This has been an unusual holiday by my standards in that, partly thanks to Covid, I haven’t had things planned for each day. Today I sat reading and pottering for most of the morning before heading out, as much as anything to get some fresh air, but still with no real plan.
First stop was Eggleston Abbey for a few photos, there were a few people there but with care I avoided getting them in shot; hopefully one or two pics will be suitable for the TOGs Calendar competition. From there I managed to drive past, and then turned back to, the farm shop/café that I had in mind for lunch (I think I did the same last time I visited it). It was ok, not great, which I think is how I felt a few years ago.
Still with no real plan I headed up the dale towards Brough then back over to Middleton and on to Grassholme Reservoir. It’s largely drained at the moment for dam works but the small dinghies still managed to get out. It does have a small visitor centre which provided a welcome ice cream.
The final stop was the Mickleton Station car park on the Tees Railway Trail. I’d hoped to cycle there but the hot weather put me off and, as I’d suspected, it would need mountain bike tyres as it’s more mud/earth than laid surface. As sometimes happens I got chatting to a local lady who was waiting for her son and his partner to find a geocache (they did get it in the end, with some difficulty). She expressed the opinion that it was a shame the line was closed and effectively destroyed (most of the bridges were removed) as it would be useful for freight traffic. There is some truth in that, I can see there being a need for more local freight interchange terminals as we transition away from IC engines, but I think that line would always have been too small.
Tomorrow it’s off home. ☹️
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