Since I do a lot of walking, I thought I’d try and follow an
actual route for once instead of just walking wherever the wind takes me. I found
one online called Cuddy’s Corse, which was starting from the church of St. Mary and St. Cuthbert in Chester le St and
ending up at Durham Cathedral. So I dragged my mam and Poppy along to go on a little
adventure.
The walk lets you follow in the footsteps of St. Cuthebert's Community on their final journey to Durham Cathedral carrying the Corse of Cuthbert, the patron Saint of the North.
The walk lets you follow in the footsteps of St. Cuthebert's Community on their final journey to Durham Cathedral carrying the Corse of Cuthbert, the patron Saint of the North.
We started at Riverside Park which we would be passing after the church anyways. I had a full
list of directions, but it didn’t stop us completely going the wrong way for
most of the walk.
We walked over the bridge and were just ready to start the actual
walk when we realised we had left our walking boots in the car. Believe me it
was just a start of things to come. The going backwards and forwards trying to
find the right way, was the full walk basically.
At this part there were so many trees that had fallen, you could tell just how far the river had come up when we had the last floods. It was like a manic jungle, all sharp edges and snapped branches.
In the beginning, Poppy was happy enough just walking along, after a while though she turned her usual stubborn self and refused to walk. A few treats here and there did the trick for a bit longer.
One thing that helped us find the right way was the Cuddy’s Corse white little sign that would show up. I'll admit it wasn't until we got to a certain point that I even noticed them. (Basically we are the worst walkers ever.)
It was a
great little walk, we passed rivers and forests, then walking through the farmer’s
fields, watching a lonely horse, and up to Lumley Corner. Where waiting there was a glorious carved throne, where you could sit and get great views of the countryside below. We stopped for a bit and had a picnic, which was nice.
At Lumley Corner we went even more off course, I assumed
we were on the right street and after walking for about 45 minutes, it became
clear that we weren’t, so feeling defeated we turned around to go back the way
we came. Then as we reached the chair again, we found the right route. After two and
a bit hours of walking and a dog that didn’t want to do anymore, it was clear
we would just have to leave it for another day.
So instead, I took some pictures of a nice little church we passed to make myself feel better.
To be honest our end goal wasn't to get all of the way to Durham Cathedral, it was to go as far as Finchale Abbey (which was about half way) and spend a few hours chilling there and looking around. If you've never been before I urge you to check it out immediately.
The full walk was supposed to be 7.5 miles. We spent three hours getting lost and wandering around aimlessly, which amassed to 9.5 miles. (no wonder Poppy was sick) It was such a good day though, just getting out and doing a bit of exploring, getting some fresh air and a bit of exercise, even if we didn't reach our end point. There's always next time, and you can be sure that I'll attempt it again. Maybe I'll start from Lumley Corner though, I mean I need to leave myself plenty of time to get lost in between...
Have any of you walked the Cuddy's Corse Route?
