26 April 2013: 36km. Started 08:45. Arrived 19:00.
I knew this would be a fairly long and hard day, but was keen to wait for breakfast before I started. The weather started dry and sunny with some wind and was very comfortable for walking. Tom overtook me almost straight away. The path ran along the same route as the Hadrian Wall trail and was something of a roller coaster of ups and downs. Soon I overtook the American and her friend – they weren’t going as far as me so were taking it easy. The views were excellent and I was even able to pick out Cross Fell from two days ago – not in cloud this morning. I met a new group of Pennine Way walkers – three men who had started from Greenhead planning to take three days to reach Kirk Yetholm. Hence they were on a similar schedule to me but carrying less as only out for three days total so, not surprisingly, they overtook me.
The good weather was not to last and I could see some clouds catching up with me from behind. I was caught in a very sudden and extremely cold hail and sleet shower, putting on my waterproofs as quickly as possible. There was a very brief sunny interval but I didn’t remove my waterproofs all day as there were frequent squally showers.
My Garmin registered 16km to the turning off from Hadrian’s Wall northwards – I’m sure it was only meant to be 12km and I hadn’t taken wrong turnings. It was already 13:15 so I knew I was going to have a fairly late arrival at Bellingham.
I saw three figures ahead of me on some marshy open ground and suspect it was the three men who had overtaken me earlier. However I stopped for a rest and didn’t see them again all day. Apart from a few farmers, I only saw a single fell runner all day once I turned off from Hadrian’s Wall. Some of the tracks were thick squelchy and deep mud. I was almost caught in an electric storm – there was a large flash of lightning and I took care not to be in the open or under an isolated tree as the storm circulated.
There were two notices – one advising me to “Beware of the Bull” and the other offering cream teas. I was happy that the first turned out to be wrong with only sheep in the field but disappointed that there was no sign of any cream teas either.
After this I saw a sign saying Bellingham five and a quarter (miles) – that’s over 8km. I was sure the sign must be wrong and I couldn’t still have so far to walk but, in hindsight, it was correct. A ewe and lamb anxious not to be too close to me crossed a stream on a bridge only to re-cross back through a fairly deep ford – they survived. There were cows and calves in another field but I had also spotted the farmer nearby so ventured through and was pleased that the cows either ignored me or wandered away.
I climbed up to a prominent mast on Shitlington Crags and Bellingham was in view. There was a good track near the mast but then I had to turn off onto yet another boggy and ill defined path so it was too soon to celebrate. The last bit down the road seemed to take a long time before turning on to a pleasant riverside path.
I found my booked guest house easily and received a warm welcome. I was plied with coffee and biscuits. There was a shed with washing line for me to hang my muddy waterproofs and plenty of newspaper for me to stuff into my wet boots. The owners were even more welcoming when they realised I had walked all the way from Greenhead that day as they had been keen local walkers in their younger days.
The Rose and Crown was an excellent venue for a huge evening meal – a starter and then lasagne – after that I didn’t want a pudding. The bar quickly filled with local people who were all very chatty and friendly. The town was, like Alston and Middleton-in-Teesdale, a centre with everything I needed. In fact I only wanted some snacks and lunches to eat in the day, easily purchased from the Co-op with the usual long opening hours. There were also other shops, a pharmacy, a hotel and banks. Like the others, this town is clearly a focal point for the surrounding rural area.
Where's Kathryn? 