Mothering Sunday, 19th March 2023 For those who may not know (and I recently counted myself as such) John Martin was a popular painter and polymath of the early c19th (1789-1854) who led an impressively productive life among contemporaries such as Turner, Constable and Ruskin. He lies buried in Douglas, on the Isle of Man, […]
John Martin Heritage Trail Read More »
4th March 2023 On a cold Saturday morning in early March, as part of our ongoing project to acquaint, or in some cases re-acquaint, ourselves with centres of local heritage, we drove down to Middlesbrough to visit the Dorman Museum, a place I’ve always wanted to go but had never got around to. With the
There’s No Doorman at the Dorman Read More »
26th February 2023 Despite the promise of Spring, the weather had taken a slight turn for the worse and with me nursing a hopefully minor knee injury we decided to have a weekend ‘off’ and visit Shildon’s Locomotion Railway Museum – somewhere I’ve never been, have wanted to go for years but somehow never managed.
Do the Locomotion! Read More »
Sunday, 1st January 2023 As Christmas 2022 approached, mixed with the festive spirit I sensed a familiar, gently persistent urge to don my racing shoes again – a full eight months after my last major outing at the Blackpool Marathon. Although by no means ‘race fit’ I’d been running consistently enough to think that, by
A Return to Fell Running Read More »
This is just a quick post to apologise for the lack of content over recent weeks but I’ve been somewhat preoccupied with preparing for, and walking, the Southern Upland Way with my wife, Diane. If you don’t know it, the 214 mile route stretches across Scotland’s Southern Uplands south of the line Glasgow-Edinburgh, from Portpatrick
Where have I been? Read More »
12th June 2022 Route map for NYM 2-Abbey Tour (Day 2) by Durham Cow on plotaroute.com Reflecting on a fitful night’s sleep, our lightweight Nordisk Telemark UL2 tent (1 kg with poles and pegs) had felt much like I’d remembered it: compact but with barely enough room to stow gear. Diane’s was at her feet
North York Moors Two-Abbey Tour (Day 2) Read More »
11th June 2022 Route map for NYM 2-Abbey Tour (Day 1) by Durham Cow on plotaroute.com With 40 mph winds suddenly and unexpectedly forecast for the Cheviots in Northern England, Diane and I made a quick decision to abandon our planned camping trip to Wooler, in Northumberland, and drive the short distance back home for
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Sunday, 24th April 2022 As often happens to many of us when we reach a milestone birthday, there’s a pressure to ‘tick boxes’ and for me, after turning 60, it was simply to take part in a road marathon. Despite running and cycling for many years, in events lasting days rather than hours, I’ve never
Running on Empty: My First Marathon Read More »
Beaurepaire Manor House Translating as ‘beautiful retreat’ from the French by which it was originally known, this now ruinous building stands on a promontory above the River Browney – two miles to the west of Durham City – in what was once the Prior of Durham Monastery’s enclosed, 1,300-acre deer park. The location is still
Beaurepaire Manor House Read More »
Visitors to Barnard Castle will be hard-pressed to miss a distinctive two-storey building acting as a roundabout at the junction of The Bank, Newgate and Market Place in Barnard Castle. Since its construction in 1747 the Market Cross – also known as the ‘Market Hall’, ‘Butter Market’ and ‘Butter Mart’ – has been used as
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