Barnard Castle to Darlington: E2 Day 61

A walk down the River Tees, edged with trees, in the sun, the last day of my current trip.

I had 33 kilometres or so to walk today and a train to catch at the end, so I started early with breakfast in bed with food I had bought last night. As I walked through the Sunday morning, empty streets of Barnard Castle, dawn was a glow in the east. At a park on the outskirts a lady was out with her dog, ghostly with its eerie green lit collar. It reminded me that although still two weeks away some of the shops already had Halloween displays, wrapped with yellow and black tape saying "Enter if you Dare". Later, in Darlington I saw mothers and children carrying pumpkins down the street.

As I walked over the riverside meadows, the sun still below the horizon, rabbits ran from me, squirrels scurried up trees, and a flock of birds in flight, turned and wheeled, gathered and separated, black against a sky of translucent orange and blue. Based on their distinctive calls, my BirdNet App named them as Jackdaws.

Although a riverside walk, owing to the trees on the banks, the water itself was either hidden, or visible only in gaps between the trees, the sun reflecting brightly off it surface. Near Barnard Castle the river ran fast, cascading over ledges of rock and boulders in the river. Towards the end of the day it had grown larger, and although moving swiftly, with turbulent eddies, there was less foam and no splashing over rocks, a more mature river. Although the river had travelled no great distance from its source, it had grown rapidly, filled by streams and brooks joining it.

River nearer Barnard Castle. 

A sign at Egglestone Abbey Bridge stated that the next bridge at Whorlton was closed. As my planned route, based on my guidebook, crossed this bridge, a rethink was required. Fortunately, from Middleton there seemed to be paths on both sides of the river, so I stayed on the north side to avoid the closure. When I reached Whorlton Bridge, it looked permanently closed with metal fencing keeping you off it. A great sadness as it was a 19th century chain suspension bridge of no little interest. I would gladly have paid the 1d toll advertised in order to cross it. The next bridge also had a story. As part of a television series a Spitfire plane had flown under the masonry arch. While it was a wide arch it must have taken courage. I idly wondered if they had cut the encroaching tree branches back to ensure no accidents (they did). A small bronze, metal cast of a Spitfire was attached to the bridge to commemorate the event for those who knew the story.

The closed Whorlton Bridge. 

I deviated to Gainford Spa, an important sounding name for a small fountain beside the river where I tasted the sulphurous waters as they spewed out of something that looked like a large stone vase. It tasted unpleasant. A lady with a small dog said it was better if you let it settle, or used it to make tea. Apparently it was a great success with the Victorians.

At Gainford village I was hoping for a café, but the establishment my guidebook was presumably referring to was a rarely open fish and chip shop. However a local resident assured me there was an excellent café at the farm shop in the next village of Piercebridge. And so it transpired. I enjoyed a latte, leek and cheese tartlet (in which I could really taste the cheese) and a slice of fruit cake (with refreshingly few ingredients just flour, butter, juicy currants, sugar and carrots(!), no funny additives), all excellent.

Being Sunday there were plenty of people about, old men with flat caps and dogs, ladies with white hair blown about by the wind, couples, older and younger, eager spaniels and laidback, black labradors, and a few older children joining their parents for a Sunday stroll.

After a day in the sunshine, walking by the trees edging the river, or around nearby fields, now increasingly sown with grain crops, I reached the outskirts of Darlington. Needing to catch a train I left the Teesdale Way at the first opportunity and walked into the centre of town. Busy for a Sunday, with kids standing around or kicking a ball, there were bars and coffee shops open. Having a few minutes to spare I had a coffee before catching a train from the large, old red brick and vaulted glass roofed station. 

Path beside the tree lined river.