"Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery

Another day dawned and we saw the sun for most of the morning, but the wind had died down, so we found it rather warm for hiking especially on a 3-4 km section of tarmac. Sadly, only one more day and we will be at the end of the St. Cuthbert's Way, tucked away for two nights on Holy Island. We had our first view of the North Sea and the island this afternoon. We will shed our boots and walk across to the island at low tide tomorrow morning. For now, we are settled in at the Black Bull Inn in Lowick. If you would like to see the pics on a larger scale, just click on them. Thank you all for reading along.

Leaving Wooler behind in our journey.

A beautiful stone bridge to cross and more rolling hills!

Good thing Andrew lost some pounds before this long distance hike!

We were following these hikers for awhile, but they stopped at the top of the hill and we were able to overtake them.

The English have been growing these opium poppies for about a decade due to a shortage of morphine. Beautiful flowers as far as the eye could see.

 Andrew and St. Cuthbert.

 Approaching the turn off to St. Cuthbert's Cave.

 Andrew heading up the hill to St. Cuthbert's Cave. Escaping the Danish raid of AD875, Bishop Eardulf of Lindisfarne and the monks carried St. Cuthbert's body around Britain for seven years. According to legend, this cave was one of their first stops. They protected him this way until his body eventually found a safe resting place at Durham. 

It's a very large cave set in a mature pine wood. It could shelter several people quite easily.

 Just can't help taking pictures of these cute guys.

Coming down into Fenwick. If you click on the picture you might be able to see Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island in the distance. Shorter hike tomorrow, our last day, as we cross at low tide to the island.

"If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us that a golden slipper on a gouty foot." ~ John Bunyan

Pilgrim ~ defined by Oxford dictionaries as "a person who journeys to a sacred place or a person travelling to a place of particular personal interest". St. Cuthbert's Way is a pilgrimage many people take each year; about 100 per day through the summer months. It is a joy to travel these old pathways with your best friend, taking in fresh scenery every day. There is much to think about as we walk long distance every day. There is the satisfaction of reaching your destination at day's end, but passing through each village and greeting fellow hikers along the way, I'm reminded that this world is not my home. As we cross over to Holy Island in a couple of days, my hope is that I have gained knowledge, shone some light along the way and made a decent companion for Andrew. It's hard to believe we have only 2 days left until we reach Lindisfarne, so I am trying to slow the pace a bit and breathe deeply.
We left Kirk Yetholm this morning and 6 hours later, after many hills and extreme wind, we have arrived in Wooler (meaning well on a hill). This little spot has been settled since the Stone Age.
My phone has recorded 173 floors, 20.1 km and just over 30,000 steps today!

This is a panoramic shot that Andrew took on our walk today. It's just so pretty here.

On the outskirts of Kirk Yetholm.

And we start the ascent - note the acorn on the post indicating the marker for The Pennine Way. Maybe next year??

If you can read the sign, one side says Welcome to Scotland and the other Welcome to England. Today we crossed over into jolly old England!

And while I had a little break in the bushes, Andrew found some sweet lambs to photograph.

The hills we walked through today are known as the Cheviot Hills, mostly located in the Northumberland National Park in northeast England. The largest peak is 2,674 ft high but we avoided that one.

Lots of paths but we follow the cross.

 So windy up on the moors.

 My thought was, maybe I can get through the gate without having to climb another stile, but unfortunately the gate wouldn't open, so over I went.

 Lunchtime!! A stile has more than one use.

Imagine the next photo covered with this beautiful heather in full flower. Almost worth a trip back in a couple of months to see!

And we even had some blue sky today! The heathland was very barren.

 Another shot of the heathland. This will all be that lovely pinky/purple colour in a couple of months.

 Almost to Wooler - looks like those sheep need a shepherd!

 This was a surprise that Andrew pointed out.

And another surprise - an adder sunning himself on the path. Highly venomous but thankfully not aggressive.

And a bunny with a sad face.

Our little snug for tonight - Tilldale House.

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb." ~ Nelson Mandela

After things quieted down last night at 1:30 AM (Saturday night, our room was over the pub and the smoking area was below our window), we finally got a little sleep, awaking bleary eyed to give our 4th day a go. A pilgrim's life is not always easy, friar Andrew says. We started out going up and it seemed like this hill went on forever but we reached the halfway mark of our journey at a point aptly marked Wideopen Hill. But the 360⁰ views - so very beautiful. It was a short day, arriving at our destination around noon. We found the only shop open in town and had a small lunch and purchased a couple of ham & cheese buns for tomorrow as there are no villages enroute tomorrow. Once again, the rain held off until we were inside.

 Heading out of Morebattle, pointing to the hills we are about to climb.

 He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

 Still going up.

The sign says Wideopen Hill 1207 ft/368 m This is the highest point of the Way and also the halfway point between Melrose and Lindisfarne. I'll add that I think it was the windiest too!

 Up and over - another type of stile. You need good hip flexibility for these.

These stone fences go on for miles.

 This little guy just needed his picture taken.

 This mama had quite a stern look on her face as if to say, don't come near my babies.

 Sorry about the overload of sheep pictures.

 Clematis montana in full splendour!

 Arriving at our 4 star B and B in Kirk Yetholm. Shorter walk today but will rest up for our 21 km day trek through the Cheviots tomorrow.

The local church which was open and we went in to shed our boots and rest for awhile as we couldn't get into the Old Mill Inn until later.

The Lord's prayer carved in wood - this must have taken weeks or months.

Finishing our day with Sunday roast topped with a giant yorkie. Wasn't sure what a yorkie was and the nearest thing I can compare it to is the dough boys my mother used to make to top her stew but thinner. By the way, it was delicious - really enjoying vegetables right now after too many chips.

As we journey into England tomorrow, I'll leave you with a short Scottish myth. 

Kelpies can take the shape of beautiful horses that appear near rivers and lakes. They are said to be identifiable by their wet manes and are usually gray or white. It is said they are so beautiful that people cannot help but touch them and even climb onto their backs. At which point the Kelpies go back to the water, taking their riders down to a watery death. 

This photo shows the 30 metre high sculptures depicting these horses located in Falkirk, Scotland.

May the God of grace go with you today. May Christ make your steps be firm. May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to the wonders all around. Amen (Blessing found on a menu at a little church cafe in Morebattle.)

The beginning of June and we are snugged away in the little hamlet of Morebattle (remove the two t's and you have the pronunciation correct), population 250. There are 2 streets here and 1 hotel/restaurant/pub but it's located directly on St. Cuthbert's Way, ensuring the Templehall Inn receives lots of business. It was a great walk again today with the rain holding off, a bit blustery in the open areas. We had fantastic vistas throughout the day and a deer graced our view at one point.

 Breakfast before we leave - I was taken with the placemats and hope to replicate them when we get home.

Up the hill and out of Jedburgh. Thirteen km to Morebattle. If you look carefully you can see the monument of the Battle of Waterloo in the distance.

Following the cross.

 Andrew getting artsy with his favourite tree.

Setting off through the wooded path. 

A different type of stile to cross.

 Rhododendron alley.

We stopped here with our picnic lunch - Cessford Castle. This was built around 1450 as part of the line of 'frontier' defences between England and Scotland. A massive L-shaped tower with walls 13 feet thick provided living space for the Ker family, their servants and a garrison of up to 60 soldiers. Apparently the family were mostly left-handed so they built the staircase spiralling anti-clockwise so they could better defend it with swords against interlopers.

This one's for you, Judy! Teapot Street leading to Teapot Bank and Thimble Row. So quaint.

 See those hills in the background? That's where we're headed tomorrow!

 The sweet local church in Morebattle. Unfortunately it was locked and there is no service there tomorrow.


This is an interesting story - this pastor and his wife from Australia purchased this old church 8 or 9 years ago and are renovating it into a cafe and spiritual centre for St. Cuthbert's Way pilgrims. There is a long way to go as seen in the following pictures but they have a dream and many hours of work to make it a reality. Andrew claims he makes an excellent cup of coffee.

See the boat near the cross? He wants to convert this into a communion table eventually.

 Richard sat down with us and shared his dream about St. Aiden's church. Fascinating. Note the sock feet - I lose my boots whenever I get the chance to!

 The views......oh to wake up to this every day.

 Templehall Inn - our stop for tonight. We happen to be right above the pub area and there is a soccer game on tonight so it's rather noisy. Also, the fire alarm went off earlier, sending Andrew and I outside. I grabbed my computer (forgot the passport and wallet). Andrew grabbed his camera (forgot his passport and wallet). We were the only ones who left the building - one woman came to the door, said "don think there's too much of a fire, guess I'll go in and finish me pint". What??? Welcome to emergency situations in Scotland. Not anticipating much sleep tonight.