Keïteï Ventures

Sore feet but the rest of my body wakes feeling refreshed. I hear Neal Packing away at 4:30am and he’s on the trail by 5am. I’m hiking by 5:30am and hoping to get in as many miles as I can before the midday heat. Bellingham is my first resupply on the trail. I don’t need a great deal of food but I do appreciate being able to buy fresh food. I wait until the shop is open at 7am, have a quick whizz round and then I’m back on the trail.

I spend the morning traversing through farmers fields and the sun well and truly breaks free of the clouds today. I devour three yum-yums in succession and ease as I bimble along roads and more cattle fields. Hearing running water ahead, I descend down a steep overgrown ravine to arrive at a shady oasis. It’s wonderfully cool and the sunlight is hitting the water at that right angle so that the light is reflected back up at the lower canopy layer. Sadly it is way too early in the day for me to take a break so I hike on and survey my maps for future potential dipping spots.

I venture through more pine forests but these have been recently processed and leave little shade. I trudge on through the midday heat and pass another lone thru-hiker followed by a father and daughter hiker team. They find me barefooted and harvesting water from the nearby river. Up ahead I can see the outline for a Roman fort. I’m fast approaching Hadrian’s Wall and this turns out to be a bit of a culture shock. By this I mean the amount of people. After having hiked for the past 3 days in near solitude, when I meet the wall, families, day walkers and other hot and bothered tourists materialise along it.

I have no trouble with folk enjoying the great outdoors but this stark contrast hit hard as I went from being alone to surrounded by people. Fortunately I had located a lake and was able to detour down to it for a dip. It would have also made a great spot to camp if it wasn’t midday. I devoured some cous-cous for lunch and dry off as dog walkers and other sightseers sought the cooler climate as well.

Feeling refreshed, I head back to the trail, my feet annoyed but co-operating. At least there was a breeze and soon I came across the Sycamore Gap. This is or rather was amongst one of the most famous trees in UK. It was illegally felled in 2023 and all that remained was the stump surrounded by a wooden fence. Tributes had appeared at the base and hopes were high that the coppiced tree would regrow.

Evening was fast approaching and I was eager to find somewhere to eat and camp. I paused for some grub in a designated parking spot for the park. Toilets and a picnic bench were greatly appreciated as I tucked into my evening meal. I watched over as tourists came and went, slightly envious of their effortless modes of transport and thought of future adventures that involved wheels and not having to carry all my belongings. An Australian lady drew near to read the Dark Skies notice board and noticed me.
“Are you hiking the Pennine way?” she asked, I nod through a mouthful of cake, “I have friends that have done it, are you camping as you go?”
“Yes”
“Well good for you, enjoy it whilst you’re young” and as I write my blog of my adventure along the Pennine Way. I came to realise that these encounters – especially with older woman would happen frequently. They were extremely encouraging of me and my endeavours to hike the entire trail, solo and wild camping as I went.

Lumbering onwards, I pass through more farmers fields, heavy with cattle and with steep inclines. I’m thankful to arrive at a Nature park which is busy with evening strollers and dog walkers but also offers seclusion if you know where to look. I pitch in a new copse of trees and gladly zip out the world. My body dissolves into sleep, grateful to not be moving any more.