THE BRAES OF DERWENT COUNTRY. 105 



rau a ring round tiie Medomsley country, going back to the 

 Pont. He went straight through, however, and with half a 

 dozen riders in attendance on hounds they ran an extra- 

 ordinary line into the colliery country at Tanfield, turning on 

 the Pea Farm at Tanfield Lea, and going back to the Pont on 

 a parallel line. Here the bulk of the field who had not 

 followed hounds through the covert joined in, and hounds, 

 having reached the Pont near the centrei, ran up the Dipton 

 Burn to Soixth Medomsley, went^ over the golf links on Pontop 

 Pike — the highest hill in the county of Durham east, of the 

 moors — and cros&ed into the North Durham country, going 

 for two or three miles over a most unusual line and through a 

 very populous country. They then sank the valley to 

 Durham Hill, ran through Greencroft Park, crossed the 

 Lobley Hill road half a mile west of Lanchester, had a check 

 on Moor Leazes Farm, but hit it. off again, and went on to 

 Burnhopeside, through the covert., and finally were run o.ut of 

 scent at West Langley. 



It was t.hought at the time that the fox must, have got 

 to ground in the Burnhopeside earths, and hounds had gone 

 on with a fresli fox from this North Durham covert, but 

 the point was never decided. At the same time, they were 

 running very hard when they went intoi Burnhopeside, and 

 when they emerged on the Durham side of the covert, the 

 pace had gone, and, though they had a. linei for a. mile or 

 two, they were probably hunting a. different fox, which had 

 gone on to Lord Durham 'si Langley coverts beyond. This 

 was a great, hunt in point of distance and the amount of 

 country covered, and I think I am right in saying that no 

 one saw it all through, simply because aft.er the first circle 

 the field remained on the west side of the Pont, expect.ing 

 hounds to go up or down the gill, while in reality they had 

 gone straight through and were quickly out of sight. I missed 

 the first part., but was one of the half-dozen who saw what 

 fishmongers call the middle bit, and I never had such an 

 awkward ride in my life. The Master was alsoi there and the 

 second whipper-in, but the huntsman had been hung up by 

 wire at Medomsley, and was for the time an absentee. In 

 that part of the hunt, which lasted an hour, we crossed half 

 a dozen colliery railways, were stopped by wire more than 



