Today was a transition day in three parts.  I started walking in the rural countryside, as I have don e for the last 5 days.  Dropping out of the farm districts down to the banks of the Tyne, my route went through a private golf course before the long final section along the north banks of the river.  The river path was a bicycle pathway and, instead of dodging sheep and cows, I was now dodging golf balls and cyclists.

The bike path started life as a waggonway where horse drawn wagons were used to haul coal from the mines to the Newcastle dockyards.  It was later converted to an early railway and then finally, in the 2000s to a cycle route.  It was good, flat walking and definitely better than following urban roads.  As I approached town central it became more of a dockland renewal precinct – the ships and docks had gone and now there were offices, apartments and cafes.

It turned out to be the longest day of the walk with just over 29km covered by the time I reached the car.  For the final day I will return to the city centre and continue along the river towards the end of the official path before reaching the east coast.