Weekend Walks: Autumn ablaze in Deerness Valley – David Miliband – Shields Gazette

 

 

At first I thought the valley was on fire. And then realisation dawned, it wasn’t flame but autumn colours.

A large part of the Deerness Valley in County Durham is covered with trees, and the red and yellow foliage of larch, beech, sycamore and ash made for quite a sight.

Particularly spectacular were the falling leaves. Like some great tendril of flame, they were swept down the valley by a howling gale.

My walk began in Esh Winning and took me west along the banks of the River Deerness.

The remains of the area’s industrial past can be glimpsed in amongst the trees. This included a small archway of age-blackened brickwork I came across, on the river shore.

Wonder what its original purpose was? I mused.

The most noticeable relic of that past is the Deerness Valley Railway. Opened in 1858,

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via Weekend Walks: Autumn ablaze in Deerness Valley – David Miliband – Shields Gazette.