When Robert and I agreed to go for a walk in the countryside, I said that ten miles was probably my maximum for one day. To be honest I wasn’t sure but this was as far as I think I had been in one day since retiring. So a route of ten miles was decided upon, starting at Doddington (as in the ice cream) just east of Wooler in North Northumberland. Robert had worked it all out and kindly printed it out for me to follow.
I was a little concerned as Robert is an ultra runner while I am, in comparison, a relative sloth. Yes I have been walking more over the last year or so yet I was not sure whether I would be able to keep up with him or not. Still, there was only one way to find out and having parked up we set off on our circular route. The weather was beautiful with a light fog burning off to reveal a clear blue sky with promises of amazing views once we were up on the hills. It wasn’t long before we started climbing and I was pleased that I was able to keep up with him. Each of us climbed at their own pace, stopping every so often to see the vale below us and the Cheviot hills in the distance. Sometimes he was the hare and sometimes the tortoise.
It wasn’t long though until we realised that we had gone off the path. There are so many sheep trails on the ground and it is difficult to be sure which to follow yet at this stage it didn’t matter as we were going along in the right direction. From there, the path followed much of the St. Cutherbert’s Way and the walking was relatively easy, at least until we made a detour to see Bowden Craggs. This was to be the half way point of our walk.
The route, if you could call it that, from the road to the top of the crags was covered in heather which sapped the energy from your legs and caught the laces of your shoes. I was glad that I had decided to wear long trousers as my shins would have been stripped. Eventually we arrived at the top only to find that we had walked seven miles and that we might run out of daylight.
We’d wanted to go and visit St Cutherbert’s cave but this would have added another hour to the route, let alone a couple more miles but we agreed that we didn’t have enough time and so decided to give it a miss. At this time of year the days are short and neither of us wanted to be out in the dark. Despite the sunshine, the temperature started to drop in the afternoon. We made the decision to give it a miss and start the return journey. There was only one way over the river, other than going back the way we came and this meant we still had a way to go.
In the end we got back to the car just before sunset, having walked for over five hours and fourteen and a half miles. So much for the ten mile limit. Things look easier on paper than they are on the ground. We’d climbed over 1600 feet and walked across some tough terrain, which all added to our time and distance. You need to take these things into consideration when out walking, especially away from populated areas and at this time of year.
I was a bit stiff the next day but am looking forward to the next time I get out in the wild.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 