After a very brief interlude I am back walking the river Blyth. This day was the sixth time I have wandered along its banks. The weather forecast looked good and as I set off the sun was shining yet the wind was cold. There was definitely an autumnal feeling in the air and I was glad that I had put on my thermals.
Day 5 had finished on the road north of Kirkley Hall and so this is where I made my way to. Unfortunately I was unable to find a suitable parking spot and so changed my plans and headed for Ogle, about half way along where I had hoped to go. I started then, in a way by going backwards, heading northwards to Ogle Bridge and then looping back across the fields to Ogle. This was the first time of four that I would cross the river Blyth that day.
The same thing happened when I was walking along the Wansbeck. There was a part of the river where the paths ran parallel to the river and I had to wander back and forth, covering the distance but not getting very far. Only one of the bridges was on a path, the others were road bridges and so there was a lot of walking on tarmac, with traffic passing by.
On top of this there was some walking along ploughed fields. That must be among the worst kinds of walking as the ground is cut up and there is no definition to the path. It saps your energy. Far better to be out in the open or walking on a well made path through the woods. The thing is that I shouldn’t have had to walk around the edge of the fields as the map showed the path going across the field yet all were in crop, with no obvious path.
I understand this from the farmer’s point of view but it is still wrong. I would have every legal right to walk in a straight line and risk the wrath of the farmer but decided it wasn’t worth it. The barbed wire on the styles didn’t help either and suggested that I would not have received a warm reception.
Still, the walking was pleasant and I ended up going a bit further than I had expected, again due to the criss-cross nature of the paths. Next time I will get back to normal with the paths running much more in line with the river.
Not every day can be as I want, though I did see a hare and a deer.