Today was a shorter and easier walk, and very enjoyable. Most of the route was alongside the River Tees, in glorious sunshine and with few hills to climb. There were wildflowers everywhere and the music of the river tumbling over stones was magical.

The highlights were the waterfalls at Low Force and High Force, which attract some tourists, but for most of our walk we were on our own. We left the Pennine Way to walk up to the small hamlet of Langdon Beck and our accommodation for the night, pleased that food and drink is available!

A Backward Glance

The world touches you
But you don’t feel it
The world whispers to you
But you don’t hear it
The world smiles on you
But you don’t see it
The world is your world
But we don’t know it

Your world is not an accident
Your world is not a divine gift
Your world is yours by birthright
Your world is yours to live
Your world laughs and cry’s with you
Your world lives and dies with you
Your world is eternally apart with you
Your world is yours to give

In nature water is king, it rules, defines and discards all it meets over eons of spectacular triumph, it’s persistence is inexorable. It eats mountains and carves deep valleys through dense rock it previously laid down. It changes everything and never changes. It sleeps in lakes, lives in oceans but it’s finest work is wrought in rivers. We walked alongside the River Tees today as it chuckled on its way back home; light sparkling like diamonds on it’s dark surface, slithering and tumbling around the rocks it had planted. The beauty of the place even slowed Carol down and I was able to match her pace for once. We saw a cloud today and watched it wander across the sky like it was lost, momentarily hiding the sun and casting its kind shadow onto us. Walking was gentle, only ten miles, but the air was abuzz around us for most of the time. Looking at water made me reflect.