END OF THE WEST HIGHLAND WAY

Sunday 21/03/2010. After my long wait at Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow the two hour journey on the National Express Glasgow to Paddington run went past quite fast, the coach was pretty full with most seats taken. I got out at Carlisle just before midnight, it was literally freezing and a low fog lay over the town, not a very welcome prospect. I had a look at the possibility of camping by the river Eden in Bitts Park, but decided against that as it is Saturday night and lots of young folks are around some the worse for wear and I fear I would attract attention. Not too sure about what to do I decided to walk round town and watch the weekend revellers as they make their way home or to the next open boozer. For an old codger like me this is a different world which is permanently hidden from those who go to bed in the same day they got out of it. The amazing thing is how few clothes are worn, especially by the girls who are uniformly semi-naked, hugging themselves in a doomed attempt to keep the cold at bay. The other thing to catch my attention was all the town centre chip and pizza shops are open and doing a roaring trade, they looked as if they were making lots of money and good luck to them, it's not coming easy.

Eventually I went to the bus station, where a coloured gentleman was shouting into his phone about how unfair it was. Apparently he had to change buses in Carlisle with a three hour wait in the early hours of the morning and made the mistake of thinking that he could comfortably pass away the time "inside the station" Alas Carlisle bus station, is not so much a bus station as a stopping place with no indoor facility whatsoever, and this poor traveller was stuck out in the cold for the duration, still if he wandered up Lowther Street towards the railway station he could at least get a cup of coffee and a bag of chips in one of the late night eateries. I thought about spending the night in the waiting room at the railway station, but the station is locked up overnight so Carlisle is not too acommodating to the low budget traveller arriving in the wee small hours. Fortunatley there was a nice quiet shop alleyway just off the bus station concourse and I bedded down there for the night, didn't get the best sleep of my trip but it was comfortable enough, dry and I was undisturbed. As can be seen in my picture, urban-camping is the latest thing. In the morning I got the first bus to Newcastle-upon-Tyne about nine thirty and then on to Middlesbrough, no Ingleby buses on a Sunday so from Middlesbrough to Thornaby with a 25 minute walk to finish the journey off. I arrived home about 3pm.

FINISHING THE WEST HIGHLAND WAY

Saturday 20/03/2010. After a good night's sleep by the ruins of the Larigmor Cottage I awoke quite early determined to get to the end of the walk in Fort William as soon as possible, from there I have a long journey back home so an early departure is in order and I was up and walking by 7am. It took about three hours to reach the outskirts of Fort William and descending Glen Nevis was a pleasant downhill trod but unfortunately the low cloud denied me much of a view of the Ben and surrounding hills, but never mind I was making good time and in good form. Not long after leaving Larigmor, the nature of the walking changes as the mountains are forsaken and the route winds it's way into the forest on the approach to Glen Nevis, there was some rather unwelcome uphill work as well but not too taxing. The last couple of miles were along the pavement leading to the round-a-bout at the entrance to Fort William, this has been the traditional finish to the West Highland Way, but an extension has been agreed to take the walk into the center of the town, this seems sensible as surely every walker will of necessity be going into Fort William anyway. Unlike the start of the walk 98 miles away in Milngavie, there is no structure or marker to show precisely where the "new" end is. Never mind, it has been dry for these final ten or so miles and now that the walking is over the sun has decided to come out. I found a toilet and had a good wash and a shave then something to eat. An earlier visit to the Tourist Information Centre has established that the best way to Glasgow was by a coach leaving at 2.15pm. Thus I had about two hours to enjoy in town and in the sun this was relaxing and just fine. My feet were in good order despite my new expensive boots having been wet through for about three days, I have no blisters but intermittent soreness comes and goes, I think it is the osteo-arthritis I am now getting in my big toes - especially the right one- kicking in. Never mind I haven't done too bad for an old man, my walking time being under three and a half days end to end. The coach to Glasgow was a delight going down Glencoe and across Rannoch Moor and on to Loch Lomond, in a reversal of my route north and quite a lot of the walk could be seen, particularly on Loch Lomond, from the bus. I arrived in Glasgow at 5.30pm and had to wait it out till 10.30pm before I could get a bus to Carlisle. My trusty bus pass is no help in Scotland, alas and my expenditures on fares to and from Carlisle amounted to £40.00. quite a lot but worth the cost for the walk. I should like to do more long walks in Scotland but the cost is a depressing factor. Hey-ho. (My picture shows the ruins of the cottages known as Tigh na Sleubhaich, my camp site lay half-a-mile further down the valley, just before the point where northern toe of Beinn na Caillich reaches the floor of the glen).

ACROSS RANNOCH MOOR WEST HIGHLAND WAY

Friday 19/03/2010. Long days make for a good night's sleep so notwithstanding my position close to the railway at Bridge of Orchy, the trains run unexpectedly late, with the lights of the station burning away all night, I slept soundly through the wind and rain, I was lucky to be able to pitch in a brief rainless spell and my good fortune returned in the morning and I was able to pack up in the dry - the tent went into it's bag very wet, adding to the weight to be humped around.
Not long after packing up the rain came back and stayed with me at varying degrees of ferocity for the rest of the day, this was a shame as it restricted my photography in what is surely among the most beautiful miles of the route. Once clear of Bridge of Orchy (good camping by the bridge with pub to hand too) the route climbs and winds steeply uphill corkscrewing it's way over the northern slopes of Mam Carrsigh to descend with Loch Tulla to the north-east to reach Inveroran and it's hotel, early to mid-morning as I passed and no sign of life, from here a walk round the quiet road to Forest Lodge and the wonderful military road over Rannoch Moor with all those wonderful Munro's off on my left hand side (north-west) guarding Glencoe and forcing the traveller down to cross the A82 at it's access to the ski runs on Meall a' Bhuiridh and on to the pleasures of Kingshouse Hotel. It was pouring down as I arrived at the hostelry, the climbers bar was closed so I had to brave the rigours of the lounge bar to get my first cup of decent coffee for ages. As I left the local mountain rescue team out training their dogs and handlers were pouring into the hotel in search of a respite from the weather. None for me though, so after about a mile or so along the minor road behind the hotel I struck uphill once more to reach the access of The Devil's Staircase, opposite the Majesty that is Buachaille Etive Mor, with the bewitching positioned and whitewashed Scottish Mountaineering Club hut "Lagangarbh" at it's base. It is over 30 years since I first stayed in this legendary climbing hut. It's about six miles over to Kinlochleven and a bit of a pain on the final couple of downhill miles as my downhill muscles are underused on this walk and prone to complain when pressed to service. But I made it OK, only to start on my final climb of the day (and of the walk virtually too) along the southern bank of the Mamore's, once the initial climb was over the going got much faster and I churned up the miles to make as much ground as possible before darkness arrived, not only that but camping spots were rather scarce so I had reason to march. But in due course I came to the flatter ground as I headed west and camped in a lovely spot by the ruins of Larigmor Cottage, (see picture) with about ten miles to complete in the morning. Late afternoon and the rain gave up it near 48 hour barrage and I camped a happy man and slept the sleep of the just. Tomorrow I'll be in Fort William.

GLEN FALLOCH TO BRIDGE OF ORCHY ON THE WEST HIGHLAND WAY

Thursday 18/03/2010. Again I am up and away by 7.30am and delighted to find the day calm and dry, though this was alas but an early respite from two continuous days of high wind and heavy rain, but at least I had the benefit of ignorance when I set off. The Inveranrnan to Tyndrum leg of the way gets the walker away from the shores of the Loch and sets the mood for the hills that lie ahead. The outstanding weather feature of today was the constant rain, which came on after my aforementioned dry start, about 10am and persisted all day. It was quite kind to me at my camp spot opposite the Bridge of Orchy rail station, as it obliged by drying up while I struggled with the gales to get my tent up, but I hate having to do that in the rain so all was forgiven. I passed the Inveranran Inn, or at least I passed the ferry signal point which would have got a boat over to take me across the loch to the Inn (£3.00 each way, minimum charge £6.00). Sadly I resisted, on cost grounds and of course I don't drink alcohol while out walking, but even so I felt the tugging strings of nostalgia thinking back to the many times I stopped there to savour a pint on my way south, and to admire the bonnie braw kilted lads, fine highland specimens that served behind the bar, but that was 30 years ago! Really good walking up along Glen Falloch passing Crianlarich then thorough the woods to descend to pass the graveyard at the ruins of St. Fillans Priory and on to Tyndrum. Stopped at the little general grocer I last visited during my Munro campaigning and then off uphill into the blast of rain and the welt of wind pas the beautifully sloped Beinn Dorain (summit invisible in the clouds) and on to Bridge of Orchy where I pitched in the dark about 7pm., just opposite the railway station. Not a recommended wild-camp spot but the first piece of flat ground in several miles and the boy was tired, another 27 miles logged in the course of the day. Well done Freddie.

THE HIGH ROAD - WEST HIGHLAND WAY

Wednesday 17/03/2010. A bit of a wild night but I was up and away from my camp at 7.30am. for the walk downhill with Dumgoyach Hill up on my right hand side. It's a grand dry morning and I'm keen to get some miles eaten up so step out lively and the terrain is very accommodating nice and flat and I am pleased to see that three miles per hour is quite a comfortable pace, which is a lot faster than I have been able to maintain on my winter walks on the North Yorks Moors. The highlights of the morning were seeing a fallow deer cross the track in front of me then at almost the same time watching a pair of Buzzards scouting out a rookery and being seen off individually, strangely, only two defenders present but by tackling a predator apiece they saved their progeny (this time). Todays walk takes me onto Lochlomonside for the twenty mile or so stretch over the lovely Conich Hill to Balmaha and on to Rowardennan to Inverarnan, Inversnaid, Doune Bothy and Tyndrum. I walked a total of 27 miles during the course of the day and camped on the shores of Loch Lomond with the Ben towering over all. Ben Lomond was the first Highland Hill I ever climbed, I would be about 14 and on a school outing, one of those early taster sessions that so gripped me that I am held fast still. During my working career as a sales Rep for Elbeo Ltd., in the early 1970's I had a regular three weekly trip up to Inverness from my home in Hurlford near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. After completing business calls in Inverness I would return to home down the Great Glen to Fort William and then through Glencoe to Glasgow and so to Hurlford. I must have travelled on the mian-road side of Loch Lomond dozens of times but this is the first time I have made a journey along the "Ben" side of the Loch, and on foot it is a better way to travel. 31 miles completed by the time I got to my campsite in the picture, a beautiful place to spend a night, quiet, alone and all my world wrapped in the still goodness of a gentle night.

NORTHWARD BOUND - WEST HIGHLAND WAY

Tuesday 16/03/2010. When we planned our trip to Keswick for the Theatre by the Lake Literature Festival, I had it in mind to stay on in the Lakes for another week or so to continue my campaign on The Birketts (The hills in Lakeland exceeding 1,000' recorded in Bill Birkett's "Complete Lakeland Fells"). But I must admit that when push came to shove I rather fancied a longer walk than the short bitty days that Birketts would now involve. I have about 30 routes to do to complete my round and would dearly like to knock them all off in 2010, but Keswick is not now the best base. For obvious reasons the routes still to be climbed and walked are all farthest away from Keswick and so will mostly require an overnight camp to complete, given my dependence on public transport. So as I fancy getting some longer miles on my legs I decided to come back with Joy and then set off for Bonnie Scotland and have a go at the West Highland Way, at 98 miles it is only two miles short of my favourite walk distance!
I set off from home on the 8.45am bus to Stockton and arrived at Milngavie just before 7pm. Fortunate for the fact that Milngavie celebrates it's relationship with the West Highland Way making finding the start a doddle, even in the dark. I walked for about an hour and a half before pitching my tent behind a wall close to the site of the pre-historic stone circle beneath Dumgoyach Hill about four miles out of Milngavie.

My picture is of Queen Victoria's statue in Bitts Park, Carlisle. I had a bit of time to kill and washed up here to have a look at the old lady and explore the connection with Jacob Polley's novel "Talk Of The Town" I won't go into details here, but my Flickr page reveals all...

MIREHOUSE - WORDS BY THE WATER

Saturday 13/03/2010. Today's two events are off-site so to speak, being located in the country-house splendour that is Mirehouse as opposed to the Theatre by the Lake. Since last Monday's event - Jacob Polley/Matt Hilton/Amy Bloom, I have attended one other lecture in the Theatre featuring the writers (and birders) Tim Dee and Horatio Clare on the subject of "Observing Birds". Horatio Clare's book "A Single Swallow" is really a travelogue as he followed migrating swallows from Africa to his own home ground in South Wales. He was a strangely compelling speaker and had wonderful tales of his minimalist existance as he raced from one country to the next learning not only about the swallows but of life and human organisation as well, for instance he drew attention to the absurdity of national borders, but you have to be careful where you talk like that. Tim Dee's book "The Running Sky" tracked man's emotional, intellectual and social responses to birds and trys to discover why we are so fascinated by them. This was a very good show, but I bought no books.

To get to Mirehouse, the home of the Spedding family I had a four mile walk along the Carlisle road, timing it a bit neat given the trouble I had in finding the right building - poor signing Mirehouse! but I just made it and got one of the last available seats. John Burnside was here to talk us through the judging process and award the prizes, £350. for the winner and £100. worth of books for the nine runners up, good prizes for regional competition. The theme for this year's annural Mirehouse Poetry Competition was "The Bliss of Solitude" and the winning entry was from a local (though the 250 or so entries came from all over the country) poet called Jennifer Copley with her poem called "Now You're Gone" - The text of this poem can be seen on my Flickr page for Words by the Water. About half of the ten finalist were present and they read their poems witht the others being read by John Burnside all this made for a pleasant morning of poetry in a lovley setting, coffee and biscuits helped the thing along nicely. All attendees got a print out of each of the ten winning entries and I managed to get four of mine signed by their respective authors, I'll see if I can scan them in to my PC.

Before the poetry competition and John Burnside we listened to John Spedding reading from a collection of witty pieces which have been edited into a new publication called An Uncommonplace Book - The Wit of Nineteenth Century Mirehouse. Mirehouse famous throughout it's 350 years in unbroken ownership of the Spedding family has many connections with Thomas Carlyle, Tennyson and the Lake Poets and the sheer quality of the material linked to Mirehouse is stunning I could easily imagine it making a terrific TV programme (if it has not already been done). I bought a copy (£4.00) and had Mr. Spedding sign it, I have to say though that he was a poor reader and rather failed to get the best out of this treasure trove. But you can't argue with the man who owns the place.

In the evening my wife and I went to the Theatre by the Lake for our final event of the Literature Festival, to listen to the sharp-witted Jeremy Hardy which was very good indeed. We saw Jeremy, here, I think it was two years ago, and he was every bit as funny as then, though I think he swears a bit more than he did then. A good, if ireverant end to our Festival 2010. On Sunday we packed up and drove home to Ingleby Barwick.

JACOB POLLEY - WORDS BY THE WATER

Monday 08/03/2010. My motivation for this event is centered on Jacob Polley (the picture shows me with Jacob as he signed my copy of "The Brink"). Popularily described as an "up-and-coming young Cumbrian poet" he appeals to my interest in current Cumbrian writers and given the area's poetic precedents you have to admire anyone who makes an effort! With two collections of poetry published "The Brink" & "Little Gods" Jacob has now turned his hand to fiction and has recently had his first novel called "Talk of the Town" published. It's a tale of teenage life, angst and a bit of a who-done it? set in Carlisle. I have copies of these books and was keen to see him in the flesh, this being one of the attractions that litfests offer readers. I have to say though that he was a bit of a disappointment, the lecture was essentially about novels and writing styles so his poetry played no part in the proceedings, which was a shame as I'm sure that is his strength. He spoke vaguely, and sadly did not come over well, and I got the impression he would feel more comfortable with a reading group in a small-town library, sorry Jacob but your poor showing as a live performer, does not detract from your value as a poet. Jacob, like his fellow Cumbrian author, Sarah Hall is a product of the "creative writing" scene, when this came up in discussion he made a rather telling point is stating that if a young violinist showed great talent with a violin they wouldn't be left to get on with it themselves, a good teacher would be considered essential, true enough, provided you don't look to closely. We also heard from a bright and sassy American author called Amy Bloom - who was new to me, unlike Jacob Polley, she was a great speaker but her reading from her latest novel seemed very dull kitchen-sink stuff to me; I found myself thinking why had she bothered writing it and who would be intersted enough to pay to read it, not me for sure Mam, where is the Brit interest in hearing about "racoons invading the kithen ", or of "semesters"? Next came the interval and the opportunity to mull over a disappointing first half and that this event was turning out to be a bit of a duffer. Back to our seats and we were introduced to Matt Hilton, a Scot now living in the Carlisle area who has emerged as a new sort of Jack Higgins novelist of the fast moving - death and destruction on every page, no matter how fast you turn them school. I was considering not going back in for this session but was delighted that I did as Matt was hugely honest, modest, engaging and entertaining to boot, and he kept the audience enthralled by his personal story and how he goes about writing. His success has come after 20 years of effort and he is clearly enjoying every minute of it, so his performance not only saved the event from a medicore tag but was tremedously good fun too, just another of the good things that can happen at litfests. Well done Matt, I will buy one of your books someday! Promise.

PENELOPE LIVELY-WORDS BY THE WATER

Sunday 07/03/2010. A beautiful Sunday afternoon walked down to The Theatre by the Lake to hear Penelope Lively talking about "Reading Writing and Letters Home" a sort of my life in books discussion of her approach to writing. Unfortunately Penelope is badly afflicted by back problems and her stature looks very fragile all the more impressive then when she spoke with a clear confident and distinctive voice. She covered a lot of the things that a new writer never anticipates as he/she sets out to complete a work, the travel, correspondence and a host of incidents including friendships made (and the advantages of writing in the English language). I "discovered" her as a result picking up her novel "Making It Up" from the recycled books desk at last year's festival. Making It Up follows a storyline exploring what might have happened had an alternative turn been taken at pivital moments of decision in her life, an interesting model which I thought of immediately at Melvyn Bragg's talk yesterday when he metioned his notion of writing a novel about a man who "goes off in three different directions and then unites at the end" It would allow for good fictive possibilities, so I must keep my eye on Melvyn to see if he gets round to it. A most enjoyable event and nice to know that I now know Penelope Lively, so been there done that and enjoyed it too.

MELVYN BRAGG-WORDS BY THE WATER

Saturday 06/03/2010. Lord Bragg is the president of the festival and is one of the keynote speakers today. I attended his lecture but Joy did not. His subject was "Wigton and In Our Time" which is sufficiently wide in scope to offer lots of interesting commentary and so it proved. Melvyn is and was among friends, all us oldies who have been listening to him for years - In Our Time is required radio for me on Thursday mornings and (wonderfully) available as a podcast to allow me to catch up when the original broadcast is missed. Because of his Cumbria connections I have been picking up his books - sorry Melvyn, but mainly at charity shops and I see that his titles on my shelves are:

The Maid of Buttermere
Speak For England
The Soldiers Return
Crossing the Lines
A Son of War
Crystal Rooms
A Time to Dance
Land of the Lakes

All have been read with the exception of The Land of the Lakes. The following information has been copied over from my BritLit photo entry for Melvyn's lecture.
Melvyn Bragg is the President of the Festival and always makes an appreciated contribution, he is after all Cumbria's favourite son and man of letters who can look back over a long history of writing and broadcasting. Today I attended his lecture on "Wigton and In our Time" and of course it was a sell out and a great treat to listen him as he flattered his audience shamelessley. And how we lapped it up. I I have about six or seven of his titles and I keep thinking I should bring them over and get them signed, but I always forget.

Melvyn Bragg, now Lord Bragg of Wigton, was born in Wigton in 1939, and studied modern history at Wadham College, Oxford. He entered the media world through a BBC traineeship in 1961, taking over the editorship of BBC2's first arts programme, New Release, three years later. He is best known as the presenter of arts programs on television, especially 'The South Bank Show', in which he has made a sustained effort to present literature to a wide public in a popular and informal manner.

Over nearly four decades of pioneering broadcasting Melvyn Bragg has edited, produced and presented a wealth of award-winning documentaries and programmes across the cultural spectrum. He is a prodigious author, publishing the first of more than a dozen books, For Want of a Nail in 1965. He has also written a play, two musicals and several screenplays.

He is President of the National Campaign for the Arts and was made a Life Peer in 1998. He is Chancellor of the University of Leeds.

For futher biography see: www.visitcumbria.com/mbragg.htm

KESWICK VISIT

Friday 05/03/2010. Burnside Park has been open for owners since the beginning of the month and we have delayed our first visit of 2010 to coincide with the annual Words by the Water Literature Festival held in the splendid premises of The Theatre by the Lake on Derwentwater, Keswick. Our first events are not until tomorrow, Saturday so we have no pressure in getting settled into the lodge and getting the heating up to scratch and the new TV back in a proper behaviour mode, which fortunately turned out not to a difficulty.

Last November's floods have not yet been completely overcome, all of the retail outlets are open for business and indeed the approaches to the town all state Keswick is "open for business" I get a feeling that the retailers and bed and breakfast operators in Keswick are so used to a life of effortless and easy pickings that a sense of near panic breaks out at any prospect that streams of income may be interrupted and as soon as that happens (foot and mouth etc.) they immediately set up a charity to help themselves out! Perhaps I'm being a bit mean-spirited to the good folks of Keswick. I was in Keswick and Cockermouth during the week before the floods and Cockermouth is by far the worst affected most of the main street retailers are still closed and drying out, now that does seem a case where concerns are justified. In my picture it can be seen that the retaining wall that protects High Hill, Keswick from the river Greta is being strenghthened, it seems hard to believe that the river came over the wall and flooded the houses opposite, but it did. Interestingly a report has been published from the consulting engineers on this project (or at least someone with an interest in it) that when the work is completed it can not yet be guaranteed that the defences will hold. Given the undpredicatability of the weather that is probably a wise warning if of no comfort to the householders in the line of fire as it were.

EYE EYE!

Tuesday 02/03/2010. When I last visited my optician about a month ago I was a little disturbed to learn that the pressure in, or on the lens of my eyeballs was well above the desired level. It was about 25% up on normal and this apparently puts me at risk of glaucoma! In consequence I have been referred to an eye-consultant to have it checked out. Today I have my appointment at the Darlington Memorial Hospital for these tests and an examination. Under our National Health Service "choose and book" scheme. Darlington Memorial is the hospital with the shortest waiting list, in my area, of approximately 15 days, which I guess is pretty good for something, serious enough, but hardly life threatening. By comparison choosing either James Cooke Hospital in Middlesbrough or the Stockton on Tees General Hospital would have involved waiting in excess of 70 days, so a bit of a no-brainer there.

I arrived over an hour early for my appointment but was seen straight-away, to top marks (to us both) for that. The waiting room had about eight or ten "waiters" all my age or older, respectably dressed folks with paid-off mortgates who appear unusually interested in toilet provisions and make groaning noises as they lever themselves out of their chairs when called. I was in and out of consulting rooms for nearly two hours in all and had five different, consutations, examinations, tests eye-photos etc., from members of staff so no complaints about the attention received. With the exception of the photographer the senior staff were Asian in origin sporting varying degrees of familiarity with the English language. The waiting areas and consulting rooms were clean but dowdy with a background noise consisting of a stream of musical low-volume laughter-cum-chatter from the nurses and staff who easily matched the patients in number. Had they lacked the benefit of uniforms they would still be easily identifyable as their monopoly of coffee cups clearly indicates superior status. The outcome of the tests is quite good, my pressures are still high they are not so high as to require intervention or treatment, so my consultatnt will, to coin a phrase, "keep an eye" on me. The treatment being to "come back in six months" for a further follow-up examination. As he set about dictating his notes I enquired whether I could do anything to combat the risk, his answer, nothing more than a peremptory negative. So I took my leave groaning quietly as I levered myself out of my chair and made my way to the toilet.

I took a few pictures of the hospital but have managed to lose them (pratt) so to illustrate the day's activity my picture is of a poster in the eye clinic. I suppose in six months time I will have another chance to get a picture of the hospital building. (Eyes willing)!

ONCE A SLEUTH ALWAYS A SLEUTH

Monday 1st. March 2010. I take lots of digital photographs and upload them to my Flickr account and page under my Sir John Betjman inspired name of "summonedbyfells" (for safety they are backed up on my external hard drive though, alas that does not capture the text descriptions which I write for the pictures). In Flickr I am a member of several groups and am an "administrator" for the BritLit group and the sole working admin for the ScotLit group, that will be my little online baby for the flickr community. Obviously Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he of Ediburgh fame is a prime target for these groups and as I am keen on associated references, anything from street names to places of residence associated with our authors I keep my eyes open for the occasionla off-beat photo-ref that could be inluded and as can be seen from my pic, there is a new "Sherlock Holmes" movie doing the rounds and this advertising billboard was phtotgraphed in Stockton-on-Tees.