England Coast path Lindisfarne Holy Island to Berwick-upon-Tweed Part 54

 Wednesday 24th July 2024

England Coast path  Lindisfarne Holy Island to Berwick-upon-Tweed

Distance 18:44 Miles

Time 6:23

Elevation Gain 327 Feet

Total days walking 66 (excluding the swcp)

Total mileage 1477.91 (including the swcp)

After another comfortable night we go for breakfast, A traditional layout with cereal's & continental laid out with the cooked menu on the tables, We take a look through & being rather partial to eggs benedict we are pleased to see it on the menu it's not long before it is delivered to our table. What a treat Sour dough bread toasted to perfection with perfect eggs & the Hollandaise sauce just wonderful!

We finish our breakfast & get ready for our day of walking. The bus was due to the island at 0923 & we wait at the bus stop adjacent to the Hotel we are early & while we wait Lesley puts a cheeky thumb up to hitch a lift. Well would you believe it, a car stops & offers us a lift to the Island.

 Alison was going over to the island to do research for her foundation course on Castles of Northumberland. Alison took us to the island carpark across the Causeway which was really great as the bus would have only taken us to the start of the causeway putting an extra four miles on our day.

We offer to pay for Alison's parking but she is insistent that we don't pay so we thank her & we head off to the monastery museum & ruin. A short queue to the museum & we are in taking a brief look at some of the artefacts & history of the island then its off to see the ruin.

   

Following our visit to the monastery we take the signposted England coast path around the island, arriving back at the Causeway at about mid day. The causeway was passable to vehicles until 15:30 so we knew we had time to walk back to the mainland. We start walking along the pilgrims way with our boots on, we pass people coming onto the island in bear feet thinking they just liked to feel the sand between their toes, However it soon became clear that they would have started off like us with shoes on as the sand became wetter & little rivers were running across our path so we took our boots & socks off.

Nearing the half way point it has become eerily quiet  NO one coming towards us & looking back NO one behind us we are alone on the sand!

Have we made a mistake will we get cut off by the tide & have to swim?

Well no, BUT as we get nearer to the main land Lesley puts her feet into quick sand & sinks immediately to her knees!

NO panic, I carefully approach her keeping myself on grassy tufts & manage to get her free, This has freaked her out & we cautiously walk together on firmer ground, we keep looking back to see if the water is rising behind us but it  is still looking ok.

The tide is obviously coming in & we can sense the water coming in as the sand is bubbling, now on slightly higher area & nearer the road way part of the causeway we come to a large river & have to walk to the road to get over it, At the refuge station by the road we de-sand & dry our feet on my travel towel that I carry & Lesley always mocks me about carrying but who uses it for cleaning & drying their feet first?

Posts marking the walking route

Mud up to her knees!

Boots back on we continue our walk off the causeway along the side of the road at the end of

the causeway we stop & have a quick coffee from our trusty well travelled green flask before

 turning right to continue North up the coast line.

The grassy path is quite wet & squelchy  across a few fields turning right again following the cycle track No1, It's not a good cycle track narrow single lane gravel with grass either side a lady just ahead of us with her bike & trailer are making good slow but faster than us progress. We soon lose sight of the bright orange marker flag on the bike trailer. Guess what we cross now? At Goswick we cross another golf course Goswick links golf club followed by a walk through Cheswick Sands & Nature Reserve on to Cocklawburn Beach.

Just before Berwick-upon-tweed we pass through Spittal along Spittal beach & along the banks of the River tweed past the docks which seem to be home to a bevy or wedge of swans.

Each white dot is a Swan! 
     

We have no accommodation booked for the night so need to find somewhere to stay, We pop into a coop for some supplies but leave as there is very little there Meeting other people outside who have also left due to it being full of nothing. The shelves were full but full of un-usefull goods! 

Tesco was too far so we would go without. looking for accommodation we knock on a b & b door the lady invites us in thinking that we were her booked guests but when we say we are looking she has nothing available but recommends the Queens head which is where google had sent us & we were heading. One room free! A twin even better! checked in & settled we had been thinking of walking the five miles up to the Scottish border & back the following day.

Evening 24th July 2024

Having dropped our bags off we set out to walk to the boarder but sprung an idea, Why not get a cab there & walk back. Google! Woody's cabs came up, a quick call & ten minutes later we were in the cab on our way.  We were dropped at Marshall Meadows about half a mile short but as close to the foot path as you can drive. 

Bag free we jog & walk up to the border & a few minutes later, Scotland!

Setting off at a good pace with no bags to weigh us down we jog & walk South to Berwick-upon-Tweed, & yes, another golf course. Making record time for us. 

It starts to spot with rain but luckily only a few dozen spots. The five miles goes by quickly & we are soon back in Berwick.

We find a very nice Italian restaurant tucked away but popular. The food is good, replenished we head back to the hotel for the night.