LEJOG day 43: Bellingham to Byrness
Today was my last day entirely in England and my last day entirely on the Pennine Way. As a special treat, the sun came out and I walked under blue skies and white clouds for most of the day, across moorland, through - and I mean through - bog and finally, for six miles, along forest tracks: my three least favourite things. The Pennine Way and I, I think, are overdue our parting of the ways. It's clearly doing this on purpose in an effort to get rid of me.
I had a much-needed day off in Bellingham doing such glamorous things as re-waxing my boots and handwashing my mud-encrusted socks in the sink; I did manage to find time to walk a whole 100 yards up the road for a lovely afternoon tea: it may be grim up North but the coffee and walnut cake is to die for. Or walk 670 miles for, if that's your thing.
Today I set off wearing full waterproofs just as the rain stopped and spent the first hour or so doing the waterproofs dance with my jacket every time the sun came out or more than three consecutive drops of rain fell. I finally gave up completely and took the waterproof trousers off as well when I saw an absolutely vertical climb looming - and put suncream on at the top.
After this, and for a while before it, I spent an absolute age bog-hopping. It was so bad I took a video. The path just quite literally disintegrated- you know you're in trouble when every time you step on the ground, someone else's footprint disappears- it was like walking through a green-brown version of the smooth porridge you feed very young children. After that I was almost glad to be in the forest proper and on the tracks- which, because they're there for the HGVs, are pretty solid. The tracks are murder on your knees, and there is the slight risk of being crushed to death by a multi-wheeled HGV at each blind bend and summit, but it's pretty hard to get lost on them so they take away a lot of the forest fear and that means I'll forgive them the rest.
Tomorrow: Scotland.
Distance walked: 15.63 miles
Time taken: 5h25
Percentage completed: 59.5%
Miles per £1 of boot: 5.09
Days since I was last rained on: 3
Lunch: tuna and cucumber sandwich, chicken satay and sweet chilli dip (look, I bought this when I went out shopping before breakfast yesterday, don't judge me) and orange and mango juice
Last night's accommodation: the bunkhouse/YHA at Demesne Farm, Bellingham: clean, wonderful kitchen, dorm would have been cramped with four but because I was the only girl I had it to myself. No washing machine, though
I cooked for myself! I don't cook in youth hostels the way other people in youth hostels cook
OK we need to have words about this. This is a terrible way-marker. The blue/yellow combination is an eyesore, and it's low contrast, which exacerbates the problem with the terrible choice of arrow head (see those tiny points?) to mean you can't tell which way it points until you are this close to it. They've chosen blue because it's a bridleway- fine, but use a bright blue on a white background, and make the arrow a set of three lines like a child would draw, and then your post will be useful
SPOT THE PATH
SPOT THE PATH
I had a much-needed day off in Bellingham doing such glamorous things as re-waxing my boots and handwashing my mud-encrusted socks in the sink; I did manage to find time to walk a whole 100 yards up the road for a lovely afternoon tea: it may be grim up North but the coffee and walnut cake is to die for. Or walk 670 miles for, if that's your thing.
Today I set off wearing full waterproofs just as the rain stopped and spent the first hour or so doing the waterproofs dance with my jacket every time the sun came out or more than three consecutive drops of rain fell. I finally gave up completely and took the waterproof trousers off as well when I saw an absolutely vertical climb looming - and put suncream on at the top.
After this, and for a while before it, I spent an absolute age bog-hopping. It was so bad I took a video. The path just quite literally disintegrated- you know you're in trouble when every time you step on the ground, someone else's footprint disappears- it was like walking through a green-brown version of the smooth porridge you feed very young children. After that I was almost glad to be in the forest proper and on the tracks- which, because they're there for the HGVs, are pretty solid. The tracks are murder on your knees, and there is the slight risk of being crushed to death by a multi-wheeled HGV at each blind bend and summit, but it's pretty hard to get lost on them so they take away a lot of the forest fear and that means I'll forgive them the rest.
Tomorrow: Scotland.
Distance walked: 15.63 miles
Time taken: 5h25
Percentage completed: 59.5%
Miles per £1 of boot: 5.09
Days since I was last rained on: 3
Lunch: tuna and cucumber sandwich, chicken satay and sweet chilli dip (look, I bought this when I went out shopping before breakfast yesterday, don't judge me) and orange and mango juice
Last night's accommodation: the bunkhouse/YHA at Demesne Farm, Bellingham: clean, wonderful kitchen, dorm would have been cramped with four but because I was the only girl I had it to myself. No washing machine, though
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