Day 21 - Carterway Heads to Byrness

I must admit it made an enormous difference having a rest day yesterday.  My feet and my brain are on quite good terms now and the blisters have almost gone.  My main battle is with my right foot and the muscles are really beginning to protest - especially when I hit the afternoon and mile number god-knows-what ( I stopped counting a while ago).  Ben drove me into Hexham to buy some supplies and we even managed to stop off at the old roman site nearby which was fascinating - lots of fun posing in the old roman baths and walking down into the old barracks. This is real Hadrians Wall country.  I get a huge amount of pleasure from the fact that the distance already walked amounts to the same as walking up and down the Wall 4 times!  In fact that's another mind game i've made up to keep me amused when I'm walking - the equivalent walks to match my mileage - my favourite is I've tramped a distance which is over 3 times around the whole of the M25!

Today's walk was easily the most attractive.  Ben devised a brilliant route that took us off the A68 and through magnificent country - not a car in sight and endless rolling hills and big skies. It is very wild up here and stunningly beautiful. I felt very tired today - my body is beginning to feel the effects of all the mileage but I perked up after plenty of sugar in my system - flapjacks and milky ways work the best.  It also made a huge difference having Ben with me (doing ALL the navigating - much safer all round).  We stopped off at a local pub for a drink and then found ourselves losing a bit of time which meant walking the last bit after sunset and through the forest.  Still, it is another day done and I really am on the home straight now.  To think i will be crossing over the border tomorrow into Scotland!  It always seemed so far off and out of reach but the countdown to reaching Edinburgh is now underway - I just have to be very careful not to slip or fall into a ditch and ruin my chances of a flying finish.  I also have to navigate a nightmare set of hills.  That means a bumper size pack of milky ways...