Day 4 – St Cuthbert’s Way
Once again I woke up with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and purpose. I only had one more full day to go and I wasn’t far from the coast wasn’t I? According to the map there seemed to be just three ridges of hills to cross, I could do this.
It was a pleasant enough walking out of Wooler in the early morning sun. The town was quiet and I had opted to grabbing breakfast and other supplies from the Co-op on my way out. After a steady climb onto Westwood Moor it was satisfying to look back a few times and reflect on how far I had come. It was certainly more encouraging than looking at the next hill I had to climb.
The scenery today felt different again from all the other days. I felt privileged to have the opportunity to walk through this wonderful countryside. I had a couple of stops and my scheduled mid day rest break was St Cuthbert’s Cave but there always seemed to be another hill before I got there.
I was struggling up the track towards the ridge before St Cuthbert’s Cave, feeling the heat and conscious of my lack of strength when I turned the corner and had such a wonderful surprise. There was St Cuthbert, or at least a carved statue.
There was a bench to sit on and a sign on the fence beside it.
I was so thankful for the kindness of strangers and especially that the message was directed at Pilgrims not just walkers. I felt so confident now that I had made the right decision to walk and make this pilgrimage on my journey to Holy Island.
My euphoria wasn’t to last long, I still had one more ridge to climb before St Cuthbert’s Cave before I could begin my long descent to the coast. It was hot and despite drinking loads my strength began to fail. I felt like I had just made it as I got to the cave and sat down on a rock, and had some lunch. I knew I needed a rest before I could go any further…… Then I woke up!
I had either passed out or just fallen asleep – I am not sure what but it scared me – what would have happened if had really been ill and unable to carry on. There were a few people around as it was a sunny Sunday afternoon but if I’d been really on my own. I wasn’t feeling at my best as I carried on, the main feeling was a determination to finish this, not matter what.
As I continued on I came across a large bull surrounded by his harem of cows. I wasn’t in a mood to diverge from the trail and add more kilometres to my journey so I remember praying to St Cuthbert as he had this affinity with animals, to protect me as a passed them. Thankfully all I experienced was a bored look from the bull.
Somehow I don’t think I appreciated the countryside so much on this final stage to the coast. I certainly don’t have any photos. I could see the coast through the haze but was more concerned that I wasn’t quite there and I was running on empty. As always seems to be the way on the final stretch of my day’s walking the destination seems to get further and further away. When I got closer to the coast there was a path diversion which meant a bit longer to go and the short cut to the campsite wasn’t an option because of wild bird conservation. As I trudged up the footpath from the sea to the campsite once again I had nothing left.