Walking the Pennine Way When I Was Eleven Stage 14: Garrigill to Slaggyford

Start: Garrigill
Finish: Slaggyford
Distance: 10 miles
Total Distance Walked: 184 miles
We had breakfast at the Post Office B and B in Garrigill where the lady who ran it told us about her guests the previous day. They were foreign and weren't sure exactly what the black pudding they had enjoyed in their breakfast was. She had thanked them but hadn't felt able to explain to them.
After two hard days walking we had an easier one in prospect. The morning mostly consisted of a gentle stroll close to the river South Tyne which here was a pleasant country watercourse. After four miles we reached Alston, the highest market town in England, which was one of the bigger places we had been to on the Pennine Way. We bumped into our old companion "Skinless" again and adjourned to a pub on the high street. It was a nice day and we sat outside for lunch. It was so nice there that we decided to stay there for a couple of hours, my sister and I drinking juices while the adults had beers.
This enjoyable and relaxing intermission made the decision for us as to where we would stop for the night. By the time we left Alston it was well into the afternoon and we only had a shortish walk to the village of Slaggyford, six miles further on. These were again near the South Tyne in fields though not alongside the river itself so much as in the walk to Alston.
Slaggyford had no accommodation but there was a small village green. We weren't sure if it allowed to camp there but someone, possibly Skinless, asked a local and we established that it was. We set up our tent on the green in the quiet village. I can't remember what we did about a meal there or if there was a pub.

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