Preparing for the border

First of all mum must apologise for the glitch last night. We had had terrible trouble getting the blog written because of the very poor signal. I posted the blog, but when we came to read it through we spotted one or two typos. So mum went in to edit and finished up deleting. So then it all had to be done again. In the meantime she had shared on Facebook, which is why you were unable to get the blog for a while. Hey ho.

It was good to see Julie and Dave, who came and picked us up and took us into Bellingham for a meal, returning us in ample time for lights out at 9.00pm. They brought us all treats that we have been nibbling on today.

We had a very cosy night in our wooden tent, although some scrabbling at the rear had us worried for a while. It turned out to be a blackbird making it's nest.

We had a worrying moment this morning when mum realised that she had lost all the data relating to the walk. She was able to rescue the main itinerary from an e mail shed sent to someone else, but the day sheets were a different problem. These contain details of accommodation, route, meals, and anything else of particular interest for that day. Dad and I were quaking in our boots, I can tell you. Thankfully, she remembered all the todo about a cloud, and somehow, she admits she doesn't know how, she was able to retrieve it all. Phew!!

Today, Marco Polo (as we now call him) had spotted that we were destined for another day of bog walking, and managed to navigate a different and very pleasant journey. The first half, uphill (of course) was on roads, tracks and fields, picking up the PW at lunchtime, where we enjoyed a lovely break perched on a log at the side of the road. There was no traffic noise, no planes, or trains, just the birds, and the rustle of the breeze through the trees.....and dad. It's no wonder mum struggles to get some of her photographs.

This afternoon, was spent coming off the hill through the forest. We were on the outskirts of Kielder Forest - it's massive, but very attractive.

Tonight we are staying at Byrness. The hostel hadn't got an available  'dog room' but they very kindly agreed to let us camp in their garden and are providing us with dinner and breakfast.

Looking forward to making an assault on the border tomorrow.

Keep spreading the word.

M
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