Stroll Part 11. Thornaby to Middlesbrough

 

The route ran along the river Tees, sights from the past (this fantastic lifting bridge), and a desire to celebrate the river and its history. A hard task, with the area being amongst the most deprived in the country, but they are trying hard.

Stroll Part 10

 Another Monday, another stroll. Today was from Yarm to Stockton. The route is coming together nicely. 

I love a snicket, all the better when it is cobbled. This runs from the new station built on the edge of Yarm, down into the old town that is cradled by a meander of the Tees. A pretty place in a great location.

Family Affair

Rowan was up for the weekend, and we met up with Ro & Pete for a walk on Saturday in the Dales. Good to see everyone, and a good walk too.

The Stroll Part 9

Next stage was from Redcar to Middlesbrough, on a great path through a lovely park (Locke Park) a  marshland nature reserve, then an amazing path right through what was the steel works that is now no more. A huge building was being built. "What is that. Amazon?" I asked the only person I passed on the 8km path. "No, I believe it is where wind turbines will be constructed." came the reply. Wow, a Labour Government and a new factory already.

The Stroll part 8

Back on The Stroll after my Macedonian interlude. This stage started at Saltburn on the Sea on the north Yorkshire coast. The train goes direct from York now so it is ideal for the Stroll. I walked to Redcar along the beach, wind turbines in the ocean, gannets plunging into the waves, ringed plover scuttering along the beach. 

Timber!

Six years ago we reluctantly had our Sequoia Redwood tree felled, as it was undermining the flags and a danger to the house. It was sufficiently seasoned to have it planked. So a very impressive mobile unit came and cut it up for us. 

We shall now cover it and hope to create at least a round table and a guitar using the wood.

 

Professor Walker Palmour

Danielle has become an Honorary Professor at UCL, so she got on the cover of their paper. Very pleased that her work gets recognised.

Day 3 Bike ride

I hired a mountain bike and cycled around the lake through Struga (which was a grim communist era resort back in 1984) now a vibrant town on the lake, towards the  Albanian border where I had a great meal looking across the calm and peaceful waters.

 

 

Day 2 Magaro

I walked up Magaro (2,225 metres) in the Galicica national park that lies between Lakes Prespa (on the right in this picture) and Ohrid (on the left). Prespa is higher than Ohrid, and the only outlet is a hidden stream beneath the mountains that enters Lake Ohrid underwater. Both lakes are over 800m in altitude.

A great walk in lovely weather with birds and alpine flowers for company. 40 years ago there was not a marked path in sight in these mountains, now it is all well organised and sign-posted. It has been tamed.

Day 1

So, now the dust has settled from the Lomnice visit and all the contacts I have made with people in the area, I shall catch up on the rest of my trip. I flew from Manchester to Ohrid on a Tui charter flight. To be able to get to the heart of Macedonia without having to change flights, go to the capital Skopje, or leave from London, was a real treat. I had to take advantage of it, as I imagine it might not last long.

The lakes of Ohrid and Prespa were probably my favourite area from my whole walk from Greece to Spain back in 1984. Beautiful, isolated, deep in history, pelicans. So when I arrived in beautiful sunshine to find it even more perfect, I was happy.

This Macedonian Orthodox church of St John was constructed some time before the rise of the Ottoman Empire, probably in the 1200s. 

When I visited in 1984 it was a misty morning, and the whole apparatus of tourism was absent, I took this photo of a gravestone above the lake.

40 years on and the gravestone is still there, everything looks more cared for, but fundamentally little has changed.