Tag: St. Cuthbert’s Way

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

Since I’ve now completed St. Cuthbert’s Way, it seems appropriate to briefly mention who Cuthbert actually was.

He was born in around 634 in Dunbar and when young, he decided to join the relatively new monastery at Melrose. This incidentally now marks the beginning of the walking route, with the end being at Cuthbert’s initial burial place at Holy Island. Following a childhood miracle, Cuthbert seems to have been spiritual and religious, which is handy for someone in a monastery, and he became the prior of the abbey.

Apparently (and this is primarily because Bede wrote about it in the early eighth century, so a record still exists) Cuthbert was:

“Angelic in appearance, refined in conversation, holy in works, unblemished in body, noble in nature, mighty in counsel, orthodox in faith, patient in hope and wide in charity”. He sounds a perfect choice to enter the religious order…..

Cuthbert was consecrated in York by Archbishop Theodore on 26 March 685. He returned to Inner Farne Island and he died there on 20 March 687. On the same day he was brought over and buried on Holy Island, which is where he remained until 865 when the threat of a Danish invasion led to the monks abandoning the priory and taking Cuthbert’s body with them. The monks carted his remains about for seven years, which is quite an impressive feat as it sounds a right hassle. In the end, after numerous intermissions he was being moved about until at Durham his body wouldn’t move from a certain spot. So, a church was built there and that today is the site of Durham Cathedral. Someone more sceptical might suggest that the monks got fed up with carrying him about and just selected a nice place to build a church, but that’s not really in the religious stories that are told.

Bede noted that eleven years after Cuthbert’s death his coffin was opened and no doubt to the considerable surprise of everyone present “found his body entire, as if he were still alive, and his joints were still flexible, as if he were not dead, but sleeping. His clothes, also, were still undecayed, and seemed to retain their original freshness and colour”.

Cuthbert’s reputation grew, not least after Alfred the Great had a vision of him and made great play of that, although that might have been a political ploy in uniting the country. His grand marble shrine developed into a place of pilgrimage at Durham Cathedral, but that was a bit smashed up following the Reformation. His coffin had been opened a few times and hadn’t decayed, although more recent openings have shown that is no longer the case. Fragments of the original Saxon coffin that he was buried in though survive and are on display at Durham Cathedral, as are sections of later coffins that his remains were transferred into.

Charles Eyre wrote an important book on St. Cuthbert in the late nineteenth century and this was frequently republished. It’s ridiculous in places, such as the statement he makes:

“We cannot doubt a single word that Bede has written for he introduces his narrative saying ‘I beg that my readers will believe what I say’”.

Bede was writing about Cuthbert a century after his death, so even if we believe Bede, he’s still got his information second-hand. Anyway, I like how Eyre notes that residents of villages would confess all their sins if Cuthbert visited, such as was their respect and awe for him. I could quite fancy having an ability like that, having everyone tell me what they’ve done wrong when I enter a room….

 

BOOKS ABOUT ST. CUTHBERT

History of St Cuthbert by Charles Eyre

Cuthbert and the Northumbrian Saints

I walked the St. Cuthbert’s Way in July 2021 and I’ve told the story about that and the group of friends that I walked with (and there are links below to each day’s summary). This page is more going to be a series of resources about the long distance path, not just about my own walk and gossiping about the friends that I walked it with. I suspect most people who read this post in future want to hear more about the route than they do about Gordon’s complaining about his egg not being big enough.

This is all currently a work in progress, some of the links won’t work for a little while yet.

 

ST. CUTHBERT’S WAY

Break-down of the route

LDWA page about the trail

The Official Guidebook [Amazon link]

 

THE HISTORY

St. Cuthbert

Holy Island

 

PUBS, RESTAURANTS AND CAFES

Milan Restaurant

 

THE PLACES EN ROUTE

Melrose

Wooler

Lowick

Holy Island

 

ST. CUTHBERT’S WAY (my walk)

Day One – Meeting Up

Day One – Evening Meal

Day One – Summary

Day Two

Day Three – Part 1

Day Three – Part 2

Day Four

Day Five – Part 1

Day Five – Part 2

Day Five – Part 3

Day Six

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

I’ve written about our walk along St. Cuthbert’s Way and how we all got on, but I’m going to have a self-indulgent post which is just about me. I like a little introspection and, frankly, posts about me are my very favourite.

For anyone wanting a moderately challenging, but not excessively difficult, long distance trail then this is one to seriously consider. It’s not technically difficult either in terms of the ascent or the navigation, with accommodation at what are pretty pre-defined points along the walk being relatively easy to find. One of the most interesting aspects has to be that it’s a pilgrimage route which ends at the beautiful Holy Island, so there’s certainly no anti-climax when finishing this walk.

I didn’t walk this as a private pilgrimage (it would have been hard to, with Gordon falling over and yelping at regular intervals), but there are reminders of the Christian heritage of this part of the country all along the route, not just at the end on Holy Island itself. However, it’s hard not to think of those pilgrims who have walked routes like this towards Holy Island for centuries and I like having that connection with the past. Pilgrimage routes have become increasingly common recently and there are numerous ones being established in the UK, it’s a shame perhaps that the tradition died out following the Reformation.

We had one member of our group who had to withdraw at the last moment and we were very sad that Bev couldn’t make it. Not least as she would have kept Gordon under control if nothing else, although she’s perhaps quite a bad influence on some of us. But she was there in spirit, so very much there (and we kept in touch with her throughout so we could pass on her rude messages about Gordon to him). Other people were there in spirit as well and we were keeping them in mind, such is the indulgence that you’re allowed to lavish on others when you’re on a long walk and have lots of time to think. I can think of a few friends who are suffering physically and mentally at the moment, I hope they can fight their battles with the courage that I know they all can.

It looks like the world is slowly, but surely, opening up again, although goodness knows what challenges lie ahead for the world. It will hopefully mean that international travel can resume soon enough, not least as I have a flight to Gdansk with British Airways in a few weeks that I’m still planning to go on if I can. But this trip has been a reminder of how much more there is for me to explore within the UK, with so many remote villages and towns.

There is an element of starting off on one of these trails with the end seeming so very far away, with every step seeming almost irrelevant in the journey of getting there. At the bottom of the Cheviot mountain range (apparently they’re hills, but I’m redefining them for my needs) it seemed that there would be a lot of difficult steps to get to the top. But, stopping to enjoy the view, carrying on with the journey however slowly is all there perhaps as a metaphor for life. Sometimes there are great prizes over the top of the mountains, it just takes a big effort to get over them. Sometimes the path isn’t always clear and choices have to be made which seem unpalatable (like the decision to walk up a mountain) but the fight is worth it.

We didn’t see that many people on the walk which means that anyone wanting to walk alone and meet people en route are going to be mostly limited to finding that company in the pubs and cafes in the evening. This is a trail which can really only be walked in one direction, as few people are going to start on Holy Island and walk back to Tweedbank. For those who like their long distance paths quite solitary in terms of meeting others, they are unlikely to be disappointed here.

Being a little less prosaic, for those who like craft beer, they’re going to struggle a little en route, although the welcome that we received in bars, cafes and restaurants was always friendly. As an aside, there was a stand-out restaurant during our journey, which was the Milan Restaurant in Wooler, and I’d happily go back there again for one of their calzones. But I digress, as these journeys can’t always be all about the food and drink.

Anyway, these long distance trails walked with friends can be calming, exciting and give time to pause for thought. For those who fancy a little adventure, head on out there as there are experiences to be had everywhere and stories to be told. And you don’t have to be like Dave Morgan and find the biggest hill you can find and march up it, there’s a lot to be said for the flat as well. Sometimes it’s right to take things easy   🙂

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

Firstly, let me begin by noting that this isn’t really meant to be of interest to anyone outside of the trip (unless they want to be interested, which is very lovely). It’s part of our collective memory of the trip and it’s also all of the others appeasing my childishness. It was a very enjoyable trip and there are always notable moments to look back on (or what we consider to be notable).

BRAVEST WALKER – Bev

This really should always be won by me, but I have to recognise that continually winning this just lessens the impact of the award. So, I’m prepared to share it from time to time. On this occasion, we decided that Bev should be given the award. She’s been going through lots of challenges at the moment and has been dealing with them bravely and courageously. She couldn’t make this trip, but I know that she’ll be back to ensure St. Cuthbert is pleased with her. Sarah has also buried a stone with Bev’s name on it at the Holy Island, so perhaps she’ll go and collect it in the future.

NICEST WALKER – Andy

This was the first trip that Andy had been on and so he made a big effort to be friendly and helpful. I hope that this doesn’t continue, but this warm, personable and engaging approach meant that he took the award for nicest walker without much difficulty. It’s never good to keep winning this award though.

BEST NEWCOMER – Andy

The newcomer we heard most about during the week was definitely Gordon’s blisters, although it seemed a bit much to award anything to those, despite the number of photos he kept sending of them. We also liked Craig, who was completing the same trail but was doing so unaided and carrying all of his camping equipment. We saw him a fair few times on one day, but never saw him again for the rest of the trail (I expect someone annoyed him, perhaps Gordon). But it was rather lovely for Andy to come along.

MOST COMPLAINING WALKER – Gordon

This was an easy one, even though everyone had moments of tiredness or being too wet, Gordon exceeded the rest of us by some way. A very worthy winner.

LEAST COMPLAINING WALKER – Sarah

Sarah managed to plod on all week never really complaining or moaning, although perhaps she was just letting Gordon take the lead.

BEST KEPT FEET AWARD – Steve

Although Susanna and I had no issues at all with feet, this prize had to go to Steve for having those socks which had individual toes. I’m not sure that they’re for me, but his ingenuity with this meant Steve had to win this little award. Also, for anyone who hasn’t heard about my completing the 100, the best tip I think is Sudocrem applied regularly and SealSkinz socks.

MOST DEMANDING WALKER TO THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – Gordon

I normally set the bar quite high with finding things to complain about, although I’ve limited myself to just tutting about a lack of exciting beers (although this happens the majority of the time) and commenting that the cereals were out of date. Gordon has impressively increased the bar by asking for extra eggs at breakfast, asking complex questions about beers and food as well as getting chocolate sprinkles on all coffees (and not just cappuccinos). But, nothing wrong with getting what you want and he has remained an inspiration to us, although he’s stretched the knowledge of a fair few staff members this week.

WALKER WHO HAS FORGOTTEN OR LOST THE MOST – Susanna

Given taxigate, lostphonegate, gettinglockedoutofhotelgate, there could only be one winner. But we wouldn’t have had it any other way, as we like the drama.

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER – Sarah

There were lots of good photographs this week and it ended up being a close call between the artistic nature of Steve’s photos and the photos taken by Sarah of people and landscapes. I suspect Steve will win next time, he’s definitely been spending more time thinking about photos and their composition…..

WALKER WITH THE MOST INTELLECTUAL CHAT – Julian

This was obviously always going to be me, so there was no real debate about that.

MOST ALLURING WALKER – Gordon

This was the most controversial award, but it was yet another one given to Gordon, not least due to the number of messages he was receiving during the week. Confidentiality prevents me saying more.

WALKER WHO HAS SMASHED THE MOST THINGS UP – Gordon

There was no real damage caused this week, just by Gordon managing to entirely break his blinds in one B&B room. It’s becoming annoying just how much Gordon has managed to achieve this week, the rest of us were quite jealous of how multi-faceted he is.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK – Gordon

“Normally I have a kip on these walks but Steve is showing no mercy” – Gordon

QUOTE RUNNER-UP – Andy

“Can I ask what happened to your hair Gordon?” – Andy

As an aside, I very much liked “they don’t let you forget any of your indiscretions in this group” from Susanna, after she was being reminded of a standing stones debacle from four years ago.

MOST OFFENSIVE COMMENT – Gordon

Which I obviously can’t repeat, but this was a unanimous decision and yet another prize for Gordon.

 

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

Day five marked the end of the St. Cuthbert’s Way walk for us, which meant everyone now had to get home again on day six. Andy and Sarah were getting an internal flight from Edinburgh, whilst Steve, Gordon and Susanna were getting a train back to Norfolk. My journey back would be shorter, going to Gateshead. We dd though have a few hours together in Berwick before all going our separate ways.

Breakfast in the Manor House, which I’d say was the best of the week. Nicely done and nothing for me to complain about which was handy. It wasn’t cheap to stay on the Holy Island, but it was very worthwhile and much better than trying to faff about getting back off the island on the evening before. It must certainly all be a challenge for those who work on Holy Island but don’t live there.

Susanna got locked out of the hotel twice……

I decided I’d walk over on my own after breakfast to St. Cuthbert’s Island, to the chapel where Cuthbert was once buried. He had to be moved due to fears of a Viking invasion and he’s now buried in Durham Cathedral. It’s only possible to walk across during low tide, but it’s an easy little meander across and the small chapel felt a peaceful environment. I’ll write separately about the story of St. Cuthbert, but it was quite meaningful in many ways to be at the site where he was originally buried.

With that, we all met back up outside the hotel ready to get a taxi to Berwick. I’m pleased to say that the taxi turned up on time, with Gordon mentioning it was a good job that Susanna didn’t book it. I didn’t get involved with that, I’d forgotten all about the taxi debacle earlier on during the week.

The taxi boarding process as we were taken off the island. I was quite disappointed that the adventure was coming to an end, although at least we had a few more hours in Berwick.

Gordon had absolutely excelled himself here in terms of bag storage. This wasn’t of relevance to me as I carted my bag around with me all week, but he found a local hotel that was willing to store bags in exchange for a donation to charity. The owner was, er, talkative, but it was very kind how she helped our party. As Andy said, it shows that Gordon can be competent when he tries.

The Royal Border Bridge, constructed by Robert Stephenson between 1847 and 1850. We saw a lot of history in Berwick, I’ll write separately about that (along with many other things I’m meant to be writing about separately).

Gordon at what is left of the defences at the base of the hill, under Berwick Castle.

What are known as ‘Breakneck Stairs’ which went from the River Tweed to Berwick Castle. They’re closed off now, not least because sections are missing, but I can imagine people like Liam still trying to climb them. They look very scary, even when they were complete, so it’s no surprise that they have the name that they do.

Under the road bridge.

Walking back into town, we started to follow parts of the Lowry Trail. Sarah and Andy went off for some private time, which was much commented on by Gordon. He mentioned they’d been like Mills & Boon all week when others were around, so he couldn’t imagine what they were doing on their own.

Berwick Bridge, which was constructed between 1611 and 1624, replacing the old wooden bridges which kept falling down or being washed away.

,Susanna on a very large bench.

Our final meal together of the week was at the Lowry Cafe, a rather delightful little cafe near to the river. The key lime pie was delicious and Gordon made sure he got his chocolate sprinkles on his latte. We didn’t say anything. It was also time for the awards of the trip (which I’m about to publish), where there were the usual arguments, squabbles and moments of delight.

With that, Andy and Sarah left for Edinburgh and I think it’s fair to say that they had an eventful time getting there. There are extensive military defences around Berwick and we walked around them, with it being hard not to notice how steep these sides are. I wonder whether any locals, whether drunk or not, have fallen into them in recent years.

We were able to have a little look around Berwick’s parish church, one of the few to be constructed during the Commonwealth period. It’s a plain church given the puritanical standards of the time.

A clever marketing trick   🙂

We had a lengthy visit at the Pilot Inn in Berwick, a Good Beer Guide listed pub with an historic interior.

This is an Elizabethan watch tower which was built in 1577 and is the only one like this remaining in Britain.

With that, these three were off to collect their bags and get the train back to Norfolk. I was getting a later train, so I headed back into Berwick. That meant that this was the last photo of this group trip, one which has been really enjoyable and I’ve had a great time. I still have much more to write about this trip (which no doubt thrills nearly no-one, but there we go…..) but I will say here thanks to everyone who came along, to Bev who couldn’t make it, but also to Steve for organising it. And also, to St. Cuthbert for inspiring us. All very lovely.

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

After the drama of the crossing to get onto Holy Island, we decided to be grateful that God got us there safely and remembered that this was a pilgrimage route.

A quick stop for coffee at Pilgrims Coffee House and Roastery (which was very good incidentally) we then carried on to the end of the walk. Although before we could do that, we had to work out where the end of the walk actually was, we decided likely with the statue of St. Cuthbert. But we didn’t know….

This was also when Susanna told me that I had beautiful eyes when my face was tanned, which I took to mean that they weren’t beautiful when I wasn’t sun-burnt. Luckily Andy managed to change the subject by asking Gordon, “can I asked what happened to your hair?”. Gordon didn’t seem particularly pleased, but he tried to hide his complete anger. Susanna was busy at this moment on Facebook, claiming that her phone had changed ‘Holy Island’ to ‘Horny Island’. I expect the predictive text is used to what she normally types, but I didn’t say anything.

This is the statue of St. Aidan in the grounds of the priory, with our hotel visible in the background (and our evening meal in the background on the right).

These things look peaceful, but is the rest of the group faffing about with photos again. I didn’t say anything and I don’t normally show this behind the scenes activity that went on when we saw anything interesting.

Inside the parish church, of which more all about this this in separate posts.

A sculpture of the monks carrying the coffin of St. Cuthbert.

Steve and Andy had a very good idea to try and get into Lindisfarne Priory without paying, which I thought showed great ingenuity. A staff member let us in to look at the statue of St. Cuthbert, which we wanted to see as it’s the end of the pilgrimage route (well, it might not be, but it’s the one that we decided on).

And here it is. The end of the trail for us, in the grounds of the priory.

The helpful member of staff from English Heritage took a photo of us with the statue.

After this we went to check-in and this is my room at the hotel, one of the most expensive I’ve stayed at, but I did want to stay on the island and the options were limited. It was a peaceful stay and although I didn’t have the fancy view over the castle that Steve had, it was a quiet and comfortable room. I was though told at check-in that my towels weren’t quite ready, but fortunately Sarah had excess ones that I could borrow so that I wasn’t late for our venturing out to the pub. I had worried about an Andrew style towel moment as he experienced in Seville.

We were hoping to try some mead, but the tasting bar at the nearby Lindisfarne Mead was closed. Instead, I bought some decadent crisps (which were bloody lovely) and some decadent beer (which was nice, but not world class).

We’ve had this all week. Gordon wants photos of him to send to various people and our group has willingly obliged. No wonder we took so long to complete the walk on some of the days…..

Lindisfarne Castle, which was booked up months ago so we didn’t get to see inside.

The view from the island along its coastline.

The Holy Island lime kilns which were constructed in the 1860s.

More photos from our little walk around the island’s coastline.

The Gertrude Jekyll Garden and I’ll pinch the National Trust description about this:

“Jekyll was a friend and frequent collaborator of Edwin Lutyens, who’d transformed the Castle into a holiday home: he called Jekyll ‘Bumps’. Using the site of a vegetable patch which once provided the soldiers in the Castle with food, Jekyll designed a garden – with a dropped wall on the Castle side – that would flourish into a riot of colour in the summer for Edward Hudson’s guests to admire from the Castle. The combination of hardy annuals, colourful perennials and heritage vegetables provide glorious sights and scents in the summer and a leafy, sheltered oasis all year round.”

Gordon was feeling quite lethargic at this point and I helpfully commented he was like a pensioner. This then annoyed some nosey woman who complained to Steve that she was a pensioner (which I didn’t see was of any relevance to me), but she shouldn’t have been listening in. Gordon agreed that he did feel like a pensioner, so I was right on that anyway. Gordon did come up with what became the quote of the week:

“Normally I have a kip on these trips in the afternoon, but Steve is showing no mercy this week”.

A quick couple of halfs in the Ship Inn, but we had to go as my battery was down to 4% and there’s no way that I can enjoy being out if my phone doesn’t have any charge. Both fine, although nothing overly exciting.

This was where we were staying, the Manor House Hotel, and here we are leaving for the evening meal at the Crown and Anchor pub.

The barman at the pub was jovial and the England match was taking place when we were there. I don’t much follow football, but when we were 1-0 down he said we shouldn’t worry as “Denmark haven’t done anything since they conquered Lindisfarne”. I think that’s quite an impressive line and was nearly a contender for our quote of the week.

On the food, I rated this highly as the batter was light, the fish flaked away, the chips had a firm edge and the portion size was generous. Susanna and Gordon said their fish batter was greasy, but I didn’t care, mine was delicious. It’s a delight not to have a little whinge at the food.

Here’s the happy group, just before Gordon managed to win the most offensive quote of the week, which I can’t of course repeat. Not wishing to go on about Gordon, but he was showing the group photos of when he was a boy (and some were in black and white). Susanna told everyone that “he used to be cute”, which caused more offence for Gordon as he thought that he still was. Sarah didn’t entirely help by adding “life changes people”.

After that there was a quick walk around the island, which by now was much quieter given that the majority of tourists had left. It’s a spiritual place and it’s a useful time to think about life, the world and what I would be eating for breakfast the next morning. I’ll write a separate post about my reflections about the whole trip, just in case people are now a little bored about hearing about Gordon.

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

This is getting towards the end of our adventure, which is the walk onto the Holy Island where, for a time, St. Cuthbert was buried. I’ll do some posts relating to the history behind this pilgrimage route later on, but best I finish the story of our walk first. There are a lot of photos on this post as the scenery was spectacular in terms of the openness of the environment.

The first part of the walk is along the road onto the island, which is the only way in and out for traffic.

Susanna and Gordon playing by the sign. Looking back on this crossing, we should perhaps have spent a little less time faffing around here.

There is a danger for cars as the water sweeps over the causeway when the tides change and there are some videos on YouTube when drivers ignore these danger signs.

We continued to walk along the road for a little bit and this tower is used as a lookout and safe place to hide for anyone who does get a little bit trapped by the water.

We were then able to walk the rest of the route directly across the sand and here’s Gordon cheering at that thought.

Some walkers took their shoes off, but Gordon and I stood at the back thinking that was a bit decadent for us.

Walking across the sands, which was very easy to do at this stage as the water had entirely receded away.

Steve climbing up a tower. I noticed the missing step and decided that would be a bit too brave for me. I didn’t want to have a falling accident here, partly because it would be a faff for the emergency services and also because Steve and Andy would have a perfect spot to take photos of my little incident and I couldn’t be doing with that.

Steve and Andy up the tower thing.

Here I am about by one of the tall wooden posts that marks the route of the original causeway and is a guide on where walkers can safely cross.

Gordon posing by one of the posts.

We continued across, although the mud was a little slippery in places and so we had to take care. Susanna nearly went flying over on a few occasions and it was noted that I successfully saved her at one point by being in the right place. I quite like some of these photos, the big open skies and the sight of the island that we were walking across to. At this point, it was Susanna, Gordon and I all at the back, whilst we had lost the others somewhere in the distance.

Sarah did send a text saying that we might want to hurry up, but we thought she was just complaining that we were taking too long enjoying our crossing, rather than it being a serious warning we did genuinely need to hurry up.

We had been told by Steve (not that I’m casting blame here) that we were well inside the safe zone time and that the danger zone time was over half an hour away. Susanna and I were a bit muddled up here, as all we could see was the ocean crashing in quickly. For anyone who clicks on the photo above, they’ll see two confused cyclists, one person in the far distance following the poles (Andy) and two people in the water (Steve and Sarah). The cyclists commented that the tides had been coming in exceptionally quickly, which was most certainly true.

This whole situation caused some concern to Susanna and I, because there are Sarah and Steve in the water and we hadn’t quite expected to see that. It’s now clear that there’s no mirage or mysterious way of walking on water, we were a bit blocked by the incoming tide. The cyclists furiously cycled back to the mainland, their route to the island now being blocked, whilst I have to tell Gordon that we need to walk through water. He immediately worried about his blister plaster, but bravely continued on really without many complaints (other than about Steve).

This is the water we plodded through, which was cold, but rather refreshing. It was clearly moving in relatively quickly, but to be fair, there was never much danger here as the water didn’t get that high. However, care does need to be taken on these crossings, but Gordon and I are trained professionals and we never put ourselves in danger. Others should be more careful, as we consider risk in great detail to ensure that we don’t make any mistakes.

Gordon being brave. He commented at one point “Steve will have to take care, he’s quite short”, but I didn’t say anything as I didn’t want to cause our walk leader to be annoyed.

After our short walk through the water we were rewarded with the sight of land and safety, which was much appreciated. I did an interview with Gordon to capture the moment forever, I’ll upload on here at some point (since I’ve already posted it widely across social media anyway).

Looking at the scene of “what could have been a murder charge for Steve” as Gordon put it. We stuck together over the danger zone, conscious that our bravery had been exceptional. Andy had been quite adventurous too (or stupid, whichever way you look at it) as he was up to his waist in the water at one point with the route that he had chosen. Certainly not ideal if you ask me, but I think that he rather enjoyed it.

This photo is taken from the road which we safely got onto. The others were up ahead having a rest on the bench and we were all delighted that six started the crossing and six finished it.

The welcome sign. This meant we could then walk just a little further along the road onto the Holy Island, our adventure drawing to a close. Congratulations to everyone for their bravery here, especially Gordon and I.

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

Our final day of walking was to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, a six mile walk from our accommodation in Lowick. This has been a long day, full of more adventure, so I’ll have to split the post. It also adds anticipation…. (well, not much to be fair)

The village of Lowick just over 100 years ago at a time when it had more pubs and churches, including the White Swan Inn.

Breakfast was in the pub where we were staying, the White Swan Inn. It wasn’t an ideal start, my first attempt of getting cereals this week was having Rice Krispies, but they tasted stale. I checked and they were several months of date, so that annoyed me, another great start to the day. We were though distracted by the excitement that Gordon had broken the blind in his bedroom in what Bev called a rock star style tantrum of trashing his room. I’m not sure Gordon is capable of that.

The full English breakfast. The sausages were bloody dreadful, although everything else was fine. This is fast becoming one of the most critical weeks of food comments that I’ve done, I’m sounding ever more like Bev (probably good that I don’t order scrambled egg). Anyway, back to positivity, the staff were friendly, the room was clean and I had an excellent night’s sleep. So, all was well (other than the out of date cereals and the sausages). Incidentally, I tell the staff member that the cereals were out of date, but I think she thought that I was an idiot (and she’s not far wrong to be fair).

We were aware that we had to be careful with time as we had to cross the water to the Holy Island without getting swept away (although more of that debacle later). It meant three miles back along the road that we had walked on the previous evening, but it seemed to go quickly. That was likely because I was having an intellectual discussion with Gordon about life.

This is St. Nicholas’s Church in Kyloe, but it has been deconsecrated and turned into a private residence. Like many churches around here it was reconstructed in the late eighteenth century, extended in the late nineteenth century and shut in the late twentieth century. In fairness though to the Church of England, there really isn’t a very large population in the area to build a congregation from so there’s not much that they could likely have done.

We made out way back into Fenwick, with the rest of the group ahead whilst Gordon and I gossiped at the back. We also started to get our first views of the Holy Island, something that the rain had obscured on the previous evening.

The Fenwick Granary farm buildings which are in a state of considerable decline over just a few years. There’s a planning application here to convert these farm buildings into residential use, but it has so far been rejected.

The walk continued towards the sea.

Here’s Gordon striding along, very keen to see the end of the walk at this stage with his wonky feet.

The big open skies.

Some lovely lambs, with Gordon trying to take a similar photo before realising they had all turned round. He didn’t want to take a photo at that point in case people thought he was strange.

The East Coast Main Line which goes from London to Edinburgh. Before anyone comments, I didn’t stand and faff about taking a photo here, I took it whilst walking across.

I waited for Gordon, like the true gentleman I am, in case he fell over and needed assistance.

It’s not clear whether the signalman actually wants people to keep calling.

If there had of been a bull in the field then I would have gone across to the cut arable headland. Fortunately, there was no bull.

These are military installations to protect the coastline from German attack during the Second World War.

Where the gun would have been located and this marked the start of our walk over to the Holy Island. What could possibly go wrong?

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

The fourth day of our St. Cuthbert’s Way walk took us from Wooler to Lowick, a total distance of around 14 miles. It rained heavily during the day, so we did it at quite a fast pace, primarily it was a bit wet to entirely enjoy the scenery. That also means I have a slight absence of quotes from the day, mostly because it was a bit difficult to talk given the monsoon conditions that we faced.

The breakfast in the hotel, with Susanna eyeing up the cafetieres and wanting to have one of those, instead of the filter coffee that was available. It transpired that they were just for decoration and weren’t in use, which perhaps wasn’t entirely ideal after Susanna had become so excited.

The rooms above had been quite noisy the night before, something that Gordon and I were aware of given our ground floor accommodation. Gordon made some allegations about Susanna being like an elephant, although Steve confirmed that on this occasion she wasn’t to blame.

The hotel wanted the breakfast orders in the evening before, something which I understand for B&Bs, but I’m less convinced is necessary in larger venues. After a rather filling Italian meal on the previous evening (which is likely to be my favourite meal of the week), I didn’t much want the heavy breakfast I’d pre-ordered, I’d have rather switched to the lighter Eggs Benedict, but I was stuck with this (and it is what I said I’d have to be fair). I feel a little guilty to say that most of this went in the bin, the bacon was greasy and cold and I abandoned it. Not ideal, although the sausage was a decent one. I instead had about a gallon of the hotel’s orange juice and three muffins.

Anyway, that matter aside, there was then a question about where Susanna’s breakfast was. It transpired that the staff hadn’t brought it out as Susanna had cleared off to the other end of the room and they thought she wasn’t there. Susanna explained that “I was just doing my stretches”. That’s the problem, she’s too much of an athlete compared to the rest of us.

As Steve said, the hotel likely thought it was very kind of us that we had brought our parents along for a walk.

We were then ready for a walk, or at least, I was, as the others were faffing about taking photos. This is Tower Hill in Wooler, where the town’s castle was once located.

I rushed up to the top of the hill to take a photo, before realising that this was really additional climbing that I didn’t need to do, so I rushed back down. I thought that it’d be a good view from here, and although that was the case, I forgot that we were about to climb much higher anyway.

The morning’s walk was through a lot of this terrain, ferns and the like. I was walking at the front, meaning I got wet knocking all the water off the ferns for the walkers behind. It’s that selfless sort of behaviour that will likely see me winning an award later on this week.

The Fowberry Estate with this interesting display board giving some information about the wildlife hidden within. I always check these boards to ensure that there are no snakes around.

More ferns, although I enjoy walking through this terrain. The rain kept the environment at a colder temperature, which I very much liked.

Steve and I suspected that this wall was old, but we had no idea. I took a photo of it instead, although Steve then mentioned that there was a big cow thing at the back of the field that I hadn’t noticed so I changed my focus to worrying about that.

The quiet River Till, which is a tributary of the River Tweed.

This is Weetwood Bridge, a Grade I listed structure which was built in the sixteenth century. It’s perhaps a shame that there were no signs here giving more information, as it’s where the English army crossed the river the day before the Battle of Flodden.

This gas pipeline was noted in the guidebook as being from the North Sea and I had mentioned to the others that it was coming up. Most of us took photos of it, although without any real reason to do so.

We then joined, although only for a short while, the Devil’s Causeway which is a Roman road that pre-dates Hadrian’s Wall. Slightly annoyingly, it led directly to where our accommodation was at Lowick, but we were walking the St. Cuthbert’s Way and couldn’t just miss a chunk out, even if it got us back home quicker. We were only walking on this for a few minutes, but I liked the Roman connection.

A pillbox from the Second World War, when there was a concern that the Germans would attack this part of the country.

Some photos of St. Cuthbert, this is a wooden statue that was a pleasant sight for us all. Although that meant more faffing about taking photos, although I didn’t say anything.

A photo of Gordon standing next to the statue.

I don’t know the crop, but it looked quite pretty in the landscape.

It was a little bit of a slog to the next point, which was St. Cuthbert’s Cave.

St. Cuthbert’s Cave is said to be the location that the monks of Lindisfarne laid the body of St. Cuthbert whilst they rested. Or at least, I think that’s the story that has been built up over the centuries. They were carrying his body as the Danish kept raiding the Holy Island, so they wanted to protect his remains. There are two caves of the same name, but there’s no reason that the monks couldn’t have stopped at both locations as I’m sure it was very tiring carting this dead body about the place. Also, apologies that the photos are a bit blurry, but there was a torrent of water in front of me and it was hard to keep my phone dry.

Some idiots have been having fires in the cave, which has meant the National Trust have advised that visitors don’t go into the cave itself. We did have a quick look inside, but we decided to have our lunches in rather safer parts of the site. Gordon also had a look at his foot and I can confirm that it was in a bit of a mess. He was being quite brave though and didn’t complain for too long. We didn’t want to linger for too long here as it was getting a bit cold and then Sarah and Andy sneaked off to do something, but I can’t repeat here what Gordon said about that. I didn’t get involved of course in that tittle tattle.

It was then around three miles to get to the end of the walk, which we did quite quickly as the weather was dreadful and it poured with rain for nearly the entire distance. I did enjoy this woodland section and we did do a good pace, although I’m pleased to note that everyone kept up (we really have done very well indeed this week, a great group for keeping up!). I think a few people at the back might have been a little confused about the pace, but Steve is the walk leader and I just do what I’m told.

The others had been considering getting a taxi from Fenwick to our hotel in Lowick, but I was never that keen as I just walk places. However, the planned taxi at 16:00 was scrapped since we got to Fenwick at just before 14:00, so we all walked in the sheet rain to the accommodation. This took an hour and really wasn’t ideal given that we were walking by the side of the road, although I was humoured to hear that a lorry had splashed Gordon. He also said that he was jogging to keep up with Steve and I, although I think that this is entirely fake news. We did see the body of a dead badger which was sad, although at least they’re alive in the area (unless that’s the last one, in which case they’re not). Sarah did mention that she could see us in the distance, but I don’t think she realised how Steve and I were trying to inspire her by our fast walking.

This photo makes more sense if clicked on to make it easier to see, with evidence of Steve not removing the soap powder from his clothes being evident. This also meant that we had safely reached Lowick, which was a considerable relief after nearly an hour of road walking in the pouring rain.

At this point, my phone told me that it had sensed moisture and I was a little annoyed by that, since it should have detected moisture much earlier. That took me some drying out with a hair dryer (on cool setting) which Sarah suggested, as the phone won’t let you charge it if it thinks that there’s moisture in the charging port. I couldn’t have gone out without my phone (obviously), so I was pleased to get it working again.

Our hotel has been closed for a couple of weeks due to a Covid scare, with us staying on the final night before they reopened. They were really rather good about the whole thing, offering refunds and the like, but we decided to stay there. It meant though that we had to move to a different location to get our evening meal.

My room, which I adored because the owner turned the radiators on which meant that I could dry everything out. My room also had a bath and this was a real bonus to me given how moist everything had become. I was pleased that I could entirely dry my boots and clothing out overnight.

My SealSkinz socks had done very well in the rain, although my shoes were sodden and they had failed towards the end to keep the water out. However, they had done marvellously and so my feet were still not that wet and they were fortunately undamaged. I certainly would have been disappointed if they were in the state that Gordon’s feet were in (his socks hadn’t held out at all). Susanna is also writing an angry letter to someone as her shoes aren’t anywhere as waterproof as she’d had been promised. I would say, I wouldn’t want to be on the end of that complaint as she can be quite fierce.

We went to the Black Bull in Lowick for our evening meal, a pub which is listed in the Good Beer Guide which means that I’ll have to write it up separately. Initially they could only offer us two tables, as we were a late booking, but they kindly fixed that on the evening and got us all a table together which was much appreciated.

The others were more generous about their food, although I thought my chicken and leek pie was perhaps just a little mediocre. I feel the need to be slightly critical, because Bev wouldn’t want me to be anything other than to be honest (and she complains a lot, so I am always learning from her). For those who care (likely about three people), I felt that the portion size was inadequate (a complaint I rarely make), the chips lacked any fluffiness inside and the mushy peas were generic and lacking any depth of taste or flavour. The filling of the pie was better and the chicken tender and rich in flavour, but there was little evidence of leek either visually or by taste and the base of the pie was soggy. The extra gravy I asked for was brought out just as I was finishing, although in all fairness, that did have a rich taste and I did enjoy that (the taste I mean, not the delay). The meal was all a bit bland for me and the price point was quite punchy given that.

Anyway, I digress, and I was probably the one who the most critical of the food (which isn’t the first time). And the sharing cheese board (which I nearly ordered to myself, but I thought that would be too decadent) that Sarah and Andy ordered really did look very lovely and the blue cheese they gave me from that was delicious. There we go, a nice balanced review to be fair as I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining (again).

There were no dark beers available on draft, but the pub had made provision to have Black Hag from Cheviot Brewery, which I liked and had a couple of bottles of. The staff struggled a little to engage on the selection of real ales, but at least they had a range available to choose from, so all was well and the quality justified being in the Good Beer Guide. Also, I know these are difficult times for pubs, so I liked they’d made an effort to have some bottles available to widen the options.

A group photo, just before Sarah and I helpfully took a photo of Gordon, which seemed to annoy him as he mentioned that “you two are in cahoots”. It was just photos for Bev though, since she can’t be with us on this trip. We’ve missed her quite a lot, she’s really quite a guiding influence on me in terms of my behaviour. Indeed, she’s something of an inspiration.

The ice cream, which was a suitable way to end the meal and it tasted of a decent quality. Gordon had three scoops of ice cream as he’s very wealthy, something that was commented on at the table. Susanna and I limited ourselves to just two, we didn’t want to go overboard on the decadence.

We then walked back to the accommodation, although I went via St. John the Baptist Church in Lowick and this was of some historic note as the medieval building here was linked to the monastery on Holy Island. It was replaced at the end of the eighteenth century with the current church, which was then extended in the late 1880s.

This meant that our fourth day of walking was over, with just a short stretch on the five and final day which would see us reach the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. It had certainly been moist, but the terrain wasn’t too hilly and I liked the woodland areas. The walk into Lowick isn’t really ideal, but we just put our heads down and got on with it (inspired by Steve). All told though, another lovely day and I’m a little sad that this whole thing is drawing to an end.

St. Cuthbert’s Way – Resources and Index

The wi-fi situation has improved (but not the phone signal situation) so I might be able to catch-up now….. This is the second of two parts about the third day of our St. Cuthbert’s Way trip.

Click on this photo and you’ll notice the rest of the group are some way back. On this occasion I hadn’t rushed off, this was a dilemma caused entirely by Susanna (I have to be honest, there’s no way to blame anyone else). She had lost her phone and was devastated as she relies on that for gossip, so it was essential that she found it. I hadn’t realised at the time what was happening, so I remained at the top of the hill. This was partly (well, entirely) selfish as there was Internet signal where I was standing and there were also the cows that had confronted us at the bottom of the hill. Also, I was able to finish my lunch which had been brought to an abrupt halt with the flock of cows.

About half an hour later the walkers come up the hill, with four of them having grimaces and one of them looking very sheepish. Susanna explained “I put my phone in a part of my backpack that wasn’t part of my backpack so I couldn’t find it there”. Steve was overheard saying “I never want to get old”, but the others didn’t say anything. I heard Gordon say “have you ever heard of anything like this?”. It transpired that Gordon also opted out of assisting with the phone searching and he thought that it was a wild goose chase. I won’t grass him up on that though.

It was agreed that we wouldn’t dwell on Susanna’s mistake, as these things happen to us all. Admittedly, some a lot more times than others, but there we go.

The next obstacle was ahead of us, a field of placid cows with their calves. But sometimes placid cows can become galloping devils and so we eased our way across the field delicately, trying not to look at of the giant animals in the eyes for fear of annoying them. I walked with Sarah across this field and she was very calming and mature, although it’s fair to say that a few of us weren’t thrilled about this part of the walk.

I like this kind of landscape and it distracted me from thinking that it was too hot and too hilly.

As Steve said at the time, a signpost for short dogs.

We continued over the hills……. And well done to everyone, some of these walks are a bit of a slog and our entire group has kept going with high spirits.

From afar these looked like military pill boxes, but when up close it appears they’re related to grouse shooting or something similar.

Gordon on the way into Wooler which was our destination for the evening. A little ahead of us were Sarah and Andy, with Gordon commenting “I’m fed up with them holding hands, they think they’re in some Mills & Boon novel. They were kissing the other day as well and I wasn’t included”. He said that I could tell them he’d said that as he thought it’d be a useful contribution.

My room at the No 1 Hotel and Wine Lodge in Wooler, which could have been a little cleaner and it had problems with noise from its creaking cheap feeling extension. Lovely welcome from the staff member at reception though, but the ordering breakfast procedure was a little too complex for my liking.

We then went for a little meander around Wooler. The bench in the first photo above is a talking bench, where anyone can sit and people know they might be willing to have a chat. The other is more for sitting and thinking.

St. Mary’s Church in Wooler, which dates to 1765 and replacing a twelfth century structure. I was pleased to see that this was open, giving us a chance to pop inside.

Never a fan of gravestones being used like this, but more on this church in another post (which I’ll hopefully actually get to write at some point).

Our evening meal was at the Milan Italian restaurant located opposite the hotel and this was, to be honest, really rather lovely. The service from the owner was personable and welcoming, with the environment feeling laid-back and informal. There was an attempt by the restaurant to source some local beers and I enjoyed the bottle of Hare Raiser beer from the nearby Hetton Law brewery. Of interest to nearly no-one is that this beer was my 500th unique beer that I’ve listed on Untappd, a milestone that I celebrated quietly (very quietly actually, I didn’t realise until writing this).

It was just after this moment that Steve dropped all of the cutlery on the floor, which wasn’t ideal. We also started to talk about the awards of the week, an essential and childish component to any trip away. I started this stupid and irrelevant idea a couple of years ago and have now decided to stick with it. Andy and Sarah had some really rather wonderful ideas on the theme though and I’m still in a very good mood with both of them, so they’ll be winning some of the awards.

Gordon decided that he wanted a starter and so we ultimately all ended up with one. I’m not greedy so limited myself to a bread basket, which was perfectly delicious, whilst Gordon complained that his prawns had cost £3 each. He also commented six times that the restaurant should have green beans, before dropping a revelation about his private life. I’m very discreet though, so won’t put the details here. I’ve told Bev though, so perhaps I might as well of done. He also told us of a faux pas he made in Hike Norfolk, which is something else I’d better keep secret.

I’m disappointed that this photo doesn’t really show how big this calzone was, but it was a struggle to get through given the amount of food. It was perfectly cooked, the fillings were moist and delicious, the exterior had a crunch to it and it was one of the best that I’ve had. The others thought that their food was equally good, other than Gordon who said he’d had better pasta. He was being a bit challenging during the evening to be honest, I think it was the several pints at the pub before.

I had wanted tiramisu, but I saw this Limoncello sorbet with a shot of Limoncello, so I was sold on that. It might not be what is traditionally seen as a masculine dessert (if food can even be described of in that manner), but it reminded me of Amalfi and Bev’s antics, so it felt very appropriate.

And with that, we crossed back over the road to the hotel and sleep. With the trauma for me that the Internet signal wasn’t very good and so I couldn’t upload photos for this blog. That was at least two people disappointed….. Anyway, another really lovely day and everyone is great company, and surprisingly to me they’re not very annoying.