The Pennine Way Site - Day Fourteen of my walk

 

Steel Rigg (Once Brewed) to Bellingham

 

Pennine Way Hadrians WallI set off at 9:30 and walked the half mile or so back to the Steel Rigg car park to rejoin the Pennine Way. An overcast, misty start, but dry. The first couple of miles continue to follow Hadrians Wall, and this is the most interesting part of todays walk. I felt fit and after the near inactivity of yesterday I decided to up the pace a little.I was making good progress, moving quite fast as I approached two walkers in front - they startled as I surprised them and we said hello. They spoke with a foreign accent. I moved on, leaving them walking at a slower pace.

Once the path turns northwards, away from the wall, the ground becomes very boggy, but aside from that the terrain and scenery have left no lasting impressions. I wrote in my notes at the end of the day that scenically this was the worst day of the walk so far and it was to remain, in my view, the least interesting day . Even so, it must be remembered that I had been walking through some spectacular countryside since leaving Edale two weeks earlier and, taken in isolation, the scenery was still very fine - rolling hills, a little moorland and vibrant green pastures.

 

Pennine Way near Bellingham

.........Not the best day of the walk scenically - but pleasant all the same

 

After some fairly long sections through pine forests the route comes back out into the open again and eventually joins a road for the last mile or so into Bellingham. The sun came out just before I reached the road and I removed my waterproofs - worn for warmth only today as it had stayed dry - and I finished the walk in shorts and short-sleeved shirt for the first time for a week. Immediately over the bidge, the Pennine Way leaves the road and follows the path along the bank of the River North Tyne.

This is a lovely section of the river, otters are apparaently relatively common here, and I walked the bank going east for a few miles in the evening in the hope that I might spot one. No luck, I'm afraid!

 

Pennine Way Bellingham

Bellingham

 

I arrived at my accommodation at 3:30. It had been an easy days walk and now the sun was hot. Bellingham was my favourite of the small towns the Pennine Way passes through - I spent an hour or so looking around after I had changed and showered.

I then sat in the garden of the B& B reading the newspaper in the sun and heard a ladies voice, with a thick German accent, 'Hello - you walk very fast!' It was the two walkers I had startled on Hadrians Wall, a mother and her grown-up son. They were from Germany and were walking the Pennine Way. The mother was a great fan of British long-distance paths, and knew much more about them than me. She was a real veteran and had previosly walked The Coast to Coast path, The Cotswold Way, The Thames Path and The Pembrokeshire Coast Path amongst others.

I ate in the restaurant of one of the pubs in the town, the worst meal of the walk and the worst service. I waited 50 minutes from ordering and found it difficult to eke out the two pints of Theakstons while I did so!

Rounded off the evening with a pot of tea at the B & B reading the owner's (Ken) copy of Wainwrights Pennine Way book. This is a fine book and contains all the photos I wish I'd taken. It is it is out of print now, but I have since managed to get a used copy at Amazon.

 

 

Rating for day out of 10 :-