Confluence of the Balder and Tees

I am halfway up a hill they call the ‘Hagg,’ taking in the view of the Balder joining forces with the mighty Tees, both rivers uncomfortably full to the brim. Behind me stands Cotherstone Castle — now nothing more than a glorified mound¹‘Heritage Gateway – List Entry Number: 1005583’. <https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?resourceID=5&uid=1005583> [accessed 19 November 2023]. Used to be the abode of the Fitz Hughs, and once dubbed “Pendragon’s lonely mound”.

Cotherstone—could it really mean Cuthbert’s Town?—is a quaint place. Walter White’s omnibus driver laconically summed it up: “Here, ’tis nothin’ but cheese and Quakers.“²White, Walter. “A Month in Yorkshire.” Page 169. Chapman & Hall. 1859. Another Victorian traveller nodded along, saying “it is colonised almost entirely by the Society of Friends.” He’s also on board with the cheese comparison, ranking it up there with Stilton³Murray, John. “Handbook for travellers in Yorkshire.”Page 331/328. London. 1867..

The Tees does its duty as the border between Yorkshire and Durham. Across the far bank, atop the tree-covered bluff, hides Percymyre rock or castle. I can’t vouch for any castle ever being there, but there’s an old tale about this rock, goes something like this:⁴Heavisides, M. “Rambles by the River Tees.” Page 38. M.T.D. Rigg Publications. 1905, reprinted 1989.

“During the life of the last of the Fitz Hughs, an old woman who lived near was informed in a dream that some dreadful fate was about to befall him, and she forthwith cautioned him against the coming danger, and strongly advised him to refrain from hunting; but he derided the advice given, went on hawking, and pursued his quarry until late in the evening, when overcome—it is presumed—by his passion for the sport, he rode his horse over the great rock of Percymyre Castle, and rider and horse perished in the Tees below.”

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• 1
  ‘Heritage Gateway – List Entry Number: 1005583’. <https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?resourceID=5&uid=1005583> [accessed 19 November 2023]
• 2
  White, Walter. “A Month in Yorkshire.” Page 169. Chapman & Hall. 1859.
• 3
  Murray, John. “Handbook for travellers in Yorkshire.”Page 331/328. London. 1867.
• 4
  Heavisides, M. “Rambles by the River Tees.” Page 38. M.T.D. Rigg Publications. 1905, reprinted 1989.