DISTANCE  –  10.6 mile        765 Ft of ASCENT          AVE MOVING SPEED  –  2.64 MPH          HEINRICH LED

After a late start at 10.20 am, 13 of us left the coach at Powburn, crossed the stream via the road bridge and then headed WSW across fields with nice short grass.    Reaching Branton we were met by a resident who  was very concerned that we may not have closed all the gates but we were able to assure him we had.  From Branton we headed NW with the large ponds formed from the gravel pits on our right.  In the bright sunshine, the ponds were very attractive and we continued clockwise until between the most westerly pond and the R Breamish we had a coffee stop.  Before the coffee stop we saw a little evidence of the previous Friday’s storm with several trees uprooted but nothing too bad.  We then walked anticlockwise around the easterly pond before joining a minor road leading to the A697 which we crossed and continued to follow the R Breamish.  Heading NE, we had further ponds on our right and the river on our left with the sun continuing to glint off the water.  With the track turning slightly more easterly, we left the river and the ponds as we headed to Beanley.  With fallen trees and a wall to sit on/against, Heinrich decided on a lunch stop.  After lunch we headed south towards Titlington Pike.  After crossing a minor road we climbed eastwards along a grassy track before turning south to nearby Shepherds Law.  Heinrich then informed us about the background to the little church, hermitage and the accomodation here.  Evidently it was started by a hermit approx 50 years ago and he received donations to build the church and subsequently the accommodation used as a Christian retreat.   While the hermit still lives there he is now very old so we did not disturb him.  We then headed downhill to Shawdonwood House with the low hazy sun making for an attractive sky.  Heading SE we approached Shawdon Hall Farm passing some shooters as we reached the farm.  Once we passed, we heard the guns going off – poor birds.   Turning WSW at the farm we started to see some of the devastation caused by the previous weeks storm with a number of very large trees completely uprooted.  Reaching the minor road at Shawdon cottage  we initially headed NW along the road and then W, crossing the A697 and into Glanton by 15.40.  Excellent timing for a 16.45 departure after an excellent, interesting and scenic walk.