Weather: Windy & showery
but mild.
Distance:
26 km (16.2 miles) Total Distance: 3035 miles
I left
work in Derby and drove straight up to friends in Caterick to
baby-sit for them. I lllft early in morning and was walking by 8.15. after parking in the maritime museum in Hartlepool
and heading east via some nondescript urban road to the Headland, an old
fishing town which retained quite a bit of character.
It was great to see the sea again. This
year’s walking had been spoilt by the foot and moth epidemic and the footpaths
were only just beginning to open up again.
I got down onto the beach at the end of the town but soon started to
spot dead gulls on the high tide mark.
Then I saw some dyeing gulls also near an outfall of a factory. Another half a mile past the outfall I
decided to call the Environment Agency. Unfortunately I didn’t have the number. I tried to call some colleagues but they had their phones off
so I called directory esquires and asked them to speak slowly because I had to
write the number in the sand! The EA
took details and called back later.
Another man stopped me on a motorised trike and commented on the
birds. When I got back to the office on
Monday I spoke to the RSPB and it turns out they think it was an outbreak of
botulism caused by the birds feeding on the a local landfill site. I wasn't so sure myself.
I took
to the cliff tops and the start of the Durham coast path at Crimdon, The path from there all the way to Seaham was
in good condition and there was little sign of the coal mining industry that
was there less than ten years previously all along this coast. A lot of money must have been spent taking
away the old mine spoil etc. I get
caught in a heavy shower near Easington but fortunately I was not too far from
a group of bushes so hid under there for ten minutes in my waterproofs and
didn’t get too wet.
There
were quite a few points where the path diverted inland to avoid going down deep
gullies. At one point near Hawthorn
Hive, there was a deep wooded crevice.
Not only was I tired and didn’t fancy going down it but I heat what
sounded like a drunken loner shouting at some other people walking along. I therefore investigated going across the
railway viaduct – the 200 yard dash saved be a lot of climbing and I avoided
been spotted by the train that came along some 5 minutes later.
Seaham
too was an old mining community having money spent on industrial units, some of
them pretty ugly on the southern side. I
walked through the suburbs and then down into the town by the entrance to the
docks. I was very lucky in finding an
excellent teashop on the seafront in which to have cake and coffee. After that I went in search of the train
station which was a little hidden away and caught a train after about 1 minute
back to Hartlepool.
I
drove to the company that I thought had been causing the pollution and
discovered it was a magnesium sulphate works.
After
stopping in the supermarket to get some wine and beer I went back to friends in Caterick for an excellent supper in front of the TV.
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