South Tynedale Railway

Thursday's Guardian Country Diary concerns the wonderful South Tynedale Railway at Alston in Cumbria, a narrow gauge line that epitomises the spirit of the small country railway.

Even this saddletank steam locomotive, Harrogate, here being refilled from the water tower by her fireman, harmonises with the line-side vegetation. Harrogate began her life as a shunter in a gasworks but is now in fine fettle in this rural retirement.

On this occasion we decided to follow the footpath beside the track out from Alston into glorious Cumbrian landscape. In summer the lineside is fringed with wild flowers, including spotted orchids, and some very fine displays of guelder rose (above).


The line crosses the South Tyne about half a mile out of town and it was while we were leaning over the bridge parapet that we watched this spotted flycatcher, flitting out from an ash branch and snatching insects. The afternoon was so still that you could hear the bird's beak snap shut over its prey.

Harrogate caught up with us and steamed past, sounding her whistle, hissing steam and pulling her rattling carriages, clicketty-clacking over the rail joints. After she'd passed and disappeared around the bend in the track the flycatcher was still on its branch, undisturbed by the passing mechanical monster. 

A transport system at one with its rural surroundings...

For some more photos of wildlife and scenery along the South Tynedale Railway, click here

Teesdale in early June.........

In early June the meadows in the middle part of the dale, around Middleton-in-Teesdale, are full of buttercups, while...

... the hawthorn blossom beside the riverbank footpaths is just past its peak.

In the middle of the river this fledgling dipper has been parked on a stone by its parents that are away collecting food, though it looks like it could feed itself.

This young rabbit was using a coltsfoot leaf for cover but ....

... it would have done better to run for the dense stand of butterbur leaves that could hide a hundred rabbits.

Upstream of Middleton-in-Teesdale, on the way to Bowlees, there are globe flowers blooming on the riverbank, alongside the white umbels of pignut.

You can hear a spotted flycatcher's beak snap shut when it catches a fly ..... and there are plenty of those around, including .....

... dungflies that are plentiful wherever there is livestock grazing in the fields and ....

..... empid flies that use nectaries of wood crane'sbill flowers are fuel stations.

The wet weather hasn't been kind to bees and this little solitary bees resting on an oak leaf looked bedraggled. Can anyone help with an ID? 

Hay rattle is coming into bloom in the hay meadows .....

..... and mountain pansy Viola lutea is flowering well. The epithet lutea means yellow but pure yellow pansies are in the minority - most have variable amounts of purple in their petals and this has a hint of it in the petal tips.