December

Route

Pig

	Walk Leader		Carol
	Route		TBC
	Walkers		Carol, Sandy and Ron.
	Excuses		Michelle and Michael - skiing Bernie - Family party. Evelyn - Family party George - too full of cold to walk, so joined Evelyn at family party.
	Comments		We followed a snowy forest path behind the Shepherdess Pub which had just been used by a Hash of approximately thirty runners and was marked with red flour. Good views across Beamish Museum and the hills beyond. The museum was open and we saw a tram train passing and the steam driven carousel being started up. There was some lovely Lincolnshire short curly haired pigs (which looked like a cross between a sheep and a pig) at Plockton Manor and some Shire horses out in the field. After a small detour we crossed a stream and walked over a field that had become a frozen lake. We had a nice lunchtime stop at picnic tables behind the Stable pub in the gardens of the Beamish Hall Hotel. We then went into the pub for a warm drink. Unfortunately the mulled wine was a bit too spicy, but that was quickly replaced by a nice pot of tea. On the way back we called in at the Beamish Farm and saw some more horses, cows and pigs. Some friendly farm workers told us all about Miss Winky ( a cross saddleback) who was a very large sixteen years old but still agile enough to put her front legs up on the gate for food. We didn’t have any truffles to give her, so she had to make do with peanuts which she caught in her open mouth.
	Photo Gallery		Ron and Carol