It was time to leave Scotland, and return south.  We farewelled the provider of yesterday’s lunch, and headed off to England.  On the way we called in at Dunning again to properly photograph the Campbell gravestone Ian had found.  South of Dunning, we passed through Dunning Glen, a very pretty valley with steep sides.  We […]

If you hop in the car and turn left out of Roughstones, you drive for 3 miles along a single lane farm road, passing fields full of naughty sheep, hay bales, and the occasional osprey hunting for small animals.  You turn north at Blairgowrie, the nearest sizeable town (by which I mean it has a […]

We farewelled Kibblesworth, Hadrian and the Romans, and headed north.  We drove through Northumberland National Park, remembering some of the landmarks from our last drive here in 2018 – the gigantic wind turbines, the heathery hills, and the “last café in England”.   We crossed the border at the gigantic St Andrews flag, but a fresh […]

Monday loomed cooler, overcast and the areas around Newcastle were very quiet.  It’s school holidays and everyone seems to have left town.  It drizzled on and off all day so the final steps were without any firework celebrations.  I returned to the bridges in Newcastle central and walked 9 km to Wallsend where I met […]

If there is one thing I was reminded of today, it is that history comes in layers.  We used the Metro to get around Newcastle today, as it seemed easier than driving and looking for parking in and near the city.  We boarded at Heworth.  I farewelled Ian at Newcastle Central, where he began the […]

Sundays are always nice times to visit cities, especially on days like today when the weather is perfect.  Traffic is lighter, the pace is slower and there is an air of relaxation.  And so it proved in Durham.  After a late start and lunch at home, we drove to a Park & Ride, left the […]

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 […]

Ian set off on his third consecutive walking day, determined to reach central Newcastle.  I set off to explore some different periods of post-Roman history – first of all some Victoriana, then the Anglo-Saxon Middle Ages, and finally the mid 20th century shipbuilding boom.  My first stop was Saltwell Towers, a remarkable Victorian era brick […]

Unlike a few walkers I have not been using earbuds to play music or whatever, so today was a bit noisy as most of the route was alongside roads.  A few patches of wooded areas and quiet backroads were the best bits of today’s route.  I also saw a long section of original wall that […]