Pilgrimage 3
- hiking scotland
Monday: Wooler - Fenwick - Beal - Berwick-upon-Tweed
I still have the dorm to myself but I don’t sleep too well anyway. But a full cooked English breakfast is waiting for me so I get up and make my way to the dining room. The table is set for two, everyone else is making their own breakfasts. My friend is nowhere to be seen so I order him some tea and am ready to take it to his dorm when he arrives. Phew, I didn’t really want to set foot into a male dorm in the morning.
We say our goodbyes to the natural dying girls and the pilgrims, and leave to do the final stretch, 23 km (14 miles) to the coast. We won’t be able to cross over to Holy Island today, because the tide will have come in by the time we make it to the causeway. Instead, my friend suggests we continue walking to Berwick-upon-Tweed, rather than taking the bus, from where we will take our train back to Edinburgh. This is a ridiculous idea, as it will add another 17 km (10 miles) to the day, so I agree.
We walk through Wooler and past a group of adolescent walkers who we soon leave behind, never to be seen again. We meet a gang of young bulls - or bullocks - the ones without balls anyway. They are quite friendly, curious and excited, mounting each other, and I’m feeling much braver when I’m past them and on the other side of the gate. Love is definitely in the air - three female sheep are at it nearby.
I’m feeling stronger today, slightly better rested, and we are leaving the Cheviots behind us - in theory, it’s only downhill from here. We walk over a very old-looking bridge, Weetwood bridge, and a couple of ladies tell us it is medieval. We take a break on a grassy pillbox from the second world war. We visit St. Cuthbert’s Cave in the woods, which has graffiti from the 18oos scratched into the large rocks, and we climb some boulders here.
When we leave the woods, a man warns us of another gang of cattle with offspring and offers us his stick to fend them off. We cross the field, and a group of people come our way, looking very scared and yet determined, trying hard not to make eye-contact with the cattle closing in. But the cows sense our fearlessness and leave us alone. We see the sea.
At Fenwick we carefully cross the fast A1 and then approach the rails. There’s a phone here for calling the signalman to ask when it’s safe to cross. He asks how many of us there are and how long it will take us to cross, and then he allows us to cross.
We watch the last cars on the causeway returning from the island before the tide comes in, and we make our way to the barn at Beal, a cafe, for a long break in the sun with a sea view. We decide to walk to Berwick-upon-Tweed. I’m not ready for the adventure to be over, and I don’t know yet that it is another 17 km.
The walk to Berwick along the coast is lovely - at some point I take off my shoes and walk in the sea - my feet are loving it. They are complaining a bit though when I have to force them back into the boots. To keep our minds off the pain and the remaining miles we resolve to riddles and logic puzzles.
We pass a beautiful grand house on a cliff and I wish it was a hotel, taking us in, but we keep walking and eventually reach Berwick. We hobble into the town centre and have some food and wait for the train. A man is waiting with us and tells us that he owns the grand house on the cliff and runs it as a B&B.
On the train, my friend is absolutely shattered and can barely keep his eyes open. I’m actually not too bad and tease him by acting extra lively. We arrive in Edinburgh at 10 pm or so, and after 85 km (53 miles) in total, and 40 km (25 miles) today, I’m sore and I shiver from exhaustion, and I think this was an absolute beauty of a weekend.
I still have the dorm to myself but I don’t sleep too well anyway. But a full cooked English breakfast is waiting for me so I get up and make my way to the dining room. The table is set for two, everyone else is making their own breakfasts. My friend is nowhere to be seen so I order him some tea and am ready to take it to his dorm when he arrives. Phew, I didn’t really want to set foot into a male dorm in the morning.
We say our goodbyes to the natural dying girls and the pilgrims, and leave to do the final stretch, 23 km (14 miles) to the coast. We won’t be able to cross over to Holy Island today, because the tide will have come in by the time we make it to the causeway. Instead, my friend suggests we continue walking to Berwick-upon-Tweed, rather than taking the bus, from where we will take our train back to Edinburgh. This is a ridiculous idea, as it will add another 17 km (10 miles) to the day, so I agree.
We walk through Wooler and past a group of adolescent walkers who we soon leave behind, never to be seen again. We meet a gang of young bulls - or bullocks - the ones without balls anyway. They are quite friendly, curious and excited, mounting each other, and I’m feeling much braver when I’m past them and on the other side of the gate. Love is definitely in the air - three female sheep are at it nearby.
I’m feeling stronger today, slightly better rested, and we are leaving the Cheviots behind us - in theory, it’s only downhill from here. We walk over a very old-looking bridge, Weetwood bridge, and a couple of ladies tell us it is medieval. We take a break on a grassy pillbox from the second world war. We visit St. Cuthbert’s Cave in the woods, which has graffiti from the 18oos scratched into the large rocks, and we climb some boulders here.
When we leave the woods, a man warns us of another gang of cattle with offspring and offers us his stick to fend them off. We cross the field, and a group of people come our way, looking very scared and yet determined, trying hard not to make eye-contact with the cattle closing in. But the cows sense our fearlessness and leave us alone. We see the sea.
At Fenwick we carefully cross the fast A1 and then approach the rails. There’s a phone here for calling the signalman to ask when it’s safe to cross. He asks how many of us there are and how long it will take us to cross, and then he allows us to cross.
We watch the last cars on the causeway returning from the island before the tide comes in, and we make our way to the barn at Beal, a cafe, for a long break in the sun with a sea view. We decide to walk to Berwick-upon-Tweed. I’m not ready for the adventure to be over, and I don’t know yet that it is another 17 km.
The walk to Berwick along the coast is lovely - at some point I take off my shoes and walk in the sea - my feet are loving it. They are complaining a bit though when I have to force them back into the boots. To keep our minds off the pain and the remaining miles we resolve to riddles and logic puzzles.
We pass a beautiful grand house on a cliff and I wish it was a hotel, taking us in, but we keep walking and eventually reach Berwick. We hobble into the town centre and have some food and wait for the train. A man is waiting with us and tells us that he owns the grand house on the cliff and runs it as a B&B.
On the train, my friend is absolutely shattered and can barely keep his eyes open. I’m actually not too bad and tease him by acting extra lively. We arrive in Edinburgh at 10 pm or so, and after 85 km (53 miles) in total, and 40 km (25 miles) today, I’m sore and I shiver from exhaustion, and I think this was an absolute beauty of a weekend.