Kirkcarrion is So Bracing

Kirkcarrion, or Caryn's Castle, or Kirk Arran is a well known landmark in Teesdale, and is visible for miles around.

It's a copse of pine trees, surrounded by a low stone wall, atop a hill. The trees are over a tumulus, said to contain the grave of Caryn, a Bronze Age chieftan. In 1804, a farmer used some of the stones to build a wall. subsequently, local landowner, Lord Strathmore, removed many of the grave goods to his home, near Barnard Castle. As a mark of respect, he built the walls around the burial mound at Kirkcarrion, and planted the trees. It is believed that this did not appease Caryn, whose ghost is said to haunt the place still.

Local tradition says it's lucky to climb the hill on Mayday morning; we were a couple of weeks late, but the walk is none the less spectacular for that.

 We parked the car on a side road, and took the footpath up from just outside Middleton.

Soon we were onto open access moorland, so just walked up the hill heading for the trees. We saw plenty of Swaledale sheep, and some curlew; my first sighting close-up.

It was blowing a hoolie, so we raced for the summit, but once among the trees, we could appreciate the views; looking over into Lunedale, with good views of Grassholme reservoir.

Settling In

We've had a fun few days up in Teesdale. We've had the AGA and boiler serviced, and the chimney swept, so the house is on the way to being toasty. We now have a landline and broadband, so can keep in touch, as our mobile signal is rather patchy.

 Would you like a look around?

This is the front of the building. The barn is on the right, with the cow byre on the left.

This is the barn from the back. Replacing those plastic barn doors in hardwood is one of our first projects. 

This is our view from the kitchen - we have hills! That's our barn in the middle ground; we're still discussing plans for that. Our garden is in the foreground, with our field behind the wall, stretching off to the right. 

And here are our neighbours' Herdwicks. These sheep, which were bred by Beatrix Potter, are renowned for their hardiness. They have such pretty faces, and will soon be lambing.