X-Files from the Bog: Midsummer dive, Kirkcarrion

Caryn's Castle

Close to the village of Middleton-in-Teesdale is a prehistoric burial mound. The site, a Bronze Age round barrow, occupies the top of Lunedale Ridge where it looms over the small town some 400 feet below. It's known locally as Kirkcarrion, supposedly after a local Prince Caryn who ruled before the days of the Romans.

It has been suggested that Caryn was a Brigantean chief. This seems unlikely, as the Brigantes were a tribe of the later Iron Age. Yet the mound would certainly have been known to them, for it would have been old even in their days, and the legend that it "predates the Romans" is well founded. Excavations in the 19th century are said to have yielded a cist burial and a funery urn with charred bones inside. The artifacts, the current whereabouts of which is uncertain, are thought to have ended up in the possession of Lord Strathmore, who subsequently built walls around the site and planted trees within.

There's a legend that within the circle of trees is a spot where no wind blows, no matter how inclement the weather. Interestingly, this spot is said to be always shifting, making the assertion a tricky one to disprove! It's also been claimed that the mound is on a ley line, but given the apparent ease with which such artifacts can be identified, this possibility is hardly much easier to rule in or out.

The name Kirkcarrion is thought to come from Carreg Caryn, or "burial mound of Caryn". Yet Kirkcarrion is sometimes referred to locally as "Caryn's Castle". This makes me wonder if the name Kirkcarrion is perhaps a derivation of Caer Caryn...which would mean "Caryn's Castle" in the tongue of the Old North. Who knows what tales, now lost, were once told of Caryn? All that is said now is that a ghost is said to haunt the place...Caryn himself, perhaps?

The Lune Viaduct

This dive took me to the River Lune, which runs to the east of the ridge on which Kirkcarrion stands. This is a different River Lune to the one I explored earlier in my Devil's Bridge dive in Cumbria. The name "Lune" may be derived from the old Brythonic word for clean or pure.

I decided to conduct my dive immediately below the road bridge over the Lune, just before the confluence with the Tees. Interestingly, there's an old railway viaduct just a few yards away. Taken in combination, the road bridge, viaduct, river, and burial mound looming over the ridge make this a superbly picturesque section of the river, as well as being one of the best travelled. Whilst the chances of finding bottles in any river are invariably slim, it would presumably be more likely here than anywhere else.

The viaduct was built in 1868 out of a mixture of stone and brick. It has four piers between five arches. The last train to cross it was in 1965, and today the only traffic that can use it are pedestrians, cyclists, and horse riders.

Getting there

I followed the B6277 north through Mickleton, and continued as if going into Middleton-in-Teesdale. This road follows the course of the Tees, and I soon arrived at the road bridge over the Lune just before the two rivers meet. The viaduct was a massive structure that seemed to complement the bridge without detracting from it in any way, and the marriage of them provides a very impressive sight.

I turned left after passing over the bridge on the north side, and parked my car slightly off-road underneath the viaduct. It was raining slightly and the arches provided a measure of protection while I unloaded the car and geared up. The way down to the river was moderately steep and took me through plenty of undergrowth, nettles, and bracken.