The imposing front of Bowes Museum. The museum was built in the 19th century by local businessman John Bowes and his wife Josephine. The Bowes developed the idea of creating a world-class museum in his ancestral home in Teesdale, their enthusiasm for collecting was such that between 1862 and1874 they purchased 15,000 objects for the museum. Sadly the Bowes never saw their dream of a museum come to fruition, Josephine died in 1874 and John's motivation took an enormous blow and he virtually ceased collecting and died 1885. Despite their deaths the momentum for the museum had reached such a scale that it continued under the leadership of trustees and finally opened to the public in June 1892. The museum is said to contain the greatest collection of Eurpoean fine and decorative art in the North East of England. Unfortunately due to the lateness of the day and the approaching bad weather we're saving this museum for another day.

All photographs © David Packman

A couple of miles south of Barnard Castle we passed Egglestone Abbey briefly lit by the first sun of the day. The ruins are all that remain of a small 12th century Premonstratensian (white canons) monastery set above a bend in the River Tees.

The table tomb of Sir Rafe Bowes, while in the background are the ruins of the Canons Dorter (Dormitary). The remains include a large part of the 13th-century church. Time to be on our way again.

Thirty miles south, and over the tops of two dales and into the village of West Burton and it's a nice sunny evening. The village nestles in a hollow of the little-known Walden Valley at the junction of Bishopdale and Wensleydale. Surrounded by high fells the rain water flows into Walden Beck which skirts the village passing over the picturesque Cauldron Falls.

The Methodist Chapel.

A Large Garden Bumble Bee hard at work on one of our few sunny days.

A docile Walden Beck passes the bottom of a garden.

Is there anyone else out there?

Cauldron Falls in its normal summer state. But the bad weather that threatened all day did come...

...after fifty hours of continuous rain the falls looked dramaticly different.                        All photographs © David Packman