A Hidden Haven

 County Durham is an incredibly beautiful place. While I was searching for a new home, I was also finding my way around, and exploring this new scenery. I decided to start walking again. England doesn't use the term, 'hiking'. Whether it's a 2 mile amble or a 12 mile trek, it's still just a walk. And I like that. So, regardless of cold temperatures and winds, I put on a new pair of walking boots and set off. I had lost much of my fitness during the past year, so I found that a couple of miles rambling was enough at first, but during the winter months I was fine with that. I joined a few groups, and now walk 4 days a week or more, and am comfortable doing 5-7 miles. I still have a dodgy ankle from a couple of years ago, but am starting physio for that next month, and hope that will help. 

I have walked far too many places to post photos from the past now, but hope to drop a few in when I return to some of these places, which I will do. But right on my doorstep I have a spectacular little nature reserve, Bishop Middleham Quarry, a site of special interest. This was once a working quarry, but has now been allowed to revert to nature. It's not the easiest place to find, hidden on a tiny lane, and seems to only be frequented by locals. I squashed my car into the hedge, noting that there was an abundance of cob nuts here, I'll be back!

 

It was apparent as I pushed through the kissing gate that I had the place to myself. The sun was still quite high, casting long shadows over the track, and it was warm, that nice kind of warm you like feeling on your bare skin, not too hot. The inhabitants here obviously felt the same way, as I could hear a steady happy hum from bountiful bees as they buzzed back and forth over the flowers. Butterflies flittered and fluttered, some to fast to identify, but I could make out that there were quite a few varieties here.

 

James Common's link above did a great job of identifying the flowers. I didn't see as many varieties of orchid as him, but there were plenty of harebells, field scabius, knapweed, restharrow, birdsfoot trefoil and rosebay willowherb. There were other plants I haven't named, the abundance of wildflowers was amazing. And the insects enjoying them were also abundant. Hoverflies buzzed around my head and settled on flower heads, there were quite a few varieties of native bees, and plenty of butterflies and moths.

There were many peacock butterflies, common blues, some orange butterflies that moved too fast to ascertain whether they were commas or small coppers, large whites, brown arguses, and a few 6 spot burnet moths. Red soldier beetles were getting busy on the cow parsley, and in the shade of some trees I spotted cinnabar moth caterpillars.

 It was a joy to wander around this reserve and not see any evidence of man, apart from the worn tracks. There was obviously plenty of life here. Apart from the insects and bees, which swarmed noisily around me, birds trilled from branches, hidden by leaves, the empty burrows on the cliff faces were evidence of sand martins, whose young were now grown and fledged, preparing for their migration to Africa in September. Rabbits live here, droppings are everywhere on the grass. I came across many empty snail shells so am guessing thrushes are happy to hang out here too. As was I, this is a little world unto itself, tucked away in the middle of nowhere and invisible from the narrow lane that runs along a narrow part of it. 

As the shadows became longer, I walked back along the bottom of the old quarry towards the steps at the end. I'd seen no-one since I'd arrived, and had been here for about 90 minutes. In the nearly 100 years that the quarry has been abandoned, this reserve has become its own ecosystem, with rarer plants and butterflies now thriving. The European bee-eater successfully bred here in 2002; I'd love to see one of those. I'll definitely be visiting here again, it's so close to home, and I'll relish seeing the changes through the seasons. As I walked back to my car, an older gentleman and his dog wandered over, about to enter and enjoy this peaceful haven for themselves.

The Land of Prince Bishops

And, after a long 9 months, it's time to resume my blog. I've been through the most depressing episode of my life, and have emerged, hopefully, a stronger person. Having lost the job that I thought would take me through to retirement, I then progressed to losing my confidence after hundreds of unsuccessful job applications, I lost the Blue House, since I couldn't afford to keep it going, and then slipped into months of miserable depression. I realized that my home that I had spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on would be taken from me unless I sold it, so I had to relinquish it. I moved back to England, to the north east, which was the only option for me if I wanted to buy a home outright with the equity I gained from the house sale. I wanted to buy a house outright so I'd never have to repeat this experience again. Also, my brother lives in the area, so there was one person I would know on arrival. I packed up a few belongings in a small container that would travel by sea, while Tricksie Treat and myself would fly to England. I have left some very dear friends in America, who I will stay in touch with, but I will never again mention the name of the last company, or the people it employed, to which I gave so much of myself to.

So! Here I am in a spectacularly beautiful area of England. I have the Yorkshire Dales to the west, the Yorkshire Moors to the east, Scotland a couple of hours north, and the coastline only 30 minutes away. County Durham was created in 1075 by William the Conqueror, and the 'Prince Bishops of Durham' were formed to protect the north of England from invading Scots. It's an old coal mining county, and the area is rich with history and packed with some very nice people. Tricksie Treat and I landed at Heathrow, then drove north to our AirBnb, which we would stay in for 4 nights until I found a long term rental. After 24 hours of continuous travel, we both collapsed and rested for the night. Then I wasted no time in looking around for a place I could rent for 6 months while I hunted for my new home. I walked into a letting agency and met Peter and Beverley, who after making me a cup of tea, accompanied with a tin of biscuits, and listening sympathetically to my tale, they promptly offered me a flat in my price range above the cafe next door. I didn't have the full amount in cash and was waiting for my new bank account details, but they trusted me and handed over the keys. They became instant friends, and in a very short space of time, I became part of the crew, or family, as Peter put it. We've often marveled at how this happened, and at how quickly we all became such wonderful friends, and I'm eternally grateful to have been adopted by these amazing people. I pop down to the office almost daily, and we chat over tea and biscuits, with Colin and Tony, the other 2 members of the family who are also talented handymen, kitchen fitters, decorators, and do pretty much anything needed in the way of repair work in the rental properties. There's also Stuart, Warin, Graham and Neville, who are all contractors, and often drop by if needed. 

I have received much valuable advice from them all, and Peter came with me on a couple of house viewings, as his knowledge and experience of the housing market is endless. He's also shown me a few of their rental properties, which helped to give me an idea of what I wanted. And so I found a pretty terraced house just 10 minutes from my flat and their office, my offer was accepted, and I've had the keys for just over a month.. It has plenty of trees at the front and back, a garden out the front and a little courtyard at the back, and it's on the outskirts of a small village. I can walk to the local shop, doctors and pub.The house is over 100 years old, but it's solidly built, and I'm looking forward to my final move. Warin has done the rewiring, Stuart checked that the boiler and central heating are up to code, and Neville has replaced the flat roof on the kitchen, the front bay window, repointed the chimney and replaced the flashing around one of the attic windows.

Neville and his crew also gutted the kitchen and are in the process of installing a new one. So I'm hoping to move in within 2 weeks. This is the front of the house. I replaced soil and fed the yellow rose plus a pink rose in pots, both of which immediately responded with blooms. The hebe by the front door has also received the same treatment, plus there are sweet pea seedlings sprouting in the other pot, which will climb up the wall to the left of the window. There will be a patio, a raised flower bed and a pond in the future, plus loads of native plants.

 In between house hunting and waiting for the house to be finished, I've been out exploring and getting to know the area. I'm not going into full details about everywhere I've been, but I've posted a few photos on my daily blog, which I've kept up through this ordeal. I don't think I'll ever be able to explore everywhere, the north east is chock-a-block  with historical sites, fabulous scenery, hundreds of trails for walking and cycling, as well as not being so heavily populated as my home county of Kent or my last home, Virginia. Driving here is a joy, with very few traffic jams and no road rage, and the people are amazing. I'd forgotten how delightful it was to stop and chat to a total stranger for 10 minutes, and this happens regularly. I've already made friends with 4 neighbours, and it's an added bonus that we're all the same age.

Well, this post is narrative only, but there are photos on my daily blog, here. I'm going to resume this blog as I've missed it, and now feel like I'm in a good place to pick it up again. Plus, there's so much to write about and take photos of. It's good to be back!