IF you go out for your daily allocated walk today, you may be in for a big surprise.
Teddy bears may not be having a picnic, but they are being put on show on windows across Teesdale as a way to entertain children.
The Bear Hunt Barnard Castle group on social media was launched by town resident Donna Shann on Thursday, April 2, after seeing the idea on television.
Mrs Shann, who lives in Montalbo Road, said: “I can’t take credit for the idea, I saw it and just thought it was a great thing for the kids to
spot as they are out on their walks.”
The idea was an instant hit with more than 350 people joining in less than 24 hours, many posting photographs of their furry childhood toys in windows, ready to be spotted.
She added: “It’s the kind of thing I would have loved to have done with my children when they were younger, but they’re probably a bit old for that now being 12 and 14.”
Mrs Shann has put her own childhood teddy bear, named Teddy, in her window for children to spot and has added downloadable maps of the town so people can print them off and children can mark the different place they have spotted bears.
Although the group began as a Barnard Castle hunt, residents from across Teesdale have been popping bears in their windows as well.
The Bear Hunt Barnard Castle group can be found at facebook.com/groups/2439659900774315/
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
