21 April 2011 - Byrness to Jedburgh
Distance - 20.3 miles
Weather - Hot & sunny
We stayed at - The Byrness Hotel, Byrness, Near Otterburn, Northumberland, NE19 1TR and Burts Hotel, Market Square, Melrose, Roxburghshire, TD6 9PL
Today's stage was a very long one, but luckily it wasn't the most difficult one of our LEJOG. Byrness is a small village built originally to provide homes for the people working in Redesdale Forest. Sadly, as mechanisation has increased, the workforce has decreased and many of the facilities have suffered as a result - in particular the petrol station which also served as a cafe and a shop. The Byrness Hotel was a nice place, but we were the only people staying and it had the air of a business struggling to survive. The hotel had set up a walker's cafe to try to attract those walking the Pennine Way. It would be a shame if this hotel, at such an important overnight stopping point, disappeared.
The journey itself started with a walk up through forest, where there had been some tree
felling, so we were unable to stick to the footpath near Harry's Pike, but had to follow a detour adding a little more distance onto our already long day. The APW guidebook warns the walker against the midges lurking in the forest, but luckily as we were walking so early in the year we weren't troubled by these vicious little creatures!
Up at Hungry Law we reached a landmark, we crossed from England into Scotland, pausing briefly to take in the magnificent panorama of the Cheviots. It was also where, for us, we left the forest - it was amazing to think that it took virtually two days of walking to cross it.
We joined the Pennine Way for a while, we always seem to bump into it on the most muddy, soggy or desolate pieces of moorland and once again I felt my decision to use the Alternative Pennine Way, rather than the actual one was vindicated. The whole point of completing the LEJOG for us was for discovery and enjoyment, rather than as a penance!
Later on in the walk we followed a Roman road called Dere Street. I was always of
the opinion that the Romans were brilliant at building roads, but this one was a little difficult under foot from time to time. Still I suppose it hadn't done too badly having survived for around fifteen hundred years! Dere Street is actually the Saxon name for this highway, which is a continuation of Ermine Street. It is was essentially the route that ran between the River Tees and the River Forth.
Finally, we found ourselves walking down to Jed Water and the car park by the
beautiful Jedburgh Abbey. I first visited Jedburgh when I was about fourteen and luckily it hasn't changed much since then. From Jedburgh we drove up to Melrose, where we are staying for the next couple of nights. Later at dinner, I got told off by Alistair for looking at the football scores. It was the return leg of the Old Farm Derby and Norwich beat Ipswich by five goals to one at Portman Road!
We stayed at - The Byrness Hotel, Byrness, Near Otterburn, Northumberland, NE19 1TR and Burts Hotel, Market Square, Melrose, Roxburghshire, TD6 9PL
The journey itself started with a walk up through forest, where there had been some tree
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| Forest view near Byrness |
Up at Hungry Law we reached a landmark, we crossed from England into Scotland, pausing briefly to take in the magnificent panorama of the Cheviots. It was also where, for us, we left the forest - it was amazing to think that it took virtually two days of walking to cross it.
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| Magnificent Cheviot views |
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| Ruins of Jedburgh Abbey |
the opinion that the Romans were brilliant at building roads, but this one was a little difficult under foot from time to time. Still I suppose it hadn't done too badly having survived for around fifteen hundred years! Dere Street is actually the Saxon name for this highway, which is a continuation of Ermine Street. It is was essentially the route that ran between the River Tees and the River Forth.
Finally, we found ourselves walking down to Jed Water and the car park by the
beautiful Jedburgh Abbey. I first visited Jedburgh when I was about fourteen and luckily it hasn't changed much since then. From Jedburgh we drove up to Melrose, where we are staying for the next couple of nights. Later at dinner, I got told off by Alistair for looking at the football scores. It was the return leg of the Old Farm Derby and Norwich beat Ipswich by five goals to one at Portman Road!
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