Over the weekend I headed south of the border for a spot of walking with Rob.
We met up in Haltwhistle, which is between Carlisle and Newcastle, near Hadrian’s Wall. To get there I caught a fast and stylish Virgin train from Glasgow to Carlisle and then changed to a 2 carriage rattler for the rest of the trip to Haltwistle. The trip was a nice railway outing and a good way to wind down after a week of work.
After finding our caravan park for the night, we headed into town to grab something to eat. Wandering around, I noticed how English everything seemed – different scenery, accents, buildings. For Rob everything was like “The North” (wherever that is). At 10 pm you might think that the options would be limited, but fortunately the Indian take-away did Indian and Pizza. I took the chance to try my first tandoori chicken tikka pizza (marginal) and some onion bhajis (served in a transparent paper bag dripping with grease). Mmmm . . . The pub service was much better.
We spent the next two days walking in the North Pennines. It was a bit like walking in a very large back paddock; with rolling hills, stone fences and sheep at every turn. After sheep, the second most populous wildlife were grouse, which regularly flew out in pairs from the undergrowth with a violent batter of wings. The scenery was also dotted with shooting hides and spent shotgun cartridges (each person enjoys wildlife in their own way – some prefer it with sauce.)
Although we were never really far from civilisation, it felt very remote and we didn’t meet anyone else over the two days – which suited us fine. It gave us the time to discuss the important things in life – such as: Where does “The North” start? Do vegetables lose their nutritional value when microwaved? and How to minimise your chance of being ripped off while travelling in India.
Photos here
- Dave
