A wobbly Coast to Coast path - Rambling Pete's Way 2010
Day Five: 21st June
Weather: sunshine, what.. again, very warm
Route: Elsdon to Bellingham - 12 miles with 1656ft of ascent
When I was younger I used to wake up and wonder ‘what’s that noise’. Nowadays it’s ‘ooh that hurts’ and ‘how’s the knees today?’, but did you know that Paracetamol is perfect for easing blisters? It’s true, just stick one between the toes and it stops the other one rubbing it. If that doesn’t work, there’s always Compeed. Today’s walk was the shortest of the entire route, but it still had to be done, and thinking otherwise is misleading. I’m beginning to realise that ‘the path less trodden’ is the ‘path of hard work’, and I must confess that the backs of my legs have started to swear at me after 5 days. I’ve also realised that the path less trodden doesn’t always exist and the landowners have done away with them. Before I set out on today's journey I sat under a tree on the village green and wrote up my diary, enjoying the peace and the morning warmth in the still air, a late start but it was only 12 miles….only. I had a steady start along the road for the first 1 1/2 miles, which took me up and away from Elsdon, and there weren’t many cars running so the peace continued. To the north of me the views were tremendous up to the Cheviot and Hedgehope Hill, with the air surprisingly clear – I’ll probably see those two hills for a day or two yet. I also looked back down on Elsdon and its big tower and flag waving in the breeze.
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I’ve been surprised at how many footpaths appear nonexistent on the ground up here, or maybe I just didn’t look closely enough. Crossing over the main road at Raylees it was off road again and a steady walk up a long slope. Ahead of me in the field were the usual bunch of aggressive cattle and their calves. So it was diversion time again and I made my way over to the next field via the wall. I always think that there is a field or lane next to mine, so just make sure I have an exit if I need one – it makes for less hassle at times, and it proved its worth over the next day or two. Up to the top of Wether Hill I nearly put my size 9’s on a Skylark and it’s nest- a clutch of 4 nestled down in the grass. Then as I skirted around the edge of a plantation I nearly put my size 9’s on a snake in the grass - an Adder, and it had the cheek to try and bite the camera when I poked it in it’s face -it was only a baby though. Shortly after that I nearly put my size 9’s on a Roe Deer…. Hare…. Rabbit etc – Do you get the picture now that wildlife is plentiful up in Northumberland - That’s the plus side of life on the back lane. After yesterday’s faux pas in the forestry plantations, I made doubly sure I didn’t make the same mistake twice, and reassuringly there was a footpath marker where it should have been today. Did I say I don’t like forestry plantations? It was the same today – definitely a path less trodden and rougher than a badgers r’s. The commissions way of path maintenance is just to run through a track vehicle now and again, with the resulting ground a mix of heather, reeds, and tussocky grass – a real bog trot if it gets sodden. Thank goodness it’s been dry, and today was only a mile or so through, but on the plus side the scent of the pine was marvellous even if the path wasn’t.
meep meep....the road runner
As I emerged onto the road I nearly trodden on by a size 9 ‘invalid carriage’ – honestly no horn, just an irate ‘hello what a lovely day…’ – but with a Doppler effect, she was that fast. She was on the Border County Ride, and must have been off for the paper and some milk. I crossed over the road and continued across pasture and then onto some mown grass paths down to a valley – it must be somebody’s much loved view as it was a well tended patch and a surprise in the middle of nowhere. It’s called Tthe Heughs just near to East Woodburn. I dropped down into the valley and crossed over the river at East Woodburn Bridge before ascending up the other side across a mix of good and bad pasture and I wondered why I had come this way. A GPS wobble later and I was across to the small village of West Woodburn where the A68 whizzes through. Then I remembered why when I saw the roman fort of Habitcvm- it’s handy for the River Rede and Dere Street runs right past the East gate – very handy for nipping down to York in you’re on a Chariot. It looked very interesting built up off the floodplain, and there are plenty of building outlines within the usual fort lay out. After the fort I nipped up Dere Street by a tree row and it was more pasture wandering, passing Crag Farm over an old railway line, and again up through some late flowering meadow – yet another farm that chooses not to have markers or stiles, so presumably they didn’t mind me tramping through a lush crop of grass.
Dere Street marked by a line of trees
Further around the valley was an old quarry works, which was very confusing to walk along and also the site of a 4x4 track, with some steep looking slopes and drops. Eventually after a bit of faffing around I extracted myself and walked down to a road and a short walk to the disused railway embankment. After an initial rutted section it passed through some lovely dappled shade and afforded me a taster for the section from Alston on the South Tyne Trail. Just before I dropped down to the bridge, I passed by an old railway cottage, with a superb garden – the biggest peacock I’ve ever seen. I crossed over the River Rede a mile or so north of where it joins the North Tyne and nipped up the other side of the valley to walk on a marked path that wasn’t there, so it was field edges for a while before finding the path that did exist. A few more fields and it was into Bellingham to end another interesting day with the promise of a really well sign posted way tomorrow –the Pennine Way. After a quick trip to the Co-op for tomorrows sandwich, it was up to the room to dress the toes – another blister hmmm just what I needed – on with the compeed.
