Yesterday we waited at the B & B for FedEx to deliver our credit cards. They arrived around 3 PM and we almost ran a mile with our backpacks to the bus stop to catch a ride to Hexham. We got there with just a minute to spare. From Hexham, we took the train to Newcastle. The Visitor’s Bureau helped us find lodging–a hotel chain called Jury’s…at last, I was warm in a building and had reliable, but slow, WiFi.
This morning, we took a city bus to Heddon-on-the-Wall to complete our hike to Wallsend. According to the guidebook, it should have been an easy eight-mile walk; it turned out to be twice that.
We stopped
for lunch, and I tried two things that I have seen since I arrived England: Coronation Chicken (a cold chicken and curry sauce sandwich), and Ginger Beer. I don’t usually drink soda, but I liked this strong fermented ginger ale.
The walk today was mostly on a rail trail, like the Legacy Trail in Sarasota, Fl. It followed the Tyne and was quite lovely through Newcastle with all its bridges. The weather was agreeable, high 60’s, and I even rolled up my sleeves.
From Newcastle to Wallsend, the trip was unbearable long. I don’t know if it was because I was anticipating the end, but that last five miles felt much longer. At last, at 4:50 P.M., we arrived at Segedunum fort and museum, which was closing. Glad to get off our feet, Dennis and I and two walking companions we met when we stopped for lunch took the train back to Newcastle for a celebratory beer.
Tomorrow we head for France.
You and Dennis are simply incredible.
I see that you didn’t, however, bring coal to Newcastle.
I am getting, and have been, very excited about a forthcoming trip of my own, which I feared I might not be able to make due to my July 17 surgery. I had lunch yesterday in Sarasota with Philip Heylen, the vice mayor of Antwerp, Belgium, whose idea the building of the Red Star Line Museum was. He plans to introduce me to the King and Queen of Belgium at one of the Museum openings. The events planned are incredible and I so look forward to being there Sept. 22-29 as a guest of the Museum.
I have also made contact with a Belgian feminists organization and am in the process of arranging a meeting with them.
Sonia,
You are amazing and fortunate to have the opportunity to meet the King and Queen of Belgium. I hope you feel well enough to travel.
Wishing you the best,
Jane
hi jane and dennis-
you guys rock. i am amazed at your continuing toughness-you all just keep going no matter what the trail throws at you. and credit cards-yes we sure need them these days. when i looked over my journal from the 2011 camino- i saw that most of my problems were not from blisters or an unexpected trip to the woods-but from continuing problems with my debit card.
I have to agree with the other comments. You guys rock! I can’t wait to see the new post about France!