Cassop and Quarrinrton

9^th June 2011

A short 5 mile walk starting at Cassop, a small village with a history of quarrying and mining but is now pastoral and agricultural in an elevated position overlooking the Durham countryside. The route was accurately described as easy low level paths, tracks and roads.

Leaving the village we followed the path through the vale along side a pond locally known as the Bogs a product of mining subsidence. The area is a nature reserve filled with flowery grassland and thorny thickets. Orchids, bird’s-eye primrose, blue moor grass, wild thyme and cowslips flourish in the rich magnesium limestone soil.

Unique to this area is the northern brown argus, a butterfly found only in eastern Durham, where it feeds on the abundant common rock-rose, also a fan of magnesium limestone.

Heading along a quiet lane towards the lovely little hamlet of Old Cassop a brown butterfly was spotted, we stood perfectly still until it settled and very obligingly it rested while we took our photographs. It turned out to be a speckled wood brown and not the elusive brown argus!

Walking towards Quarrington Hill we had extensive views across the Durham countryside with the Cheviots, Pennies and North York Moors seen in the distance but we soon dropped down to Cassop and lunch at The Three Horse Shoes.

   

Dipton and Hamsterley Mill

2^nd June 2011

A beautiful summer’s day, warm with clear blue skies could only mean one thing a walk in the country side was called for. A local route quick, easy to get to and ending at a hostelry providing food all day was selected from our Cicerone Guide “Walking in County Durham”

We parked in the centre of the village set off down the main street and turned down a track passing the local allotments then climbing a rickety style entered sloping fields.

The meadows were in full bloom the field on one side carpeted like snow with scentless Mayweed while the other was golden with an underlying hue of ruby from the red clover mixing with the predominant buttercups.

Entering a wooden ravine we passed an unusual farm cottage. Remember the fairy tale of the three pigs?

Well reader I can safely say it is a true story and it has a happy ending. 

The walk continued through a patchwork of fields and mixed woodland going down hill to meet the Derwent Valley Railway Path for a short while before heading up again.

The directions sent us across a “rushy field” but more accurate it was a “boggy field” although we were compensated by seeing numerous early-purple orchids as we squelched our way across. 

With the midday heat increasing entering the dappled shade of Collierley Wood was very welcome. We climbed uphill to Pontop Hall leaving the woods just in time to spot two pairs of kites enjoying the thermals. A lovely ending to our walk.