Injury Time

Our day started early at about 7 am and Winshields Farm where we were camped was shrouded in mist. Despite the low cloud cover though, the air temperature still felt muggy and for the first time on the trip the midges were out in force. We literally threw our gear into our rucksacks as they started to eat us alive. By 8.15 we'd had our fill of bacon and egg and started the climb back up to the highest point on Hadrian's Wall - whose idea was it to camp on a farm situated directly below the highest point?! Anyway, off we trudged, waved off by Simon, and we were up on top of the ridge sooner than we had expected. Much of the murk had, by then, began to lift and the threat of rain for the first time on the walk dispersed with it. By the time we'd traversed the ridge for half an hour the sun started to poke through the cloud in small patches and had eventually won the battle against the murk an hour later. The rest of the day was back to our customary flag cracking heat-it was wonderful.

The downside for me personally came at 10am when my ankle turned on a loose rock on a high ridge and as I tried to right myself, my left calf muscle went 'snap' and I keeled over. I was gutted. I limped up and down the subsequent ridges for the next hour with a borrowed walking stick, but it didn't really make a difference. The upshot was that I spent the next 7 hours and 14 miles limping at a snails pace. By the time I reached our destination-a wonderful campsite and bunkhouse at Walton-I was thoroughly knackered and my feet are now full of blisters due to having to over compensate on one side of my body. Richard is suffering with swollen ankles and blisters, Tim's knee went today and he too has blisters, Jacko is still suffering with blisters, so it's only Andrew who remains healthy. And you wonder why we've been dubbed the SAGA 6!

Anyway, on the positive side, the walk today was absolutely beautiful. It started very much as yesterday's walk had finished, walking along high whaleback ridges accompanied by the ever present wall. After lunch however, we started to descend to the more gentle, undulating hills at the edge of the Northumberland National Park, although as our altitude decreased the air temperature increased so the challenge kind of remained the same.

Highlights included Birdoswald Roman Fort and a wonderful 'honesty' cafe which provided tea, coffee, pop and crisps, along with benches and chairs for weary travellers, completely unstaffed with only a steel cabinet with a money slot on the wall. Brilliant.

Anyway, I'll publish this blog now along with a few pics because my battery is about to die. Andrew and I will blog again later.

Russ