Byrness to Bellingham: E2 Day 54

A tiring trudge against the wind through forestry and open moorland.

Candy floss pink clouds in a blue sky greeted me as I emerged from my tent this morning. Their beauty was offset by a cold, damp wind, reminding me of the coming winter. Somehow the wet, windy cold of Britain is more chilling than weather of a lower temperatures in other countries. My cold, damp socks and boots were not helping. Although my boots are waterproof, to a degree, after days of splashing through water, some eventually penetrates and the waterlogged trails and cool weather does not allow them to dry.

The first part of my walk was through the edge of the Kielder Forest, a gigantic (for Britain) commercial tree plantation. While the forest roads gave fast walking and shelter from the wind, the endless sitka spruce trees were monotonous, lacking the varied interest of more natural woodland.

Commercial forestry of Kielder Forest, a smaller birch tree, its leaves turning, has sneaked in among the conifers. The gravel road is the route of the Pennine Way.

Leaving the trees there was a long length of moor of heather, grass and reeds. There were few sites of interest on this long march. When I last walked it in June 2021, I had the company of another Pennine Way walker and their explanation of their PhD research into Woodcocks made the walk more enjoyable. Today it was a trudge against a headwind which had restarted my runny nose. I passed a Pennine Way walker coming in the opposite way, he was going to give up that evening. Later I thought I should have encouraged him, reminding him there was only another 1 1/2 days walking after Byrness before he could claim his half pint and certificate. The condition of the path was not helping my mood. Unlike when I last walked it in summertime, there were many wet and muddy patches. Avoiding them meant dealing with very uneven ground of heather hammocks, I was also helping to extend the width of the path. In places awkwardly arranged rocks on the path did my knee no good.

Moorland section, the Pennine Way runs through it somewhere.

On reaching Bellingham I was immediately attracted to a sign for a tea shop at a Heritage Centre. The café was in an old railway carriage. My mood immediately improved as I enjoyed my lunch. Through the window, beside the "platform", was a bird feeder. A pigeon was pecking at the seed on one side and a collared dove on the other, watched by a jackdaw. Something made them fly off, a flock of tits materialised, taking their opportunity to attack the seed. I almost expected the carriage to lurch forward leaving the scene behind, but there was no train and no railway line, so I left and continued into the village. 

The zip on the flysheet of my tent is starting to fail, opening up where it should be zipped. Running the zip up and down was only a temporary solution. Concerned that it could deteriorate before my trip was over making camping difficult to impossible I did not have too much trouble persuading myself to stay at the reasonably priced Cheviot hotel at Bellingham, where I had enjoyed excellent meals on previous occasions, rather than at its campsite.