "chiffchaff, chiffchaff" is a bit of a giveaway.

We carried on through the fields (closing the gates behind us of course) until we reached the track that was once a branch-line for North Eastern Railways. We were greeted by a mass of wildflowers on the side of the old track:

Wildflowers at the side of the old rail track

More Wildflowers

I was able to identify some of them including Cowslip, Crosswort and Mouse-ear:

Cowslips

Field Mouse-ear

 Not only the wildflowers caught our eye, the views across the moors were pretty spectacular as well:

View across the moors

Gill Beck

The Old Railway Track to Lartington

We carried on along the track towards Lartington; here the railway cutting is lined with an avenue of bushes and trees with birds darting about everywhere. I heard a Willow warbler singing in the trees so got the camera out:

The sun was out and it was starting to get a bit hot, we were glad of the shade from the trees as we made our way along the track towards Lartington. We were also enjoying the sound of the birds singing as we walked along the leafy track.

At Lartington the track turns off the route of the old railway line and joins up with the road (Lartington Lane or the B6277) and we headed along this road towards Barnard Castle. At the point where we crossed over the bridge for old railway line you could see that where the line use to run is now part of someone's garden and I think the old station is now their house.

We did however see a reminder on the bridge that it was once part of a branch line belonging to the North East Railways:

North Eastern Railways marker in Lartington

We carried on through Lartington, which had lots of pretty houses with pretty gardens until the pavement ended. We still had about half a mile to walk to the caravan park entrance road so we had to walk on the road (or on the grass verge when a car came zooming past).

We soon reached the turn-off for the caravan park and were greeted by a Buzzard soaring in the sky above us:

Buzzard soaring above us

Getting higher riding the thermals

We turned down the entrance road and headed towards the caravan park. About halfway down this road we stopped to watch a pair of Lapwing that had just landed in a nearby field:

Male Lapwing

Female Lapwing

Such a striking bird, the colours are fantastic when you get a good look at them. I just had to get a little video of them:

They stayed quite far apart when they were on the ground, which made me think they might have eggs or chicks in the field and they were trying to draw attention away from them.

We carried on the last half mile to the caravan park:

Road to the Caravan Park

It was an enjoyable but slightly tiring walk, so the rest of the day was spent lounging about the motorhome and not wandering too far.

The next day was our last full day at the site so we decided to go into Barnard Castle and spend some time there. First thing we did when we go off the bus was to grab a cup of coffee before we have a browse around the shops. 

As the weather was reasonable we decided to head downhill to the Thorngate area of the town and take a walk along the side of the River Tees. Firstly we passed through a parkland area called The Demesnes:

The Demesnes Park

This is where they normally hold the local fair and other outdoor events, but there was nothing on that day other than grass cutting. We walk through the park to join the riverside path, which passes through the grounds of a lovely cottage:

Lovely Cottage beside the River Tees

Moira Tees-ing

View of River Tees from Cottage 

A lovely cottage with superb views, not too keen on the walkers passing by my conservatory window though.

We carried on along the riverside path, which is at a higher level than the river, but it did drop down so we could get a proper riverside view:

Riverside View

Eddie Tees-ing by the river

We carried on a bit further until we reached a stunning Buttercup meadow, with other flowers as well:

Buttercup Meadow

Beyond this the path got a bit narrower and rougher as it crossed over fields, so we decided to wimp out and head back to Barnard Castle:

Heading Back towards Barnard Castle

When we reached Thorngate we turned left at the Blue Bell Inn and headed down towards the Old Mill:

The Blue Bell in Thorngate

Looking down Thorngate towards The Old Mill

Thorngate Mill

Thorngate Mill is now a block of posh apartments, and there is a footbridge next to it that takes you over the Tees to an area called The Sills:

View from Thorngate Mill footbridge

Thorngate Mill and River Tees from footbridge

It had turned out to be a very nice day and we were really enjoying our little walk along the banks of the River Tees. We crossed over the footbridge and headed back towards Barnard Castle along the riverside road known as The Sills.

Old Farm Building on The Sills

View of the River Tees from The Sills

A little further along the road we came to County Bridge, a distinctive landmark in the area, where the A67 crosses the Tees into Barnard Castle:

County Bridge, viewed from The Sills

We ventured on to this narrow bridge, which can get quite busy with traffic, and managed to get a couple of photos:

River Tees and Ruins of Barnard Castle

Castle Walls from County Bridge

Once we had safely negotiated the bridge we headed along the path that runs below the castle walls:

Path below Barnard Castle Walls

This path snaked along the foot of the castle before heading up a relatively steep hill to the entrance to the castle. The castle is obviously a ruin, but still an impressive structure:

Barnard Castle

We had a seat on a bench and watched the world go by for half an hour before venturing into the town for a meal (and a beer) in the Three Horseshoes Hotel. We also treated ourselves to a taxi back to the caravan park and had a relatively relaxing evening, heading back home the next morning.

So that was our very enjoyable trip to Teesdale, and I am sure we will be back again another time.

Take Care

Teddyedward