Day 37: Bellingham to Hadrian’s Wall Campsite
📍 Distance: 16.60 miles / 26.72 km
☁️ Weather: Overcast for most of the day – no rain
🕘 Start: 09:18 | 🕔 Finish: 16:45
After a well-earned rest day in Bellingham (pronounced Bellin’jum), I set off feeling recharged. I have to give a special mention to the Indian takeaway in town – not just for the delicious food but for the incredibly friendly locals. We met a lovely couple who were very supportive of our cause and even donated on the spot. We also chatted with Paul, who kindly took a flyer and said he'd donate too. Back at the campsite, another couple pledged to donate.I hope we are increasing awareness about Alzheimer’s and dementia as well as rising funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK
Just as I left the campsite, I bumped into Nathan, who I hadn’t seen in five days. We ended up walking most of the morning together before he stopped for a break. The terrain today was mostly undulating countryside with two stretches through forest, and a particularly scenic walk across a nature reserve.
Later in the day, I crossed paths again with David, who had also taken a rest day in Bellingham. We stopped at a lovely little “Pit Stop” run by a friendly lady who has a small bothy and shop for passing walkers – a real treat and a much-needed pause.
Not everything was so relaxing, though! At one point we tried to cross a field with a single horse in it. He charged toward us and wouldn’t leave me alone, despite Nathan’s best efforts to distract him. In the end, I had to slowly walk backwards to the gate with the horse inches from me the whole time. Thankfully, I made a clean escape!
Just when I thought the animal encounters were over, I found myself walking a mile-long boardwalk through nature reserve and stumbled upon... an ostrich. Yes, really. It was guarding the gate I needed to go through. With some cautious encouragement, I managed to sneak by without incident.
The only hiccup after that was a missed path near the end of the day. After enjoying the impressive Hadrian’s Wall at Caw Gap, I took a wrong turn and ended up on a busy main road for the final stretch. Not ideal, but we made it safely.
At the campsite, I was greeted – as always – by Adam, my cameraman, driver and all-round crew. But today there was another surprise: Graham, Adam’s cousin, who we met a fortnight ago, stopped by on his way home from York. It was great to see him again and lovely of him to visit.
Tomorrow another longer day – 17 miles to Alston.
