Hike Around Weardale / Stanhope Common

 

Well the forecast was for a very cloudy, windy but warmish day. We fancied a hilly walk so had a drive over to Stanhope. We were well wrapped up and full winter hiking boots ready for the mud etc. Well the sun came out, we were sheltered from the wind for most of the walk, no mud in the woods etc and I was over cooked. I took off my coat and middle layer and was down to my merino short sleeved base layer at one point. Not sure what was going on but it was 11 degrees and sunny. After our hiking route which we did in the opposite direction for a change we got back to the car and changed our footwear and sweaty tops and had a walk around the shops. There was a craft market on in the hall this weekend as well. The main high street was packed with no car parking left and the chippy (Freddie's) was open so we had a lovely dinner out of there eating them on the bench in the sunshine. The hike was 5.10 miles with 600ft of climbing and just over a mile around the shops. Below are a few snaps from the hike, enjoy and hopefully more soon-