Up on Horsey Hill

A friend recently asked if Horsey Hill really is the name of one of the areas where Bingley gets walked. Sadly it isn’t, but there’s a good reason for making up these names.

The only opportunity Jane & I have to walk Bingley together is at the weekend. During the week Jane is up very early and is normally out with Bing by 5.30am (like most of us I’m still tucked up in bed at that time!). I then give him a longer lunchtime walk whilst Jane’s out at work.

When we tell each other where we’ve been with Bingley we’ve started using our own names to quickly and easily describe the route: ‘Fisherman’s Corner’ is down by the river (and during the day there’s often someone standing on the corner of the wharf, fishing), ‘Gassy Corner’ is a short stretch of ‘Riverbank Walk’ which always smells…well, gassy for some reason. Then there’s ‘The Big Green Hill (do I really need to explain that one?) and ‘Down by the Mean Pony’ (which I don’t want to talk about!).

‘Horsey Hill’ is another one of those places: it’s actually the bankies that run above Felling and all the way into Gateshead. There are some great views down the Tyne valley, lots of space for Bing to run, and the bird song is beautiful. I also like it because although there are plenty of ponies, none of them feel the need to chase us.

But we do have a problem with Horsey Hill at the moment because where there are horses there’s also usually manure, and where there’s manure is where Bingley likes to be the most. I’ve no idea where this sudden desire to consume horsey by-products has come from, but that desire is overwhelming and the B can sense it’s presence from a remarkable distance.

Until we can get his allergies pinned down we’d like to put a limit on his consumption of this grassy matter, so parts of Horsey Hill are now an on-lead location just like the roads. But that’s ok because some of those streets have names just as romantic as ones we’ve invented:, Saltmeadows Road, Bath Lane, and Nest Road; so Horsey Hill fits right in.