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The Coniscliffe's

Sunday, 3 January 2010

6.0 miles with 210 feet of ascent (2 hours 30 mins)
Walked with Sheena and Tim dog
0 ºC, light winds, dry and cloudy
No summits visited
Start - High Coniscliffe village  (NZ224154)
Maps - Explorer Nº304 or Landranger Nº92
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We decided to give my back a little longer walk today to see how it stood up. So having walked along the river from Gainford yesterday we thought lets do the section of the Teesdale Way from home to Low Coniscliffe. We didn't get chance to go out till mid-afternoon, after spending most of the morning cleaning the black hair algae out of the big aquarium, horrible stuff, buts it done now! It was a glorious afternoon, with clear blue skies and hardly a breath of wind, I hoped we might get a nice sun set so rather than going along the river first, we headed out over the fields. It's very easy walking, but can get muddy in places, but with the freezing temperatures today, everything was frozen solid and crunched underfoot. I thought my hopes of a nice sunset had been dashed, as all the time we were out a thin blanket of high cloud had been slowly drifting south, covering the sun. But just as I'd given up hope the sun started to re-appear under the cloud as it started to set. The last half an hour of the walk was stunning, the setting sun made the sky go all shades of red, oranges and purples. I got some lovely photo's, but they can't ever recreate the feeling of been there at the time.

The weather was lovely as we headed east passing the church on our way out of the village

The weather was lovely as we headed east, passing the church, on our way out of the village

First we walked down the lane passing the tennis courts and the Mill House

First we walked down the lane passing the tennis courts and the Mill House

and out over the snow covered fields

and then out over the snow covered fields

Looking back over the fields to the village

Looking back over the fields to the village

The first half of the walk is a mixture of quiet country lanes

The first half of the walk is a mixture of quiet country lanes

and pastures

and pastures

The high point of the walk, a whopping 280 feet above sea level!

The high point of the walk, a whopping 280 feet above sea level!

We then headed to the village of Low Coniscliffe, this is much quieter than our village as it's not on the main road

We then headed to the village of Low Coniscliffe, this is much quieter than our village as it's not on the main road

Where we joined The Teesdale Way, which we would follow along the banks of the river back to High Coniscliffe

Where we joined The Teesdale Way, which we would follow along the banks of the river back to High Coniscliffe

We had seen this hot air ballon earlier, which had decided to land in fields we'd just walked across, how's that for timing!

We had seen this hot air ballon earlier, which had decided to land in fields we'd just walked across, how's that for timing!

As we walked back along the river the setting sun came out from behind the clouds

As we walked back along the river the setting sun came out from behind the clouds

It cast a lovely warm orange glow through the tree's

It cast a lovely warm orange glow through the tree's

The reflections in the river were stunning!

The reflections in the river were stunning!

The sun was setting fast, so rather than stay on the river bank all the way back to the village, we cut across the fields, hoping to that the sky would turn a golden orange as we walked

The sun was setting fast, so rather than stay on the river bank all the way back to the village, we cut across the fields, hoping to that the sky would turn a golden orange as we walked

It was getting really dark and quickly, so I needed the flash for this photo of Sheena and Tim

It was getting really dark and quickly, so I needed the flash for this photo of Sheena and Tim

I'm glad we did pick the fields as the colours in the sky were amazingI'm glad we did pick the fields as the colours in the sky were amazing

I'm glad we did pick the fields as the colours in the sky were amazing

It went from orange, through to red and even purple!

It went from orange, through to red and even purple!

One last shot from beside the church, what a great way to finish a walk!

One last shot from beside the church, what a great way to finish a walk!