Category Archives: Railway goods wagons

Sweet Tees Flow Softly (Black Friday Aftermath)

Posted on December 1, 2014 by McFadzean

IN this land of eternal gloom, where fog hangs in grey air and moisture drips from autumn berries and bedraggled sheep, Romans once marched to distant outposts on a cold northern frontier. They crossed many rivers on their journey from … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Belfast sinks, Black Friday, English language, Environment, Ewan MacColl, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Iron Age, Jargon, Railway goods wagons, Ranting, Rivers, Ruins, Teesdale, Teesside, The Romans, Walking, Weather, York | Tagged , , , | 53 Comments

Faggergill: Out of the Fryingpan into the Mire

Posted on November 7, 2014 by McFadzean

BETWEEN Reeth and Tan Hill lies a land of strange names. It’s a country where wild open moors and grassy dales are neatly partitioned by walls built seemingly randomly, and generations of people have drifted through in search of shelter … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Belfast sinks, Bronze Age, Climbing, Cup and ring carvings, Environment, Explosives, Footpaths, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Railway goods wagons, Stone Circles, Tan Hill Inn, The Romans, Unemployment, Vikings, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

A Cook’s Tour of the Cleveland Hills

Posted on October 22, 2014 by McFadzean

CAPTAIN James Cook is one of Britain’s most celebrated maritime heroes. Born to lowly farming folk in the Teesside village of Marton, his destiny lay not in farming – or shopkeeping, to which he was briefly apprenticed – but as … Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Captain James Cook, Cleveland Way, Climbing, Death, Footpaths, Hiking, History, Mountains, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Teesside, Vikings, Walking, Weather | Tagged , , , , | 32 Comments

Black Gold, Tan Hill Tea

Posted on September 17, 2014 by McFadzean

THERE was a loose plan fluttering about this morning like a threadbare flag above a roadside burger bar. But the wind changed and the plan got blown across fields and was last seen snagged on a fence alongside a ragged … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Environment, Footpaths, Geology, Ghosts, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Railway goods wagons, Tan Hill Inn, Teesdale, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Cross Fell – Fiends, Rivers, Paths and Poets

Posted on May 23, 2014 by McFadzean

A walk up Cross Fell and down the Tees and Tyne . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Footpaths, Ghosts, Hiking, History, Legends, Life, Mountains, Pennine Way, Poetry, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Religion, Rivers, Teesdale, Teesside, Tyneside, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments

The Long Surrender: Brandy Bottle Incline

Posted on October 28, 2013 by McFadzean

THIS is an account of a short walk in the hills above Arkengarthdale – but it has a back story that begins in the early 1980s and involves a group of mine explorers and an elusive portal into the underworld … Continue reading →

Posted in Allotments, Archaeology, Caving, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, horse gins, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Potholing, Railway goods wagons, Recycling, Walking | Tagged , , , , | 28 Comments

Blaenavon – How Serene is My Valley

Posted on October 10, 2013 by McFadzean

TODAY unfolds back to front. It begins with ancient history, progresses to sausages, peas and chips with gravy, and terminates in a breezy walk in the mist. That isn’t how it was planned. The original intention was an exhilarating ramble … Continue reading →

Posted in Belfast sinks, Environment, Food, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Life, Mountains, Offa's Dyke, Politics, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Ranting, Recycling, Walking | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

A Pennine Trek, Part 2 – A Night Beneath Hangman Hill

Posted on September 16, 2013 by McFadzean

McEff continues his backpacking trip to Hexham . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Camping, Climbing, Death, Drove roads, Environment, Footpaths, Ghosts, Hiking, History, Mountains, Railway goods wagons, Walking, Writing | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

A Blackpowder Blast From the Past

Posted on February 26, 2013 by McFadzean

IUSED to blow up huge chunks of Cumbrian hillside for a living. I stopped doing it not through any regard for conservation or the environment, but because I’d noticed that none of my more senior colleagues ever reached retirement age … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Explosives, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Railway goods wagons, Ranting, Slate quarries, Walking | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Rookhope: A Reminder of Who We Are

Posted on December 7, 2012 by McFadzean

WEARDALE is a Pennine valley that has the footprints of industry stamped all over it. It has no pretentions and shows no inclination to tidy itself up. That’s why it appeals to me so much . . .

Posted in Archaeology, Climbing, Environment, Geology, Hiking, History, Industrial archaeology, Mountains, Quarrying, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Ranting, Walking | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

South of the Border, Down Cheviot Way

Posted on October 23, 2012 by McFadzean

A walk along the boggy border between Scotland and England . . . Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Death, Environment, Ghosts, Hiking, History, Mountains, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Walking | Tagged , , , | 30 Comments

Giving a Fig About Walking up Gorges

Posted on September 25, 2012 by McFadzean

Walking on water . . . just for a change Continue reading →

Posted in Climbing, Environment, Hiking, Levadas, Mountains, Railway goods wagons, Railways, Walking | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments