LEJOG
Distance walked – 25.5km (15.9miles)
Total Distance – 1232.1km (770miles)
I’ll never be your beast of burden
I’ve walked for miles
My feet are hurting
Rolling Stones – Beast of Burden
There must be harmony in the universe. All things must be balanced. And so it would seem, to maintain this equilibrium, a wonderful day like yesterday must be followed by a dreary torture-fest like today. It was without doubt, the worst day on the Pennine Way so far. As always, there were a few highpoints along the way, and we are excited to have finished the day only 5kms from the Scottish border, but we were made to pay for it.
Cute street art in Bellingham (or is it?)
The day started so optimistically with breakfast pastries from the Co-op before taking a sharp turn to the bizarre. We stocked up with enough food for the next few days, including for camping out in the Cheviot Hills tomorrow night, and while we repacked our bags outside the supermarket, an elderly man stopped to speak to us. He proceeded to tell us an uninvited and long-winded, rambling story, the details of which remain unclear to me, but seemed to include reference to his daughter, a stolen car, a sinister ne’er do well boyfriend and a set of malevolent incidents in the village. He shuffled off leaving us puzzled and slightly concerned -was there a dark undercurrent to this pretty Northumbrian village? Was it the Royston Vasey of the North? Not wanting to become anyone’s wife now, we set off quickly on the road out of town.
Cadbury’s Milk Tray?
The road walk was long and annoyingly lacked a pavement. We eventually turned off up a farm driveway into a farmyard, only to be accosted by two ferocious farm dogs, barking and snapping their teeth at us. It was quite scary and I think we only avoided injury as the farmer suddenly appeared from around a corner. He spoke to us in an unintelligible Northern accent, the only words I understood being, “dog” and “barking”. The dogs calmed down enough for us to escape, although they didn’t stop barking until we were long away.
More Moor
Having escaped the crazy man and the terrifying dogs, we were glad to gain the isolation of the moors. Soon we were on a high point with expansive views. The moors stretched to the horizon, rugged and barren. There were no farms, houses or roads visible. We liked the feeling of isolation as we crossed this wild country on our way to Scotland.
Still more moor
Top of the moor
We spent the morning crossing this open countryside via a series of four mini-peaks. The path gradually deteriorated becoming narrow, stony, and difficult to follow. The heather close to the path prevented us from using our walking poles, making the walking more difficult.
That will be more moor
The worst section was before the final peak where an extremely steep ascent was barely passable. It was the worst kept section we have encountered on the Pennine Way, which has otherwise been very well maintained. We somehow struggled up and got to the top of Brownrigg Head where our lunch spot was one of the few highlights of the day. We feasted on cheese and ham rolls, crisps and Chelsea buns, leaning against a stone-wall in the sun. Even the bad days have their silver linings.
Stony path
After lunch we entered an enormous forest via a terrible stony path, initially with large painful stones, and then smaller, just as painful stones. The path eventually joined a gravel road, which proved just as painful on our sore feet. We have discovered on this walk that stony/gravel roads are the most painful surface to walk on, closely followed by smooth bitumen surfaces.
Stony road
Walking in a beautiful forest should go some way to making up for a painful road surface, except we weren’t really in the forest. We were on a road, with a large, cleared verge that happened to run through a forest. Much of the forest was new growth so didn’t have mature trees anyway. The only highlights were a small 100m section off the road beside a stream and when Louisa glimpsed a cat crossing the road.
More stony road
The final road section was through a recently harvested section where the desolate, decimated landscape is probably the worst of the Pennine Way.
Some of the food on offer at Forest View
It was with great relief that we arrived at Byrness, and the oasis that is The Forest View Walkers Inn. It is run by a wonderful couple who made us feel completely at home. I was slightly irritated by the long road walk and sore feet, but was soon in better mood, helped by the fantastic food at the communal dinner. We are now looking forward to our final two days on the Pennine Way, the crossing of the Cheviot Hills, and leaving England for Scotland!
