15th/16th March 2020 - Stage 11. Wylam to Newcastle

A Day of Pavement Pounding!

A last minute change of plan saw this stage of the walk splitting us into two groups over two days. I was unable to meet up with Helen and Phil so they went without me on Sunday and I went the next day with a good friend of mine, Alan. Alan is a keen walker and a fellow dog owner so he was happy to tag along and keep me company.

Both groups used the trains again to travel to the start of our walks. We took the metro into Central then took the train to Wylam.

We all found this stage of the walk rather grueling as there was a lot of pavement walking. We'd obviously been spoilt with the previous stages.

(Waving us off at the start)

The walk started off on the old wagon way, passing the old birth place of George Stephenson. We all really enjoyed this area, the quiet, semi - rural path and the views along the riverside were pretty and welcoming.

(Newburn Riverside)

 

There was a lot of points of interest along this route as this section of the river boast a lot of history, which we all enjoyed spotting and reading about on nearby information boards.

(Local flood markers)

 

(Wreckage of the abandoned fishing boat, 'Brekaer')

 After working our way along the paths, it was great to eventually find ourselves back on the riverside and to see our beloved bridges coming into view.

(Six of the bridges)

(Helen and Phil)

(A refreshing break)

I completely forgot to take a picture of Alan and myself but thankfully Helen and Phil remembered.

Helen and Phil had a great day albeit a little chilly with some strong winds. Myself and Alan had a slightly better day weather wise, although I was recovering from a back injury so I found this section quite difficult and we had to stop and rest a couple of times. We found a small Sicillian cafe in the Scotswood area and enjoyed a crisp, cold lager.

Alan's poor little dog, Holly was completely shattered after spending the day trying to keep up with Chance. They both decided to stage a protest.

The walk was around 9.5 miles, Helen and Phil completed the stage in 3 hours and 50 minutes. Myself and Alan were a little longer, taking 4 and a half hours.