Rothbury from Simonside

I dropped off packets of blueberries to various friends on my way to meet Ailie. (Mr C had been to the garden centre for supplies and there’s a fruit stall there that sells an enormous tray of blueberries for £5 so as they don’t keep for long and aren’t great frozen, I share them out).

Today we did close on 6 miles, going up Simonside from the steep west end, then along the tops, down to Lordenshaws and back on the road. It was busier than a summer Sunday before Covid. There were 17 cars at Lordenshaws.

We’d stepped aside from the path to let a couple of young women through when they stopped to ask us about our walking poles and if we recommended them. They are doing Ben Nevis in May. We also recommended they get walking boots instead of walking in wellies which they were doing. They said they hadn’t hill-walked before lockdown - it’s great that they are enjoying it and want to do more.

Mr C has been adding further reinforcements to the rose garden - the deer were up to no good again and having polished off the irises, have now decimated the pansies. When I looked out at 5.30 am they were happily admiring the view from the terrace.

The blip is the village blipped from the walk. Our house is in the row under the woods which is where I have to go first to get up to the moorland beyond.