Taking the chillies for a walk

I had a day off from Festival walking today. It's been a beautiful day, so I decided to go to Bellingham and walk part of next Saturday's festival walk. I'm now leading it because Dave has a sore hip and I wanted to be sure about the section where we go on private land.

I walked up the path to Hareshaw Linn (local waterfall).  On my way I met quite a few people, some of whom were very memorable:

At the static caravans, I saw painted wooden shapes of dogs in one of the perfectly kept lawns. I soon learned that Lola, a 5 month old pup, was the muse. The man who makes the models has glaucoma and has very poor sight, but he tries to keep his art going. Lola was unable to contain her delight at being allowed off the lead, so no usable image was obtained!

Then this man arrived. "I'm taking my chilli plants for a walk", he said, with a twinkle in his eye.

There were lots of dog walkers, some with unusual breeds. At the first waterfall, there were 3 dogs, all enjoying a splash about. "Has to have his daily bath here", said one owner.

The sunlight was percolating through the trees and onto the water. I hope it is like this next Saturday when I take a group of 20 on the path.

A family of 3 enjoyed photographing each other in front of a rainbow at the base of the main waterfall.

I walked up the section of wood that is officially out of bounds. It's not too hard if we take it steadily. Then I faced a problem. The catch on the gate would not budge. I'm fairly experienced at dealing with gates, but no joy. I had to climb over. This will have to be opened before next weekend.

At a house on my route, I met Geoff, who chatted about this and that. He is originally from Alston, but left at 17 to join Wigan Athletic football team and was pro for some years.

At the award winning allotments, seen here, there was no gardener to be seen.

Back in Bellingham town, I ate my lunch alongside a couple from Gateshead, who were eating crisp sandwiches for lunch. They had come for a drive, but the pub had stopped serving food just when they arrived. No one had told them about the excellent tea rooms around the corner! I  was given a bag of crisps and we chatted. Eric has just started walking with Sunderland Rambles, so I gave him a brochure for you know what!

Then I visited Dave of the sore hip. He is much better after a steroid jab and will try to sort out the gate for me.

It was a grand little walk for my "day off". (And you never know who you will meet, do you?)