On Saturday 20th August the Mayor of Darlington, Councillor Tom Nutt, and a group of friends and supporters, including Shildon’s Deputy Mayor Trish Pemberton, arrived at Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon, at 4 in the afternoon.
The group had set off at 7.30am from the old Ticket Office of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in Stockton.
They were waved off by the Mayor of Stockton and along the way supporters met up with the group and accompanied them for part of the journey.
The total distance walked was about 20 miles, with the sun out for most of the way and just a little bit of rain.
Cllr Nutt developed the idea for the walk as a result of attending the conference held at Locomotion in June, which was organised by Cllr Pemberton and her colleagues in an organisation called the Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Cllr Nutt hopes to raise nearly £2,000 for the good causes he is supporting during his year in office, and also to keep the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the public eye.
Pam Porter, events manager at Locomotion, arranged for much needed refreshments to be available to the group when they arrived.
They were ‘met’ by Shildon’s Deputy Mayor and warmly welcomed to the museum, having received a similar welcome at lunchtime at the Head of Steam in Darlington.
Looking ahead, in September a series of events are taking place to celebrate the 190th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in County Durham.
Leaflets are available from Shildon library and also from Locomotion.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
