DOMINIC Cummings has said he travelled to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight which had been affected by coronavirus.
Boris Johnson's top aide was seen in the Teesdale town on April 12 by members of the public.
But Cummings dismissed suggestions that the trip to the town, around 30 miles from Durham, was undertaken for leisure or sightseeing purposes.
He said he decided to return to work on April 12, 15 days after developing symptoms.
However, his eyesight had been affected by his illness and so he went for a short drive with his wife to see if he could drive safely.
He said they sat by the riverbank for 15 minutes, and they wished a passerby “happy easter” while returning to the car.
Cummings told a press briefing at Downing Street: "On Sunday the 12th of April, 15 days after I first displayed symptoms, I decided to return to work. My wife was very worried particularly because my eyesight seemed to have been affected by the disease.
"She did not want to risk a nearly 300-mile drive with our child, given how ill I had been. We agreed that we should go for a short drive to see if I could drive safely.
"We drove for roughly half an hour and ended up on the outskirts of Barnard Castle town. We did not visit the castle, we did not walk around the town. We parked by a river. My wife and I discussed the situation, we agreed that I could drive safely, we should turn around and go home.
"I felt a bit sick. We walked about 10-15 metres from the car to the riverbank nearby. We sat there for about 15 minutes. We had no interactions with anybody.
"I felt better, we returned to the car.
"An elderly gentleman walking nearby appeared to recognise me. My wife wished him happy Easter from a distance but we had no interaction with him.
"We headed home. On the way home our child needed the toilet – he was in the back seat of the car. We pulled over to the side of the road, my wife and child jumped out into the woods by the side of the road.
"They were briefly outside, I briefly joined them. They played for a little bit and then I got out of the car, went outside, we were briefly in the woods.
"We saw some people at a distance but at no point did we break any social distancing rules."
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