Hury Lodge, Barnard castle

Earlier this evening, we returned from a week long break in the Penines, in Northern England.

We stayed in a comfortable roomy cottage beside the Hury reservoir. The morning sunrise over the water was a great way to start the morning.

We had a relaxing time, and didn't do too much travelling, much less than we would normally do.

The weather was bittery cold, but sunny. There was a lot of snow still around with us being so high. In fact, last Saturday, a mile from the cottage, we slid off the single track snow covered road, and were stuck. We had to start walking till we found a phone signal. Ali, the owner of the cottage came to our rescue in her 4X4 mercedes.

I was careful to avoid any further single track roads for the rest of the week.

We found a delightful Catholic Church in Barnard Castle, with a holy and unassuming Parish Priest, who offers Mass in the New Rite and in the Old Rite without any fuss.

The Church, St Mary's, is very unusual in that it is owned and run by a group of Trustees. It is even more unusual in that it was orginally to be built in the Bowes Museum next door.

More of this in a later blog.

The photos show the reservoir, an old bus, and some Penine scenery.