W18: Upper Swaledale – With the Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team - NEW
Leave Station car park 9.00am. Start at Rukins Farm Car Park (GR: NY 892 012, What3Words: ///attending.sonic.drag) at 10.00am. 6 Miles. Moderate. £7
The Dales can be as enchanting as they are treacherous. Over the years, Swaledale Mountain Rescue has answered countless calls for help, assisting injured or lost hikers, mountain bikers, and even animals. This walk offers a unique chance to visit the locations of some of these challenging rescues, learn about the unfortunate casualties, and hear the gripping stories of how they were saved—all whilst soaking in the breathtaking beauty of the Upper Swale valley and its well-trodden paths between Keld and Muker.
Supported by: The Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team
W19: Bowes Fell and God’s Bridge
Leave Station car park at 9.15am. Start Bowes and Gilmonby Village Hall DL12 9HR (GR: NY 996 135, What3Words: ///lotteries.superbly.years) at 10.00am. 10.5 Miles. Moderate. £7
We explore some of the vast, empty moors in the southwestern corner of County Durham, mainly using sections of both the main route and the Bowes Loop of the Pennine Way. Bowes is a handsome village dominated by the ruins of the 12th Century Bowes Castle, and also the site of Dotheboys Hall, the ‘Yorkshire’ boarding school exposed for its harsh conditions in Dicken’s novel Nicholas Nickleby. Also of interest are the remnants of RAF Bowes Moor, near Barnard Castle, which was used in the 1940s to store mustard gas, which was burnt off at the end of World War II. The highlight of the walk is undoubtedly God’s Bridge, a limestone bridge over the River Greta, and the UK’s best example of a natural bridge formed by cave development.
W20: A Nature Discovery Walk at Nosterfield
Leave Station car park at 9.45am. Rendezvous at Nosterfield Nature Reserve car park (GR: SE 279 795, What3Words: ///divides.commenced.voltage) at 10.30am. An easy nature walk of around 5 Miles. £7
Following an early sell out in 2023 and 2024, we are repeating this Discovery Walk at the National Nature Reserve at Nosterfield and the nearby reserve at Nosterfield Quarry. During a short walk over level ground we will learn about the restoration of former quarries into nature reserves well known locally for their bird life and flowers, learning something of the restoration methods in use to create and improve habitats, including the propagation nursery set up at the site to supply plants for this work. Your knowledgeable team for the day will help you identify the flora and fauna present. A member of the Nosterfield team will explain their work. Please bring binoculars if you have them. We aim to spend the morning at Nosterfield Reserve before transferring to Nosterfield Quarry for the afternoon, with a planned finish at around 4pm.
Supported by: The Lower Ure Conservation Trust
E17: History’s Missing Chapters - David Olusoga
Richmond School & Sixth Form College, Darlington Road DL10 7BQ | 7.30pm | £25 | Refreshments, bookstall, disabled access
In a brand-new talk for 2025 David examines some of history’s missing chapters to uncover how and why some events and some people are remembered and others forgotten. Taking examples from the World Wars, the Industrial Revolution and other pivotal moments in global history David uncovers history’s missing persons.
David Olusoga is the author or co-author of eight books including Black & British: A Forgotten History, The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire, Black & British: A Short Essential History, The Cult of Progress, The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide and The Colonial Roots of Nazism.
David's recent television programs include Union with David Olusoga and upcoming in 2025, Empire with David Olusoga. He also writes and presents the long-running BBC history series, A House Through Time. Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester, and a columnist for The Observer, David also writes for The Guardian, The New Statesman, The Voice and BBC History Magazine.