ALLAN ROGERS GOES

UP HILL AND DOWN DALE

FARM HOLIDAYS IN WEARDALE AND YORKSHIRE We exchanged the stress and noise of the city for ba-as, moos and birdsong down on the farm.

In the past when touring in England we had mainly stayed in towns and cities.
This time during our exploration of Weardale and North Yorkshire we tried life on a farm and found that it added an extra dimension to our holiday

Our first base was “Lovesome Hill Farm” near Northallerton, in North Yorkshire where Mary and John Pearson have been providing Bed and Breakfast there for 14 years.

Spring is a popular time with lambing quite an attraction although in March the weather might not be at its best.

John recalled one couple who came from Norfolk and particularly wanted to see a lamb being born.
“I had to get them out of bed at about three o’clock in the morning.”

I was not quite so keen and stayed in my cozy bed long after the cockerels crowed. I enjoyed a most generous breakfast of eggs and bacon and when, later, we visited the pigs and hens, I tried not to feel too guilty.

There were a hundred and thirty sheep, so along with the lambs, the bleats and baas dominated awonderful spectrum of sound.

When the cherry and apple trees blossom and the May flower is on the trees the area can be particularly beautiful and you can almost feel Spring moving into summer.

Be sure to bring your boots. The farm is only a couple of hundred yards from Wainright’s long distance 'coast to coast' path. It runs for 200 mile and ends up at Robin Hoods Bay, near Scarborough. .

I did not aim to travel that far but did enjoy a quiet evening walk through the farm's 160 acres and caught a glimpse of a roe deer running towards the woods.

On the return we watched a game of cricket.

The setting sun cast long shadows and the clear disc of the moon hung above the field where the local ladies cricket team has played regularly for some sixty years.

If you don’t stay on a farm but are touring Yorkshire and want to meet the animals, you
will find a welcome at the visitor experience called “Monk Park Farm” run by Sarah and Mark Hebdon. You will be greeted by small cheeky goats who when they are not butting each other heads seem eager to meet everyone.

Monk Park was once a sanctuary for monks who made their living from the land.


It is now a children’s paradise with animals galore, they are all extremely tame.

In addition to farm animals there are a few more exotic creatures such as llamas, and ostrich like birds called Rheas which will follow you along the path that borders their enclosure.

There are even wallabies. These diminutive cousins of the kangaroo had baby joeys sticking their heads out of their pouches. There was even one that was covered in pure white fur.

You will find Monk Park Farm about three miles from Thirsk just off the A170 road.

Entrance costs £4.00. Open 11.30 to 5.30pm 18th February to 29th October.
http://www.monkpark.co.uk

At Lovesome Hill Farm we were just 10 minutes from the edge of the moors, close to the Dales and near Thirsk and Northallerton. It is the area brought to attention of the world by the books of the vet James Herriot. Other attractive towns include Yarm, Croft, Great Smeaton and of course the old market town Richmond.

WEARDALE

For the next part of our trip we drove North to explore Teesdale, Weardale and Tynedale
.
Of all the Dales, Weardale reaching up from beyond the ancient city of Durham, has lush scenery and is particularly attractive.

At Wolsingham in Weardale we stayed at Newlands Hall, a 380 acre cattle and sheep farm.

As we drove over the cattle grid and up the steep track four sheepdogs ran ahead of us.

At first they appeared to be under the control of a rather indepenent looking cat, then we saw a man tagging along some distance behind.

The farmer’s wife, Carol Oulton provided us with a welcoming cup of coffee and homemade cake in the comfortable library which was well stocked with travel books by the likes Bill Bryson.

Upstairs there was a spacious bedroom with a window that gave a picture perfect view of the hills beyond the valley below there were also books.

It was reading material that seemed to be in tune with the area. (Daughter of the Dales by Hannah Hauxwell, Land Girls, The Thirty Nine Steps, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, ) so plenty to stretch the imagination while relaxing after exercising our forgotten muscles in the fresh air.

There was also a television set, but with that living view out of the window it seemed almost sacrilege to even think of switching it on.

Early the next morning a very small rabbit and a lamb with big ears watched as we drove down the track to start our days exploring. Another couple of lambs ignored us and concentrated on bumping their heads together.

Higher up the Dale the landscape opened up to a wide patchwork of fields divided by stone dykes. Each was highlighted in turn by shafts of sunshine as clouds scudded across the sky.

A sign told us that we were entering the North Pennines… “an area of outstanding natural beauty”

We crested the hill and dipped down towards Killhope, where we drove slowly through a ford of fast running water before entering the car park at Britain's best preserved lead mining site.

A large wheel towered above us and railway bogies ran alongside water channels. These flowed to the ponds where the small glinting lumps of lead were washed, raked and sifted from the ore and spoil.

It had been a larour intensive business in which children and adults suffered. We learned that conditions were appalling and that tuberculosis killed more men that mining accidents did.

The miners worked in very cramped conditions digging out from abve their heads.

Water gushed out around our feet from a tunnel that was dug out of the hillside in 1863 to prevent the mine from flooding. It also helped with ventilation as it was so dank in there that sometimes a candle would not burn.

Mining in this area goes back a long way. Lead was mined by the Romans and even Windsor Castle was roofed with Peninne lead in 1365.

It was not always organised as a business and on the hill above a pleasant signposted woodland walk you can see "hushes." These were places where the ground had been dug loose below steams that had been damned. When the water was released the flash flood would wash the soil away giving access to the lead ore. Local men collected the lead and "bonny bits"( i.e highly glossy crystals of spahalerite resulting from the combining two or more minerals together.).

At Ireshopeburn you find the High House Chapel . It is the oldest Methodist Chapel to have held weekly service since its foundation in 1760 and it contains a small folk museum. Part of it recreates a lead miners cottage and there is also a section on the Weardale railway that was pioneered by Robert Stephenson in 1834.

Driving back down Weardale through the village of Chapel, we slowed down as we passed a lady leading a small horse along the street.

At Harperly a Sunday morning car boot sale flourished along side the remains of "Camp 93" a German prisoner of war camp.

The 49 huts have English Heritage Schedule Status and one day may be restored and developed as more active visitor attraction.

Then further down at Escombe we found the oldest stone Saxon church in country.

Records of Escombe church go back to 1500’s but the archeologists have dated it at 675 so it is really ancient and surprisingly bits of the earliest days survive.

For example you can see the Pagan god stone that is now now a sundial.

The carvings on it represent the children of the pagan god Lockie, a god of chaos and disorder.

He married a goddess of anguish and despair they had three monstrous children, one was an animal that kept the world in order, one was a serpent that kept the seas in order and the third one was the god of the under world.


I dont know what your family is like but that strikes a chord with me.

Stones built into the church and provide interesting clues. One from the Roman Fort of Binchester has a symbol belonging to the 6th Legion's elite regiment.

Other attractions in the area included a visit to the Grand Hotel at South Church Road in Bishop Auckland where the "Weardale Blonde" is really popular. No not the barmaid, but one of beers produced in the micro brewery behind the pub.

Simon Gillespie was happy to show us around and explain the magic of it all.

A bonus was also being able to go down to the basement and see the Grand Model Railway Club in action. To arrange a visit phone Simon on 07810 751425.

If you want to finish your trip off on a grand scale then a visit to Auckland Castle.

It certainly added a touch of luster to our trip. The Castle, which is a grand affair, was the principal residence of The Prince Bishops who ruled the Northern Province on behalf of the King.

You can either picnic free of charge in the Bishop's Deer Park or take a tour.

Report & pictures by Allan Rogers

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FACT FILE

Farm Holidays - "Stay on a Farm Guide": http://www.farmstayuk.co.uk/

Lovesome Hill Farm is 4 miles north of Northallerton on the A167 Darlington road,
OS Map Reference is 361998. Telephone 01609 772311
Email: pearsonlhf@care4free.net
Website: http://www.lovesomehillfarm.co.uk

Newlands Hall Farm is at Fosterley in Weardale Telephone: 01388 529233
Email: carol@newlandshall.co.uk
Website: http://www.newlandshall.co.uk

Monk Park Farm is about three miles from Thirsk just off the A170 road.
Website: http://www.monkpark.co.uk

Weardale Towns and Villages
Website: http://www.touristnetuk.com/Ne/durham/towns/weardale.htm

Auckland Castle
Website: http://www.auckland-castle.co.uk

Harperley Prisoner of War Camp
Website: http://www.pow.com