Great English Walk Day 34 - 21 April 2018

Threestoneburn Wood to Fenton
Walking 7.35am to 6.20pm
Distance walked today 15 miles
Distance walked so far 517 miles
Distance left 27 miles (in fact, according to the map, 24 miles)

Waking at 5am, there was such a cacophony of noise from the dawn chorus, mainly pigeons competing with one another, and also a cuckoo.

I was able to have a leisurely start so made tea from my "bedside" and read a little, putting off the unpleasant moment when I had to put on my socks, chilly and wet from yesterday's late drenching, followed by wet shoes although, to be honest, it isn't such a big deal now.

Dropping down to Harthope Burn at NT953225, there's reasonable camping by the wooden footbridge and, of course, plenty of water. Having said that, from the other direction, approaching the area from the road, there is a Northumberland National Park sign prohibiting camping.

Harthope Burn

The way to Wooler, via Broadstruther, involved a long climb to reach open moorland but, with a clear sky and the temperature warming up, it was quite perfect. Further on, where Carey Burn was reached, I took a break for elevenses and dunked my feet in the water for a few cold minutes. At Wooler Common I stopped for a chat to Karen Balmbro who was walking her dog, a colly, I think. I gave her one of my flyers.

Wooler meant the moorland walking was over, now just flatter farm land until Berwick. I did a final resupply in Wooler and pressed on. Being so low, it was getting quite hot which didn't suit me one bit. There was virtually no breeze.

Near Doddington, I was taking a break when someone else to talk to came by - Mary Short, walking her retired greyhound, Magic. He was on a very short leash as he would have been off after hares. Marys father has recently died from bone cancer. So many people are affected by cancers, either directly or indirectly. It's amazing how a distraction like meeting someone to talk to gives my legs a new burst of energy and I made quick work of the fields to Fenton. I could have gone further, and intended to, but the other side of Fenton I found a perfect woodland pitch for the night.