 20th-22th January - Northumberland weekend
We arrived at Byrness hostel in plenty of time to head for the local pub - 6 miles away! The real local had closed down years ago!
"Where the hell are we?" - that was the question most frequently asked during Saturday's 'medium' walk.
Dan was walk leader for the day, using what was quite possibly the oldest map still in existence. The weather was good, and the group was in high spirits despite a few hangovers and the odd mysterious injury.
The hard walk would not have been the hard walk without a bit of a challenge, and Saturday was no exception (the fact is should have been a medium walk is irrelevant!). The challenges in this particular walk came in the form of walking up steep hills through what used to be forest (but is now piles of burnt wood, tree stumps and bogs) with a map that shows the landscape how it used to be when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Nonetheless, Dan led expertly on and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Jack amused some of us along the way by having a big rant about the foul stench of the bog, only seconds before falling in it. This lack of balance was something that he managed to sustain for the remainder of the day. The walk progressed at a leisurely pace (with some being more leisurely than others) until it became apparent that we still hadn't found the path home and it would be getting dark in an hour. But, thanks to a mix of Dan's navigation and Martin scouting ahead, the path was soon discovered.
A perfectly timed arrival back at at the hostel saw us getting in just as it got dark, and while some enjoyed the numerous river crossings (albeit all over the same river!) and pushing through the undergrowth a bit more than others, all had enjoyed the days walk. As usual, the walk was followed by showers and a good feeding. Then it was back over to the pub for a few well deserved drinks, as people gradually started retiring to bed. Those that had the stamina stayed up into the small hours, but most opted for getting some sleep to be ready for Sundays walk....
Sunday we headed off to Holy Island, for a trek across the sands to the monastry and castle. Once on the island some visited the castle, some the cafe, whilst others...went swimming! The North Sea is hardly inviting in the summer, but in January? Elise and Laura braved the icy sea, albeit briefly. Their motives remain a mystery!
We got back to Leeds fairly early, in plenty of time for the traditional curry as Nasams. Overall a great weekend! |
