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Journal: |
I woke early because of the early light and because all the
Pennine Way hikers were getting ready for their long last day.
Mike and Fraser had already gone by the time Andy and I grabbed a
quick cup of coffee in the hostel kitchen at 5:30am, and the family
of five were having breakfast before also setting out. Andy
left about 5:45am and I followed about 10 minutes later. It
was nice to be hiking so early, especially on such a great morning -
cool, sun rising behind the hills, and little wind.
Leaving Byrness, the Pennine Way climbed steeply through conifer
forest, which was strangely, and pleasantly, reminiscent of hiking
in New England. Eventually I emerged from the forest onto the
bare grass fell and immediately had fabulous views across
Northumberland behind and, shortly, the Cheviots ahead. I
caught Andy near the top of Byrness Hill and we walked together for
a while. He was already suffering with his feet, despite
scoffing a couple of painkillers. We both knew he was in for a
long day in terms of distance and time but at least he had the
motivation of finishing his journey tonight. Having said that,
I was not at all envious of the Pennine Way hikers whose journey was
ending today. Sure, my feet have seen enough of my boots and
I'm tired of washing out hiking gear in the shower each night, but
my body has adapted well to this life now and I will enjoy my
remaining 3+ weeks.
Once we had reached the high point of Ravens Knowe (527m) it was
easy walking, despite a few treacherous bogs, with fabulous views in
all directions in perfectly clear conditions, perhaps due to the
cold wind that had sprung up.
The Pennine Way dropped to cross Chew Green, which had once been
a Roman camp, and it felt quite atmospheric there on my own in that
remote place, imagining the life they must have led. After
another couple of kilometres, I reached the point where the Pennine
Way diverged from Dere Street, the old Roman Road it had been
following since Chew Green. This was the point where I would
also leave the Pennine Way, and I took my first break for the
morning at 8:40am and waited for Andy to catch up while I had a Mars
Bar and can of Diet Pepsi. He arrived 10 minutes later and
soon I was ready to head off on my road. As I was about to
leave, the family of five arrived (I think they had taken a minor
short-cut that missed Chew Green), and I felt sorry for Andy who
would now be the last of the Byrness Hostel group on the Pennine Way
to Kirk Yetholme with still many kilometres to go, and all day to
think about it. I left England and moved into Scotland.
My route now followed Dere Street down from the Cheviots into,
and across, the Scottish Borders farmland. The paddocks seemed
to be larger, and there was extensive use of electric fences, but
not too different to England so far. From my path, I still had
good views for long distances over the multi-coloured landscape,
mottled with patches of sunshine and cloud into the far distance.
Parts of the path were deeply rutted, making walking difficult, but
generally I maintained a good pace and realised I had every chance
of making it to Jedburgh by 2pm, which would be good.
Around 1pm, I left Dere Street (I'll be rejoining it tomorrow)
and took a minor country road in the direction of Jedburgh, arriving
just before 2pm. My walk into town passed the ruins of the
very substantial Jedburgh Abbey. I fairly quickly found a
hotel in the centre of town that didn't look too posh and offered
accommodation, and got a room. I showered and then found a
newsagent where I could top up my pre-paid phone, which had expired
yesterday, and a bakery where I got a pastie for a late lunch and
returned to my room where I spent the afternoon and evening updating
my diary and route-planning for the next few weeks, with World Cup
games on TV going in the background. I went out and got pizza
and ice-cream to eat in my room for dinner between games.
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