Coming down the lonning

Haltwhistle Walking Festival has a slogan: "more than just a walk". We say that walk leaders will stop occasionally and point out places of interest.

Today's long walk was a 10 mile circular from Melmerby in perfect conditions. We could see for miles (see extra of the group) and it was sunny and dry.

The first 3 miles were uphill, but Harry, our esteemed leader, kept a steady pace so that no one was overwhelmed by this. Once on the moor tops we knew that the climb had been worth it. The 360 degree views were stunning. We looked down on the Eden Valley, over to the mountains of the Lake District and across the Solway Firth to Scotland.

On our way back down, we walked through a network of small paths called lonnings. If we had been in Northumberland, these would be lonnens. Others may know them as gimmels.

I like the way this tractor looks as though it could be from a different age.

The second extra is Harry illustrating his geography lesson with the waving of walking poles! Later, not to be outdone by Kevin on Saturday, Harry sang a verse of a folk song for us.

The day started with reports that Maureen's bladder had leaked and she had lost the red end. Ouch! She had lost the mouthpiece from the water container she carries in her backpack. There was much more hilarity than was really necessary.