Author Topic: Teesdale High Force , Pennine Way, Green Trod  (Read 2862 times)

mike knipe

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Teesdale High Force , Pennine Way, Green Trod
« on: 17:38:23, 27/04/08 »
Just by way of a change, this was a Natural England guided walk lead by a chap called Peter. Me and Angela were safety backup and general know-it-alls..
We had Ten "punters" including two other NE guides and a lad who went to the same school as me (!).
These walks are events mounted by the Upper Teesdale and Moorhouse NNRs, and the point is to encouage access and to provide interesting background info about the landscape.
Our route took us along the Pennine Way from High Force Hotel  and up on to Bracken Rigg.  It basically chucked it down in the morning - and we had a few peeps sporting a  fine collection of brollies. Nevertheless, we had a good look at the Juniper woodland around the Force and how we're trying to regenerate it by collecting the berries (fine smell of gin by the way), the 12th century charcoal pits and iron works and the bronze-age farms on Bracken Rigg. (Y'see, travellers on the PW don;t get this kind of detail!)
After lunch, it stopped raining and the sun almost came out and we went off  along the Green Trod - so-called becasue it used to be a drove road and the cow muck has formed a green strip through the countryside.
Blea Beck was in slight spate, so we had to divert around it to a bridge - but then we had a look at some 7th century farmsteads, more juiper woods, humane rabbit traps and a fine lateral moraine - and back to the start for a beer.
Our birders had spotted buzzards, lapwing, curlew, oyster catchers (doesnt seem much of a challenge!) red and black grouse, pipits and tits of all kinds, jack snipe and a few other things - and an abandoned lapwing nest with just the one egg.
6 Miles altogether and 750 feet of climbing
« Last Edit: 17:41:14, 27/04/08 by mike knipe »
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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darksky

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Re: Teesdale High Force , Pennine Way, Green Trod
« Reply #1 on: 17:52:31, 27/04/08 »
Good read and great photo's.., its a wonder that egg has'nt hatched yet as they usually have by now, lucky you spotted it before you stood on it eh?
'''get out there and experience as much as you can its beautiful and have yourself alotta fun doing it'''

mike knipe

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Re: Teesdale High Force , Pennine Way, Green Trod
« Reply #2 on: 17:59:49, 27/04/08 »
Our bird expert reckoned that the egg had been abandoned - normally there's two or three eggs. Its possible that the mother hadnt finished laying before being predated by something - possibly a peregrine as there are peregrines nesting somewhere near...... I witnessed a pidgeon falling victim to a peregrine in Brampton market place at Christmas - its very quick and not much more than a puff of feathers in which the pidgeon, more or less, disappears before your very eyes. Quite a few people in the town didnt even notice this event and it took place under their noses.  It was very  very quick!
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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ukmase

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Re: Teesdale High Force , Pennine Way, Green Trod
« Reply #3 on: 22:37:17, 28/04/08 »
Jesus High force looks like its ready to burst in that picture.

mike knipe

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Re: Teesdale High Force , Pennine Way, Green Trod
« Reply #4 on: 22:59:07, 28/04/08 »
I hate standing on that spot - its just too scary with all the kids and dogs running about at the top of the waterfall.  Occasionally somebody falls off....  doesnt bear thinking about, really...they tend not to reappear
And to think, more than half of that water comes out of a pipe up at Cow Green!
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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