Blanchland to Hexham (July 2012)
11 3/4 miles
Weather: overcast, warm with sunny intervals
Another super breakfast and then fond farewells to our lovely hosts who dropped us off in Blanchland for the day's walk to Hexham. We followed a road out of the village which soon became a track and we passed an old lead mining village called Shildon. This used to be a drovers' route between Blanchland and Hexham. Up on the hill to the right we saw a former coaching house called Pennypie House. We had great views now as we walked along a good path across a heather moor with blue skies above us and Derwent Reservoir in the valley away on our right. We surveyed the moors, the sky and the valley once more before we plunged into the green quietness of Slaley Forest. We followed the forest roads and paths and eventually we emerged by Devil's Water and followed soggy paths towards Hexham. The paths were so water logged we disturbed toads who were wallowing in the puddles. There were more people about now as we neared civilisation. Around us we saw evidence of this area's lead mining past - the ruins of houses, works and the most beautiful pair of Gothic arches appeared round a bend (the remains of an old smelting mill). We walked through fields and sat a while on a bench placed in a perfect spot to take in the views. The seat was a memorial to a local hiking club leader.
Now we could see the abbey in the distance - not far to Hexham now. We entered the town - our first real town since Settle at the start, and made our way to the nearest tea room where we enjoyed a cup of tea and a comfort break. The tea shop was ideally situated for the tourist information office and a retail opportunity. After our brew we wandered into the town centre to have a look at the abbey which is beautiful. Originally built in AD900, it has some interesting artifacts including Roman tombstones (Hadrian's Wall is very close). The crypt was closed as it was late afternoon but after hovering about the entrance for a couple of minutes one of the guides opened it up for us and we descended into the gloom of the undercroft. It was marvellous - the crypt is part of the original 9th century abbey and you could feel the age of the place - stunning. We ascended the steps back into the light and the 21st century and found ourselves a wine bar with tables and chairs outside which were inviting us to sit a spell and benefit from the warmth of the late afternoon sunshine. We joined some locals and enjoyed an end of walk celebratory drink or three. The locals were very welcoming. We met a couple of girls who owned a beauty salon and and had just finished for the day, an old chap with a beautiful walking stick/crook which he had carved himself and a lady from Newcastle who was keen to hear all about our walking adventures. We hope we inspired her to go walking.
So, the last day for us on the Pennine Journey but we intend to be back in the new year for the next 5 day section - Hexham to Appleby. As our train pulled out of Hexham station we reflected on our wonderful, hard, interesting, soggy 106 mile walk and before the journey was over we had started our plans for the next stage...
