Egglestone

I had a really bad night. Woke and 2 and could not get back to sleep. Strange how the mind fills with hypothetical concerns that twist and turn and grow in magnitude in the wee small hours.  Once up,, of course, the world retreats to normal proportions.

I'd thought of going to Richmond Market but the forecast was bad so I decided to head out on the Teesdale walk down to Egglestone Abbey. There were huge black clouds to the north but luckily it did not rain and most of the time I was out of the wind. But the  left bank was very muddy and sludy. No yellow boots today. 

The Abbey is ruined and I did not make a detour to visit it. I was in pain on the way back. My left foot and right thigh. I know what causes one but not the other. There had a light smirr of rain most of the way but not the forecast deluge and there was a full rainbow over Barney as I returned. Just over an hour for about 3 miles.

A wee bit retail therapy, a look at the open eponymous Castle and some lunch and then off in the other direction to Egglestone Hall. I decided to drive out to High Force while the weather stayed good but as I drove up into the moors the clouds darkened and it started to rain. I gave High Force a  miss, the charges and the weather. 

Back to Egglestone Hall where there was no rain I had coffee and a cake then a wander round the walled gardens and the old graveyard. The snowdrops were at their best and there was a cacophony of feeding birds. Teesdale is wild, dramatic and beautiful. Drove back over moorland to Bowes, another ruined castle and settled for a night in. The weather was deteriorating, very windy, cold and the rain arrived.

New French series on BBC4 by the makers of 'Enfrenages', 'La Promesse'. Watched ep1 before bed.