Linstock is around 2.25miles from Carlisle and is a small village on the Hadrian’s Wall path.
As the sun finally breaks through the freezing fog of the last week, we thought it was time to have an adventure.
It is about 6 weeks since Charlie broke his leg, so it was decided that he should be ok for a longer walk, rather than just around the garden or park.
Originally our walk was going to be in Rickerby Park but it had lots of mud and puddles following the recent floods. As a result we drove straight through the Park and into Linstock.
Parking near to the wooden hut belonging to Linstock Village WI we set off, firstly for a look around the village.
Melting ice
The warmer weather today has brought with it an interesting problem which soon became apparent as we walked around the village.
Recent cold weather had caused ice to form on trees and on guttering. As the air warmed up this was now starting to melt, causing highly localised rain and hailstones beneath trees and from anything else that overhung our path.
We soon got wise to this effect and, as we saw wet patches on the roads or pavements, we quickened our step to pass quickly beneath so to avoid getting wet.
Walking into Carlisle
After our walk around Linstock we decided we could walk back towards Carlisle, just for something to do.
As we left Linstock the path disappeared, so we needed to walk on the side of the road facing the traffic, on short leads.
After passing over the M6 we started to walk on a very good path, set slightly back from the road.
Looking over the hedge as we approached the entrance to Rickerby Hall, we saw an enormous bird perched atop an old tree stump.
Standing almost 2m high, the big wooden bird looks out across the fields towards the tower.
Built as a folly, it may have been used to house birds like a dovecot but this is unclear.
Bad cable installation
With the end of this path in sight we decided that it was about time we returned back to Linstock.
We retraced our steps back along the path and onto the bridge over the M6.
Being on the other side of the bridge, this time dad noticed something going on with a wire cable tied to the bridge railings.
It would appear that the cable had been wrapped around any upright posts, almost as if the cable drum would not pass between the safety netting and the posts.
The cable appeared to be going to some form of road traffic sensors overlooking the motorway beneath.
All in all a very bad installation according to dad.