Journal:
I woke early
because of the early light and because all the
Pennine Way hikers were getting ready for their long
last day. Mike and Fraser had already gone by
the time Andy and I grabbed a quick cup of coffee in
the hostel kitchen at 5:30am, and the family of five
were having breakfast before also setting out.
Andy left about 5:45am and I followed about 10
minutes later. It was nice to be hiking so
early, especially on such a great morning - cool,
sun rising behind the hills, and little wind.
Leaving Byrness, the
Pennine Way climbed steeply through conifer forest,
which was strangely, and pleasantly, reminiscent of
hiking in New England. Eventually I emerged
from the forest onto the bare grass fell and
immediately had fabulous views across Northumberland
behind and, shortly, the Cheviots ahead. I
caught Andy near the top of Byrness Hill and we
walked together for a while. He was already
suffering with his feet, despite scoffing a couple
of painkillers. We both knew he was in for a
long day in terms of distance and time but at least
he had the motivation of finishing his journey tonight.
Having said that, I was not at all envious of the
Pennine Way hikers whose journey was ending today.
Sure, my feet have seen enough of my boots and I'm
tired of washing out hiking gear in the shower each
night, but my body has adapted well to this life now
and I will enjoy my remaining 3+ weeks.
Once we had reached the
high point of Ravens Knowe (527m) it was easy
walking, despite a few treacherous bogs, with
fabulous views in all directions in perfectly clear
conditions, perhaps due to the cold wind that had
sprung up.
The Pennine Way dropped to
cross Chew Green, which had once been a Roman camp,
and it felt quite atmospheric there on my own in that
remote place, imagining the life they must have led.
After another couple of kilometres, I reached the
point where the Pennine Way diverged from Dere
Street, the old Roman Road it had been following
since Chew Green. This
was the point where I would also leave the Pennine
Way, and I took my first break for the morning at
8:40am and waited for Andy to catch up while I had a
Mars Bar and can of Diet Pepsi. He arrived 10
minutes later and soon I was ready to head off on my
road. As I was about to leave, the family of
five arrived (I think they had taken a minor
short-cut that missed Chew Green), and I felt sorry
for Andy who would now be the last of the Byrness
Hostel group on the Pennine Way to Kirk Yetholme
with still many kilometres to go, and all day to
think about it. I left England and moved into
Scotland.
My route now followed Dere
Street down from the Cheviots into, and across, the
Scottish Borders farmland. The paddocks seemed
to be larger, and there was extensive use of
electric fences, but not too different to England so
far. From my path, I still had good views for
long distances over the multi-coloured landscape,
mottled with patches of sunshine and cloud into the
far distance. Parts of the path were deeply
rutted, making walking difficult, but generally I
maintained a good pace and realised I had every
chance of making it to Jedburgh by 2pm, which would
be good.
Around 1pm, I left Dere
Street (I'll be rejoining it tomorrow) and took a
minor country road in the direction of Jedburgh,
arriving just before 2pm. My walk into town
passed the ruins of the very substantial Jedburgh
Abbey. I fairly quickly found a hotel in the
centre of town that didn't look too posh and offered
accommodation, and got a room. I showered and then found a newsagent where I could
top up my pre-paid phone, which had expired
yesterday, and a bakery where I got a pastie for a
late lunch and returned to my room where I spent the
afternoon and evening updating my diary and route-planning for
the next few weeks, with World Cup games on TV going
in the background. I went out and got pizza
and ice-cream to eat in my room for dinner between
games.