Day 21: Gretna to Burgh by Sands

After a fond farewell to Will and Val and the Wee Hoose we set off.

It’s a freezing -6.5°C this morning when I jumped out of Rhoda‘s car into the cold. Fortunately the sun is shining so although it’s cold it somehow feels a tad warmer! There’s haw frost everywhere creating fantastic icicles and patterns on foliage and the grass.

At last I walked a lot along the side of the River Eden today which makes a pleasant change from walking on the road. I did have to follow the river up into Carlisle and back out again though until I found a bridge to cross. That involved some precarious climbing over a severely barbed wire fence and doing some leg stretches that were seriously at the limit of my capabilities! I had to do this twice as I came out on the wrong side of the carriageway the first time! Then jumping the crash barriers and onto the bridge. A short but precarious walk across the bridge then I had to repeat the procedure at the other side to get back on the path at the other side of the river!

Progress was a little slow as I walked across fields of mud that cows had churned up. The mud had frozen solid with all the hoof marks in it and so it was quite difficult to walk on. Risk of turned ankles! One field had cows in it so I dithered a little about which way to cross it before striding off with purpose! I also had to walk along a few farm tracks through huge frozen puddles created by tractors. I had to tiptoe along the frozen water but occasionally my foot went through the ice into the deeper freezing water! My poor feet and my new shoes too. My shoes are more spacious and so my feet felt a bit better today.

Fortunately for me the sun was shining all day. The power of the sun is fabulous, not just on your body, feeling the warmth of the sun’s rays on your skin and the light in your eyes, it has an amazing impact on your emotional state. Making me play with my shadows.

There’s always something lovely to see and this sheep’s wool was flapping in the now quite cold afternoon breeze. Somehow it reminded me of prayer flags.

I was now walking along Hadrian’s Wall! Who would have thought that? Angela and I walked this very path with friends over 30 years ago and now here I was doing it on my own with more than a tinge of sadness as I remembered that trip but couldn’t reminisce with Angela.

Andrew came up to Grentna and fitted WiFi in Pricilla and it’s working fantastically well. Yippee.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Rhoda and Steve. They have provided me with outstanding support during the first 3 weeks of my journey. They will be doing more but probably not until I’m on my way back up the north east coast of England next spring!

They left me and Poppy home alone in the Asda car park at Carlisle. The staff there were expecting me and I was warmly welcomed and provided with food and drink. Amazing, thanks Team Asda. I spent about 3 hours in Costa Coffee as they let dogs in and it was lovely and warm. Several cuppas and a baked bean and cheese toastie later, yum, I had to return to Priscilla. I took her for a quick spin to warm her up. Now I’m in the car park for the evening. It’s cold and I’m wrapped up for now. I will have to take Poppy out later. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.