Drove Roads of Coquetdale - Rothbury Walking Festival
Tue 21st June 2011
Drove Roads of Coquetdale
Flaming June!
The following anonymous poem neatly sums-up the “atmospheric” conditions in more ways than one. I first came across it on a postcard during a wet stay on Mull but it seems completely appropriate to our collective experience above and on the Salters Way.
Rain
It rained and rained and rained
The average fall was well maintained
And when the tracks were merely bogs
It started raining cats and dogs
After a drought of half an hour
We had a most refreshing shower
And then the most curious thing of all
A gentle rain began to fall
Next day was also fairly dry
Save for the deluge form the sky
Which wetted the party to the skin
And after which the rain set in
Anon
On a positive note a lot of people visited places they never thought they would such as Hogdon Law, Black Butt, Sting Head above the Kidland Forest (now being heavily deforested), Cushat Law, Low Bleakhope. Finally onto the Salters Road we crossed the col below Shill Moor for splashing down to the Shank Burn where the water level had risen significantly due to unceasing precipitation (see photographs). The slog up to Ewartly Shank was character building and because of the boggy ground where we had parked we decided not to have a grand prix start for the race to Alnham, the world and a hot bath. Neither did we get the “drought of half an hour” by the way. This was a new, unique and different experience for most of the participants! Once you got used to the “water” it was fine. Thank you to everyone for your good humour. Flaming June.
RNH
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