Another 8 o’clock breakfast and another very hot day. We go down to the railway station and pick up the South Tyne Trail. This is a permissive path running south of the heritage railway. The South Tynedale Way, the Pennine Way and Isaac’s Tea Trail all take the northern path.
We’ve chosen the southern path as it runs parallel to the railway, which rarely runs midweek, with a good surface and a gentle gradient. The Victorians had intended to build two tracks, but only one was built, leaving the excellent foundations as a path. Most importantly, railways usually have tree shade, and so it proves.
We walk along the railway through willowherb, harebells and wild raspberries accompanied by house martins, goldfinches and kestrels. We also spot a grey squirrel, a concerning sight in this land of the reds. We then cross the county border into Northumberland, although we’ll only be there for today.
We arrive at Slaggyford, there are signs for ‘The Little Buffet Car’, a tiny cafe on the station platform. It’s only been open for five minutes, but we’re their second set of customers. We need to conserve our water and they have paradise flapjack, so it’s an ideal stopping point.
We then join the Pennine Way for a bit, passing a Roman fort and disturbing a large flock of lapwings on the hillside, before passing through an avenue lined with silver birches. These days, there is no more track after Slaggyford. We arrive at Lambley viaduct, an impressive structure, but the right of way takes us down to the bottom of the viaduct and up the other side to reach it rather than go 50 yards across someone’s driveway. It’s then time for a lunch break in a field before it’s along a road and back to the Pennine Way.
The Way takes us over several small hills and is boggy in places, but easy to follow. It’s mostly very exposed to the cloudless sky, so we’re glad of our protected morning. We walk through the driveway of an isolated house and the owner offers us a drink. We decline as we still have some way to go but admire his ducklings and chicks as we pass.
We continue on the grassy moor for some time, spotting the Scottish peak of Criffel, that we used to see from the Solway Firth when we visited Richard’s Mum. Then it’s down into the valley, crossing over the watershed from east to west (finally!) and a grassy mound with buildings on one side that is Hadrian’s wall. We reach Dacre House, our stop for the night and a beautiful building on the county border back into Cumbria, made even better by water from the fridge and homemade ginger cake.
Total distance so far: 384 miles
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