Teesdale is one of my favourite parts of the North East and I was looking forward to visiting again on a bright October morning, until a brisk shower attacked my car windscreen as I was driving there. Thankfully it soon passed to be replaced by wide blue sky, with dramatic white and grey cumulus clouds, when I parked near to Bowlees and Low Force.

Meanwhile below the trees, there was provided a kaleidoscope of autumn colours; reds, yellows and oranges. There was a fresh breeze from the west.

Bowlees Visitor Centre

I noticed that there is now a new entrance at Bowlees Visitor centre, sited in the old Methodist chapel, which dates from 1904. The centre is open from ten to four, with a cafe in the middle surrounded by information boards.

There was an exhibition upstairs showcasing artists, who live in, work in and are inspired by the North Pennines. A large television screen showed short films made with local children, inspired by visits to old lead mining sites at Allenheads and Nenthead. There was once a lot of lead mining in the North Pennines and even some silver mining.

The film I saw, showed some of the sights of the North Pennines and the exquisite gem stones that can be found there. There was also a table with books on it about geology and heritage of the area.

Additionally, there was a film of Alston Ladies Social Group singing with Amanda Drago and children’s paintings and drawings of local scenes.

A part of a poem by Teesdale lead miner and Pennine poet Richard Watson told me something of what life was really like as a hard-working lead miner in the North Pennines.                                                                        

“Here I may sweat, and dig for lead,                                                                                                    
‘Mid smoke and dust, to earn my bread,                                                                                              
And go half clothed and half fed,                                                                                                       
Till I can work no more.”

Meanwhile, a further display told me that the theatre group The Knotted Project worked with schools, community members and the Alston Moor Drama Group to animate stories and bring the lives of the lead and silver miners to life.

The whole exhibition is part of a project called appropriately enough, the Land of lead and Silver, said to be “not just history – it is a living heritage, continually reinterpreted through creativity, memory and community”.

Gibson’s Cave and Summerhill Force

There was a thick carpet of yellow and orange leaves covering the path up to Gibson’s Cave as I passed a small waterfall over the naturally made steps of limestone. It was now a beautiful day with a clear blue sky contrasting perfectly with autumn colours.

It was also quiet, with hardly another soul around and the reassuring sound of the stream to.my left, gave me an opportunity to immerse myself in nature.

Soon the path became muddied, with leaves beginning to decompose in the autumn sunshine.  It had clearly been raining here recently, which augured well for the waterfalls I intended to see that day.

Indeed Summerhill Force was strong and lusty and like Hareshaw Linn near Bellingham, which I had visited in August, I had it all to myself.

Low Force

I then crossed the B6277 and made my way to the gorgeous Low Force.  This can be a honeypot site – where visitors tend to congregate like bees round a pot of honey – but on this day it was really quiet.  Again, the autumn colours framed the white of the waterfall, with the clear blue sky above.

The various parts of the waterfall, sparkled in the autumn sunshine and all seemed well in the world.

Up to High Force

Having crossed the old suspension bridge, over to the south side of the River Tees, it was a quiet late afternoon walk up the Tees valley with the gurgling river on my right.

Or at least, it was gurgling until I reached a gentler diversion of part of the Tees at one point. which flowed silently down to the North Sea.

Further on there were ducks floating downstream on the current, as if they were on a fairground ride.

As I approached High Force, the trees hid the river, but I could still hear it through the woodland. The sun suddenly seemed warm again, even though it was now 2.30pm.

Finally, I reached the viewpoint for High Force and it was as majestic as ever. I have seen it so many times, but it is always a sight for sore eyes as it tumbles noisily over the limestone escarpment and on to the gorge down river. It truly ids one of our great natural gems.

From here on Teesdale becomes Upper Teesdale, wilder more remote, and the trees gradually thin out, until they disappear altogether by the time you reach Cow Green Reservoir and Cauldron Snout waterfall.

It was a lovely walk back with the ever-mysterious group of trees at  Kirkcarrion, to the south of Middleton-in-Teesdale in the distance…

As I drove home, while evening drew its veil on the landscape around me, I  reflected on how lucky I was to live in a park of the world that is so beautiful and so interesting.