A morning of two halves

Ailie picked me up at 9 in an effort to miss the forecasted rain but it arrived as we got out of the car at Lordenshaws. We battled up against a strong wind on the very muddy and slippy path to Spylaw. I spotted a shooters’ track going off to the left so we though it would make a change to explore it. (The top pic is a wet Ailie on it). As I expected, it took us out at the stand of trees felled by storm Arwen, then it was a short pull back up to the road to the car.

We sat in it to have a coffee. I was disappointed to find we’d only done 2.5 miles so suggested we set off again, as the sun was out, in the opposite direction to the hill forts. I slipped in the mud and landed on my bottom. Poor Ailie got a fright as last year Chris slipped and broke her ankle but I wasn’t hurt.

We had lovely views back to Rothbury. The track took us to the farm road wherw we turned left to Whitton Dene and the steep climb back up to the cup and ring marked stone and the car. Ailie’s tracker gives a higher milage but the same step count. It said 5.5 miles total whereas mine said only 4.8. We thought we’d go by hers!

The car park was full and people had parked all along the single track road. The Simonside and Cragside walks are all closed because of storm damage so I suppose that’s limiting people’s choices and it is a bank holiday so busy.

The google map app Mike started me on said I had done it all by car so I don’t know where it got that info. I hadn’t had time to set up the OS map app I bought but it’s done now so I’ll see what is says when I go out tomorrow.

Since I got back it has come on sleeting and the hill we were on is snow-covered so we were lucky indeed with the weather.