The Litter Pick in Howns Gill, near Castleside, on Saturday 15 May was very successful.  It was a sunny day and nineteen volunteers turned out, including two staff members from Durham County Council and two from Groundwork North East.

We picked 60 bags of litter and numerous items too bulky to be bagged, including two supermarket trolleys, bicycles, televisons, car tyres, the body of a motorised scooter, a vacuum cleaner, and the remnants of a burnt out car.

Howns Gill is a small steep-sided valley, crossed by a viaduct built in 1858 as an improvement to the Tyneside to Stanhope Railway which had been built twenty four years earlier by George Stephenson.  Before the viaduct was built rail wagons were lowered into the gill by a stationary engine and then hauled out on the other side by another one.  Now the viaduct is part of a well-used cycleway and long-distance footpath.  The gill would probably be known as a local beauty spot had it not for a century been close to Consett Steel works, which were demolished 25 years ago.  In recent years much litter accumulated in the gill - people seem to have taken pleasure in throwing items off the viaduct.   Now that most of it has been removed perhaps the gill will be seen as the attractive area which it is.