The Ecstasy of Wilderness

I had a very filling English breakfast at the B&B, before setting off at 10.20am. I felt much more revived and energised today, having spent a night tucked in a proper bed and a good morning shower. :) This was another learning point for myself: For the upcoming Pennine Way, I shouldn't stay in a tent at all! I couldn't afford any mistakes that would hinder me from completing the entire Way at 1 go!

Today marked the last 16.8km to the end - the shortest distance out of the 4-day walk. I did it in 4 hours, a considerably fast speed, probably because of the strong will to complete the walk. Weather was similarly hot, except with slightly more wind. Therefore it made me feel better. I decided to wear long sleeve blouse today to avoid any more sunburnt. That was definitely a more sensible decision - something which I should have thought of from the start! Learning from mistakes and terrible lessons...

After leaving Warkworth and passing Amble (also known as Warkworth Harbour), it was the dunes again! Views of the small island of Coquet grew closer till it eventually vanished when I headed further south. There was less variation in scenery today. Half of the route was well built paths through Druridge Bay Country Park to Chevington Nature Reserve.

The other half of the walk was beachwalking and climbing up and down the sand dunes. It was tiring: Trying to walk on the soft sand was taking up a lot of energy! I had a shock (and shy) when I passed 2 men who were totally naked. Suntanning. Too open in UK for me to accept. (:P)

I finally reached Cresswell at 2.15pm. Joined the crowd there to lick an ice-cream while I waited for the arrival of my bus back to Ashington. Had to change to another bus to return to Newcastle Haymarket. It was a terribly hot and glaring day. I gave my housemates a BIG shock when they saw how tanned I had become after a brief few days walk. Tsk tsk tsk...beyond cure!!!!

The cold night ended and the morning sun shone through the opening of my tent. I woke up at 5am, but tried going back to sleep again for another hour, hoping that more sleep would energise me. I was then woken up by the warm sun. Out of curiosity, I took out my thermometer to have a look. Guess what? 32 degrees celsius at 8.30am! That's crazy! Today was the warmest day, and the sun was burning! The absence of wind made it even muggier.

After unpitching my tent and stuffing everything into my backpack, I left the campsite and continued down south, this time with my cap on. I mustn't get any tanner! However I was still in short sleeves <-- a BIG mistake! The route today was very familiar, passing Boulmer and finally towards Alnmouth. Met a male who was out with his dog for a walk. We chatted and I learnt that he was a walker like me when he was younger. He owned a caravan as well <-- one of my dreams to be fulfilled if I could manage to rob a bank!

At Alnmouth, I had my lunch/ rest for an hour. The BEST fish and chips ever! It was at 'The Hope & Anchor' pub, one of the highly recommended pubs in the Inn Way list as well.

After my meal, I carried on towards the planned destination - Warkworth. It was this section of the walk when I started to feel ill due to sunburnt. My right arm skin was starting to hurt. When I touched it, it felt as if it was on fire! It had started to swell just beneath my elbow. Oh dear! Fears for my coming examination! What if it gets worse and I cannot hold my pen! Lots of regrets! Oh dear! I couldn't wait to get to Warkworth!

The walk seemed really long when I wasn't enjoying it. I heaved a sigh of relief when I finally checked into 'Old Post Office' B&B in Warkworth. It looked a little old but it was clean. When I removed my shoes, I was shocked to see blood stains from one of my right toes. Probably due to long toe nails <--- another lesson learnt. I washed up, felt slightly better, but my face and arms were still on fire! It was a very uncomfortable night when my skin had started to itch and it interrupted my sleep. I felt ill!