Woohoo! 12.5 miles, 1,684 feet of ascent, 5 1/2 hrs of walking today and I reached the other side of England! Southwest to northeast, Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea! I crested the final hill and saw the island of Lindisfarne.
A great ending to a really wonderful day. Yes, my legs and ankles ache, yes I’m all taped up to alleviate blister pain, yes I’m growing a bit homesick and miss my granddaughter, but today was all worth it. The weather was very breezy, but sunny. The trail was soft - grassy even, wide, and easy to navigate with clear signage. We didn’t have to start too early because we couldn’t check into our BnB till 4pm. There was a bench at the halfway mark placed there by a generous trail angel, and a really good café right at the end when we reached Fenwick. There were friendly people to meet and say ‘hello’ to - like Cindy who was out walking her pretty spaniel in the open space above Wooler, and who shared a chat with me about fresh air, dogs, the fortune of being able to walk right out your door into beauty. I told her that her morning romp on the quiet hillside reminded me of walking my dog in the forests of Truckee, and that while all about me was stunning and I’m grateful for being able to make this trip, I’m looking forward to taking my own dog out just wandering around on the hillside near my home. She understood. And really, isn’t that the best thing - to meet someone and feel understood. On the other side of the world. We smiled, and walked on in opposite directions.
There was far too much history to take it all in. We walked along a Roman Road, now a dirt field path. We walked past a WWII pillbox, one of many placed throughout the Northumbrian countryside in the fear that Hitler’s troops would make a land invasion in these northern areas not far from the continent. We walked over a stone bridge built early in the 16th century, just a couple years before the English troops used it cross over to outflank the Scottish King James IV in the vicious and enormously high death count 1513 Battle of Flodden Field. Quiet now, just a lovely arched stone bridge with two fancy cone pillar tops at the end of it, and a sign reminding the minimal traffic it’s one lane and a weak structure. We were also walking through the land in which the very important Cuthbert had lived his whole life; stories abound of his actions almost 1400 years ago from being a shepherd to discovering springs, to being a model of charity, simplicity and acceptance. He became famous in his time as a spiritual and religious leader, he became the most revered English saint all through the medieval period after his death; and in accepting the Roman teachings of Christianity over the Celtic (which he had been raised within), he became extremely consequential to the formation of the English Christian church as it is now. We visited the cave where his body was safely hidden by the monks of Lindisfarne from looting Vikings who repeatedly attacked the monastery at Lindisfarne. It was like that, in no chronological order, just bam bam bam, important things happened here, people were here and their lives mattered.
We also passed one farm with a lovely horse, and then the next farm where the farmers were in the business today of separating sheep and giving them inoculations. There was much baa-ing.
We walked with views back to Wooler and the Cheviot Hills, and through woods, and beside fields of barley, along quiet roads, and past pretty early heather and other flowers. No bogs, no mud, no standing water, no gorse or stinging nettles.
Walking into Fenwick it warmed my heart to see rainbow flags flying at many of the homes of this tiny village. Their symbol of safety and togetherness makes such a difference. Our BnB host arranged a ride to a local pub where we enjoyed fish n chips and lemon posset, and she is making us a breakfast-to-go as we are heading out at 5:30am to cross the sands to Lindisfarne while the tide is low.
It has been a lovely day.
