08/04/2007 by the walkers.

Setting out on a clear, calm and sunny day put a spring in our steps. We parked the car, at what I would describe as, our ‘Mother’ church in Haydon Bridge. St. John of Beverley is where our P.P. resides and says Mass in our church, Haltwhistle (nine miles away) on four days per week.

Crossing the old packhorse bridge across the S. Tyne River, four swans were basking in the sunshine. Our walk today took us round a caravan site and towards the current construction of the Haydon Bridge by-pass, which has taken 30 years to materialize. It is due for completion in 2009. Initially our route followed a newly opened Heritage Trail dedicated to Haydon Bridge’s most famous son, the world-renowned painter John Martin (1789-1854) According to reports he was “the most popular artist of his time”. It was not long before we came to his birthplace where he lived until he was 14 years old before moving to Newcastle and then on to London. One of his painting’s hangs in the Laing Art gallery in Newcastle.

Eventually we came to Allen Bank Wood, which opened out to a shady glen by a reed pond where we sat and supped water while watching dragonflies chasing one another. The sun shone through the trees. We also caught out first glimpse of Ridley Hall, now a boarding establishment for rural school children who attend Haydon Bridge High School.

After our sharp ascent climbing over stone and wooden stiles on a slope, this was heaven. The wind and sun had dried the ground and last year’s winter foliage was dead at our feet, rustic and brown with green new shoots triumphantly showing through the thickets. It augured well for celebrating Christ’s Resurrection tomorrow on Easter Sunday.

The white blobs on the hillside were no longer identified as snow but rather sheep grazing on higher ground. The call of the birds; the bleating of new born lambs and the gurgling of running water, were a far cry from the distant sound of traffic on the A69.
We lunched on picnic tables – luxury - at Allen Banks a beauty spot, once the kitchen gardens and pleasure gardens of Ridley Hall, the ancestral home of the Bowes-Lyons family of which the late Queen Mother was a member. The elderly, Lady Mary Bowes-Lyons is a parishioner of St. John of Beverly and Fr. Leo Pyle continues to minister to her.

We crossed many bridges over streams and a wobbly suspension bridge, which seemed very long across the Steward Gorge. For such a small bird the skylark made a great racket! Overhead we saw Buzzards hovering on the wind.

Among the day-trippers there - a young boy brandishing a newly found stick who kept firing it into the air crying “Duck, this is a hand grenade”!

All along the way the broom and daffodils where perfuse and on cottages, lobelia was reigning supreme.

Our encounter with a farmer ‘cut us down to size’. When he heard we were taking three weeks to complete the coast to coast he laughed. Pointing to a cottage nearby, he informed us that this was the home of Alistair Guthrie who with the Hexham couple had made national news two days ago. They have just completed a 435 mile traverse of the world’s largest lake in Siberia in two weeks. (Mind you they were skiing and using skates.).

For most of the walk on this Holy Saturday we traveled in reflective silence, admiring the wonders of nature. We both noticed we had caught the sun, a fitting way to end this walk. and welcome Easter joy tomorrow. Alleluia.

Veronica & Eddie

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08/04/2007 by the walkers.

Easter Eggs
As our P.P. was distributing Easter eggs after the Liturgy today, parishioners were making financial contributions towards our walk, even before the official posters went up. We have been amazed by the generosity of others and have now received a substantial sum of money for this great cause. During last week we received another surprise; Regatta, the outdoor clothing firm generously supplied us with trousers, including over-trousers which will be a great boon if the weather is inclement. The anticipation is now mounting and we are very excited.
Veronica and Eddie

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