I donned my shorts for the first time this year on another sunny day in lockdown and headed off for a solitary walk as Ron was busy with his lockdown project of building a shed cum summerhouse at the bottom of the garden.
I looked at the SOC walk programme for today and realised that a walk from Gunnerside was out of the question so I headed out from my front door on a short (5 mile) walk.
I headed up the streets of Richmond to Bend Hagg where all was quiet on the golf course with no danger of flying golf balls. The route around the fields towards Aske took me past a wonderful show of bluebells in Low Wood. These have flowered this week as there was no sign of them when I walked this way last Sunday! The sun was shining on the lake at Aske Hall.
There were 13 lucky souls out to enjoy the sunshine in Upper Teesdale. Starting from Middleton in Teesdale, a climb up to Middleside where we wondered at the exposure of the Whinsill outcrops above Holwick and the views to upper Teesdale, with Crossfell and the Dufton radar dome highlighted with streaks of winter snow. Descending into Newbiggin to note the old chapel and its conversion to a home we had a pleasant break before the steep climb in to Red Groove.
I have just received this brief email from Trevor -
Race postponed for 10 months. Need to be out of the Philippines by Thursday night. Depending whether l need to go into UK quarantine l should be back on the hill with SOC reasonably soon.
