Eggleshope Beck

This walk starts from the very scenic road that takes you from Eggleston all the way to Stanhope. In the evening I took a panorama from the grouse butts opposite on the hillside and during the climb I managed to get the shot of Middle End Farm with the very distinct barn with the four arches (photo #2). If you zoom in you can clearly see it. Middle End Farm is a the tip of the triangular roads which are both very scenic. One coming from Eggleston, the other coming from Middleton. On the road to Middleton just behind the Farm across Great Eggleshope Bridge I parked the car and started the walk towards  Black Force Waterfall. About half way up are the abandoned Mine workings. I constantly heard a cookoo and finally managed to get a vague shot with him sitting in a tree. But it was into the light and not very good. Up until the Mine the track is a really good gravel road. After you cross the Beck behind the Mine however the path became very rough and it was quite strenuous to reach the waterfall. The sheep were accompanying me and even gave me the tip to follow them up on that ridge because the alternatives were all very rough (photo #18 and photo #20).  The bird on photo #20 had a beautiful song but it was too far away to identify it. I finally reached the waterfall (it is right in the centre of photo #22 hardly visible behind the bushes) and had my picnic. Just when I had setup the camera to take shots of the waterfall the same Cookoo sat on a branch a few metres away in a perfect photogenic position as if to taunt me! So I promised him to come back another day and shoot him (with a camera of course). The way back was equally nice and not as tiring since I already knew where best to go in the rough upper terrain (photo #29 is looking down from the top of the "Sheep Ridge" back towards the mine). The derelict Sheep Pen on photo #30 is another good way marker. The walk was one of the nicest ones I took in the three weeks and I did not meet a single other walker although it was a busy Sunday in fine weather. Jim helped me to identify the birds. Photo #4 is most likely a Wheatear; Photo #5 should be a lark.