The trackside is fringed by flowering redcurrant, its sharp tang medicinal and earthy, bees feeding from pendulous pink clusters. Wooden sleepers exude a thick tarry smell, and a neat little train, the Green Dragon, puffs out kettles of steam as it gears up for a morning’s work. We walk past the engine sheds of the South Tynedale Railway, chatting as we go to cheerful volunteers on this bright morning.
This narrow-gauge heritage railway runs from Alston in Cumbria to Slaggyford in Northumberland, crossing the county boundary by a painted metal sign on a bridge over the Gilderdale Burn. The wide, level footpath alongside it is a great place for striding out, but today our pace is slowed by a heady enjoyment of spring.
