2018 -The Book and How the Adventure Began

Back in 2018 I was looking for a walk to do with Chance, something a bit meatier than what I'd been doing, a project to really get my teeth into. I came across this walk, The Daft as a Brush River Tyne Trail: sources to sea. I knew from quite early into reading up on it online, that this was exactly what I was looking for. I also knew I would need help so, after a chat in the pub with my good friend Phil, I quickly had my first companion on board. Then a short time later, following a phone call to my good friend Helen, (who literally screamed "YES!" down the phone before I could finish my question) I hand my second companion! Chance and I have done many walks with Helen. So much so that every time Helen comes to our home he goes crazy. In Chance's mind Helen equals, ADVENTURE!

The walk is a total of 135 miles, broken down into 12 manageable stages. Raging from 6 to 15 miles. The River has two sources, the River North Tyne in Northumberland and the River South Tyne in Cumbria. The two rivers merge together at Warden, near Hexham, where it continues to the North sea. 

The stages are in three sections; River North Tyne to Warden, River South Tyne to Warden and Warden to the sea. I am going to attempt doing the walk in this order but its not essential. As long as I've done each section I'll be happy with that.

The idea of the walk came from Brian Burnie, the founder of Daft as a Brush Patient Care, a cancer charity and is dedicated to those affected by cancer. The book is written and illustrated by Peter Donaghy and John Laidler. I thoroughly enjoy reading the book and have lost count of how many times I've picked it up. The walk is very easy to follow in the book, with every turn described with maps and photographs to guide you along the way. If you decide to do the walk I strongly recommend you pick up a copy of the book first.

For further information on the Daft as a Brush charity and the trail please follow the link, you can also purchase the book from this site, https://www.daftasabrush.org.uk/river-tyne-trail/