New Walks in Central Nottinghamshire ... and Beyond

Start: Bellingham Finish: Cheviot Camp Distance: 20 miles . Total Distance Walked: 240 miles The first part of this stage I recall little of. It was through fields, moorland and another section of quite dull walking through conifer forests. The last bit of forest ended at the small village of Byrness, the last settlement before the end of the Pennine Way. We reached Byrness in the late afternoon and had a meal at the cafe there. Many walkers spend the night at Byrness and have a marathon slog of miles to finish the Way. My father had decided that this would be too much for us to do in one day so after eating we set off up out of Byrness into the Cheviot Hills. The first mile or two took us up through the last bit of woodland before we came out into the bare hills. We did another two miles and set up camp, as we had done on the first night of our walk, in wild hill country. Our camp was just next to a fence by a sign indicating MoD land. We listened to the radio and ...

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 ...