So, I got back from my Big Chill in Europe mid October and the first thing I did when I got back was sleep and sleep and sleep. I have never wanted to sleep so much. I had to put up with an unfortunate case of 'Where am I?' at least three times a night for the first week or two, as I was so used to being in a different place every other day and sleeping in a tent with at least one other person. It was odd to not share a room when I got back.
When I did settle down, I still tried to make the most of having a car, knowing that once it was gone I was going to be pretty much Consett bound. While I have enjoyed my time in Consett it is not exactly the land of plenty-to-do. So I made the executive decision to go for a walk and drag along Hayley to Alan Bank and Steward Gorge.
Poor girl didn't really stand a chance. Not even I realised how much of a walk the walk was. It was 12.5km and we trudged through mud, up and down hill and even up a gorge. Oops. And when we stumbled across come ancient crumbing rock wall I stopped and gave them a hug much to Hayley's ever embarrassment, I am sure.It took the better part of the morning to walk up and back and I swear my bum was a good size smaller from all of it.
I had to laugh was we were climbing the gorge, aka a really steep and muddy hill. Hayley stopped at one point and decided that she would just live there. I shouted back, 'No, you can't! There is no where to plug in your hair dryer!' and so we continued. At the top of the gorge we passed the blink-and-you-miss-it ruins of a medieval tower. We continued along to a large rock where we sat and had our packed lunch before deciding how to make our way back down.
It was such a lovely walk, following the river and ancient forest. My favourite part and I believe it was also Hayley's, was when the trees overhead shook their branches and a flurry of leaves fell around us like orange snow. It was a magical moment.
The next weekend, the last weekend owning a car, we drove up to Alwnick. I didn't realise that it was closed, or at least, the castle was closed. That was a shame but come on. It was the school break. Surely you would open it then? Apparently not. We did however, have a good walk around the gardens. They are seriously impressive. Not to mention they have the most amazing treehouse too. We walked over to have a peek in. It is actually a restaurant. How cool is that! There is even rope bridges which I insisted that we cross (play on).
We headed back to Knitsley Farm for a hearty and warming lunch. The weather is starting to turn cold here so hot food is a necessity.
I sold my car the following week on for 325 pounds. It was one of those YAY moments when I know it is one less thing to worry about, but at the same time I felt cheated as the car was really good and had such low mileage on it that if it had been sold in NZ I could have made a lot more money on it. They really have a thing against old cars over here. It is odd. But then they think that a car more than 5 years old is old too. Come on, people. It is a car, not a computer. I also cancelled my insurance and got just under 100 pounds back. Woohoo! I didn't think I was going to get any money back so I am stoked.
I have faced a few problems since I have been back. The main one being boredom and boredom eating. It is really hard to care when you are bored. So in the interests of fighting this bad habit I have been through two massive packets of gum. Probably not too good for me but frankly, I just want to eat chocolate and for a solid week that was all I did. Then I had the break out of all break outs on my face, so we are back to moderation.
Any way, I am counting down the days now. I have backed one of my bags. It weighs a lot. It is full of magnets and tapestries and all sorts. I would be devestated if it went missing in transit. It has all of my souvenirs in it.
