From Hadrian’s Wall, I continued to walk close to the Pennine Way, but generally not on it, so that I could cut a corner and then make swift progress on a disused railway line.
Wednesday 24th August 2016
Walked along Hadrian’s wall and into Haltwhistle with parents. Booked hostel for evening and picked up supplies. Followed South Tyne Trail, mostly along disused railway tracks, in sun. The final section was a miniature railway.
Crossing the River South Tyne
Arrival in Alston and found hostel, had pizza plus sides. Had a chat with cyclist doing Coast to Coast.
Although I had been in England for two days, I had still to pass Hadrian’s Wall. I previously had assumed the wall was on the Scottish-English border, but is actually much further south in most places.
Tuesday 23rd August 2016
Started day with huge breakfast and a gentleman in the hostel kitchen telling me his life story – the moral being that there are always opportunities, you just need to look out for them.
The walking was fairly easy to start off with, but got tougher (wetter) throughout the day. Near forestry I saw an enormous wasp, about 2 inches long. It later [when I looked it up] turned out to be a harmless Great Wood Wasp/Giant Horntail.
I forgot to write in my journal about crossing Hadrian’s Wall. The land to the north of the wall is wet and rough, and would have put off many barbarians in sandals but not me. Much of the roman wall was built on a ridge, so the impression when approaching from the north is far more imposing than it deserves to be, since what is left of the wall is four feet high at most! But the solid line this creates on the horizon makes it look like a huge unnatural barrier. Crossing the wall was fairly easy as there are gaps, which might once have been guarded and gated, but no longer.
Safe from the barbarians at last! On the south side of Hadrian’s Wall.
Met parents at Housesteads Fort. We walked to Twice Brewed pub, had meal and local beer, then walked up to Gibbs Farm bunkhouse in the dark.
Once Brewed/Twice Brewed is a village with different names depending on which way you are driving down the road! There would usually have been a YHA hostel at Once Brewed, but during my walk they were building a new one, The Sill, which opened just recently. We stayed at a bunk house at a nearby farm instead.
I left Spithope Bothy for my first full day of walking in England, mostly following the Pennine Way.
Monday 22nd August 2016
Walked away from bothy with 3 bags rubbish, left in bin by road. Popped into church at Byreness. A notice reminded me to walk mindfully.
Walked through Kielder forestry. Avoided much of Pennine Way to avoid wet ground – took road or tracks instead. Re-joined Pennine Way for stretch over hills which was paved and had fantastic views.
Arrived in Bellingham with no mobile internet signal but found YHA (affiliate) hostel. Top kitchen, had good chat with a bloke from Grimsby walking Pennine Way north.
This was my first ever stay at a YHA hostel and was the first of many on my journey. I joined as a member to get a £3 discount on each night. The YHA is excellent value for money – typically between £10 – £20 a night. They all have self catering facilities and sometimes they serve food too (they offer a great value Full English/Veggie breakfast, but the evening meals are nothing special). You always know roughly what to expect at a YHA hostel, but many hostels still have their own unique charm.
One of the great things about the Pennine Way is that there are hostels along most of the route. My approach was that if there was a space in a hostel, I would take it, since they are very affordable and I wanted to support them as many have been shut down over the years.
To congratulate myself on having walked all the way to England, I spent the day at the bothy.
Spithope Bothy
Sunday 21st August 2016
Got up late (after 9). By time I had had breakfast and packed up, it was midday, so I decided to stay at cosy Spithope Bothy for another day. I gathered and chopped wood, cleared out a bucket of shit, cleared overgrowth from path to stream. Moving rubbish bags outside seemed to repel mice.
The bothy was in a state when I arrived. Apparently there is a problem with the bothy being used for parties, according to police “Bothy Watch” notices. There were half-empty bottles and cans everywhere, and the ash bucket had been used as a toilet then thrown into the bushes. I did what I could to tidy the place up for future visitors.
A couple of Northumbrians popped in early evening, they decided to go off and camp rather than share the bothy. Had a nice fire going in the evening, candles, and John Coltrane’s jazz to keep me company.
Distance: none
Spending: £0
Spithope is the best bothy I have visited, in spite of the mess I found on arrival. It is small, but has a wood burning stove and an abundance of wood nearby.
I would leave the Scottish Borders region and enter Northumberland National Park in England. On the Scottish-English border lie the Cheviot Hills, the harshest territory I had encountered since the highlands.
Saturday 20th August 2016
Up fairly early before dog walkers, continued along Dere Street. Good weather at first but the rain came soon enough, and didn’t stop. Eventually I met the Pennine Way, and crossed the border! I was surprised to find there is actually a border fence, though it’s clearly only meant to prevent sheep crossing, not people. The rain and wind was now stronger than eve – not the most welcoming return to my home country! The ground was boggy too. Eventually found Spithope Bothy, and started a fire. Cosy night, despite mice.
After a rest day I wanted to make some good progress and get close to the English border.
Friday 19th August 2016
Today marked a month since taking the sleeper train to north of Scotland – and today would be the final full day in Scotland. I walked to Melrose, which is barely a different place to Galashiels.
I then followed St Cuthbert’s Way towards Jedburgh. This had a remarkable number of benches, presumably a route aimed at an older crowd. After passing some villages, the Way followed Dere Street (a Roman road from York to Scotland).
The section I walked is no longer what we think of as a road – but is still there as a footpath and like most Roman roads, was perfectly straight! Like the Romans a couple of millennium ago, I was able to make swift progress.
I left my stuff hidden by Dere Street then walked into Jedburgh, ate an Indian curry and stocked up on food. Walked back in dark and slept under a large oak tree in bivi.
At one point that night I awoke after hearing a loud screech. It was a horrific, inhuman sound. I was a little afraid despite knowing that there are no animals known to attack sleeping humans in Britain. I thought it might be a fox, but then realised it was coming from the tree above. Later the sound came from other trees nearby. As far as I can tell it must have been an owl. They may cute but don’t sound cute!
I decided to take a rest day and stay another night in Jean Muir Student Village in Galashiels, since this was the only budget accommodation I knew of in the Scottish Borders region. During the student term it is used by Textiles and Design students, then made available to visitors in the summer. You might have heard of one local fabric – Tweed – named (perhaps accidentally) after the River Tweed which flows past Galashiels.
Thursday 18th August 2016
Breakfast downstairs – continental only. Proceeded to do nothing. Used a few GB of 4G mobile bandwidth though! I was reminded of halls in first year of uni – many things were the same, although these were far more modern (it was 10 years ago, and in need of refurbishment even then!). I ate a lot and felt I had far more strength in my legs by the end of the day. Had a couple of beers. Didn’t leave the building.
Distance: none!
Spending: £35
I considered spending my rest day in Edinburgh, as the Borders Railway had opened less than one year before my visit. The railway was one of many closed in the 1960s but has been re-opened (unlike many others which are now cycling routes).
I awoke on a bench at the top of a hill by the ruins of a castle. I do not recommend sleeping on a bench, but under the circumstances (rocky and wet ground) it was the best option! My sleeping bag was a bit wet due to, erm, dew, but quickly dried out in the sunlight.
At this point I had walked just over 500 miles, and this was day 30.
Wednesday 17th August 2016
Up early and cooked baked beans, then on to Traquir where I sat on a bench. Continued on drove road which joined Southern Upland Way. It was sunny, I later found I had a hikers burn.
This means my chest and arms were burnt, but there were white patches where my rucksack straps had been!
I took a detour to Minch Moor – fantastic views. Stopped for lunch to shade. Met a Dutch guy going in the same direction as me (he was doing Southern Upland Way) so walked with and chatted to him for a while.
This was the only time on the whole journey where I walked with another hiker for any length of time. For whatever reason, most hikers tend to walk north, but I was typically walking south. At this stage I was unusually walking slightly northwards for a few hours, as I needed to make my way across the country to east, because the most eastern regions in Scotland are aligned with the West of England. The Southern Upland Way was the best route through this area, so walking slightly north was a trade off worth making.
Passing Galashiels, I remembered there is a student hall doing summer rooms, and checked – they were available. Took a room, and bought food from Tesco – time for a rest day.
Drovers’ roads were for driving livestock to market. I would be walking on the Cross Borders Drovers Road which was once used to drive 100,000 highland cattle a year down to England. I had only to drive myself and my pack.
Tuesday 16th August 2016
I followed drovers’ road over hills and down to Peebles. Fairly exhausted so wanted a break. I ate haggis (veggie) on baked potato, then bought a new belt clip. Spent some time sitting in park and sewed new buckle firmly in place. Stocked up on food at Co-op.
Walked on along the road, cooked pasta on picnic bench, then climbed hill to ruined Castle Know where I was hoping to sleep. No suitable ground but a bench, so I spelt on that in my sleeping bag. It was atmospheric night – mist in valleys below.
This may have been my most trampish moment of the whole journey – this was the only night I slept on a bench. Another item checked off my bucket list!
I had spent the night in Calderwood, an ancient Woodland near Edinburgh.
Monday 15th August
Awoken by a small, loud dog that didn’t like me being on its walkies route. Disorientated, I walked back to Mid-Calder village by mistake before finding my bearings. The walk over to West Linton was tough, though the weather was nice, and I stopped to sit on a rock in the hills.
View towards Edinburgh and Arthur’s Seat
West Linton was the first village I visited in the Scottish Borders – the region which borders England. The Borders was one of my favourite parts of the whole journey, because it seemed to have everything one could want. Like in England and Wales, there are plenty of small towns and villages with well stocked shops and decent pubs. But wild camping is legal like the rest of Scotland. The landscape is fantastic, the weather was better than the Highlands and there were fewer midges.
Had dinner at the Gordon Arms (haggis and nachos) and stocked up on supplies at the Co-op. Continued down the road under a stunning sunset, then stopped to sleep in a hay field (which had just been collected into bales). Overnight I was surrounded by mist.
