THE Wonders of weardale

A hidden gem is a cliché to describe an amazing place no one knows about but there is certainly nothing cliched about the Weardale valley in the North Pennines.  For walkers and nature lovers Weardale truly is a hidden treasure.

The landscape is breathtaking – another cliché  – but as you travel over the fell from Edmundbyres and see Weardale for the first time you can’t fail to be impressed. It is a dramatic landscape with big skies always changing with the weather.

Despite its beauty Weardale remains largely undiscovered. Holidaymakers do come and visit the cafes and shops in Stanhope. There is a popular playpark, riverside walk and stepping stones across the ford (an ice cream van is parked up there in the summer months) but tourism is low key.

Once you venture out of the villages and climb up onto the moor tops, you will be on your own. You can walk for miles on the fells without seeing a single soul. In spring and early summer the call of the curlews fills the skies.

There are only an estimated 5,000 pairs of Black Grouse, or Black Game as they are known locally, in the UK. These are rare birds but relatively common in Weardale where they may be seen in fields as well as on the moor. And the best bit is there will be no one else with their binoculars and camera – only you.

When you compare Weardale to the busy Lake District, where at popular times you can’t get parked, get a seat in a café and have to share Lakeland footpaths with hordes of other visitors, it wins every time. Just don’t share the secret!

Stanhope is at the heart of Weardale and is the gateway to the Upper Dale. This small market town is only a ten minute drive from Hepple Hill Cottage. Stanhope has plenty of amenities and is an ideal place for picking up groceries as well as having a look around. There is a Coop, butchers, bakers, greengrocers, Post Office, gift shops, a couple of cafes and three pubs. Tourist information is available at the Dales Centre – a pleasant development with independent shops and a café – on the edge of this small market town. Stanhope’s church St Thomas the Apostle dates back to the 1200s and is remarkable for having a large fossilised tree trunk in its graveyard which was discovered in Edmundbyres in 1915. (https://www.northpennines.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Stanhope-Fossil-Tree.pdf)

 I have left information booklets about walks in the Stanhope area in the cottage. One of the walks passes through our farm – Pease Myers. If you are coming this way call in and say hello.