Rain

Last updated: 28 February 2006

This is rain country. We do not put that unkindly. The forest is here because the rain is here, and the burns are here because both are here, and the walk is the better for them. An ordinary year, as entered in the book, is a little over 1,200 mm. The table on the weather page gives the months. They do not come out the same twice.

The gauge, in the yard behind the porch. Photograph from the centre collection.

After rain the upper crossing is wet, and it is a good burn to look at: a narrow water in older trees, with moss on the stones. The eastern loop is slower. The main line is usually itself by the next afternoon, except at the burn. Waterproofs are ordinary kit, not an admission of defeat. There is no shame in turning at the stile. The stile is the place to return to.

The gauge is read when the centre is open. It is not read on Sunday, except during the Gathering. A Monday by arrangement may include the weekend’s rain in one figure, which is why some weeks look wetter than the days felt. Gaps are gaps. November 2005 took 18 mm in a single open day, which is in the record. May is the driest month when it is the driest month.

Kielder Water makes a different rain. It is a large water and it has its own shore weather, which those offices will tell you. Ours stops at the parish. A flask will still serve if you have the afternoon there after a morning here. See the water and on the trail.