Holiday - Day 5

The last day of our holiday dawned bright and clear...

No it didn't.  It was dull and overcast.  But at least it wasn't raining.

After our altercation with the Lindisfarne Inn and our extra night at the Black Bull in Wooler we had a bit of a drive to our starting point... which was the Lindisfarne Inn.  The last part of the journey was the 6 or so miles from Beal across the causeway to the Holy Island.

Compared to our previous days, the walking was easy; a well maintained footpath all the way to the end of the causeway where the footpath promptly ran out.

The causeway opened to traffic at 9.45 in the morning after the tide subsided and we arrived at 10 - on foot - so there were still very large pools of sea water across the road... and lots of cars with drivers who seemed to want to drive through the pools at top speed and send a fountain of water over the edge of the causeway, or anyone who happened to be walking along it.  Like us.

So began a cat and mouse game of dodgem.  A quick look both ways and then a sprint to the other side of the pool before the closest vehicle could try and soak us.

The problem was I quite fancied a swim in the sea on either side of the causeway and I kept getting distracted just at the wrong moment.  I'd slam on the ol' anchors, pull Renee to a complete stop and try to jump off into the sea... all the while with a car load of Italian tourists bearing down on us, hell bent on revenge for... well, something, 'cos we're all friends now!

Lindisfarne Island was bigger than I thought it might be and it took us another half an hour to come to the little village itself... and very nice it is, too.  Especially the hotel where we had a jolly nice lunch in the garden. What actually made it nice was the fact that there was a umbrella over the table and it was now sluicing down with rain.

There was nothing for it... the rain wasn't going to stop, so it was a long 6 mile trudge back to the car.  And there was a choice.  We could either walk the long way round via the causeway, or cross the Pilgrim's Way: across the mud guided by nothing except a few poles sticking up out of the mud.  Richard was all for it, but Renee decided to play safe after she saw one fella up to his eyeballs in goo.

It was the long way round for us.  Well, it was alright for me humans: they were wearing waterproofs.  All I had was a fur coat... and one that holds the water, I might tell you.

So, there we have it.  5 days of walking, adventure, a very sore bum, a broken ankle, a bitch and a soaking fur coat.  Here's a link, in case you're interested: http://www.stcuthbertsway.net

Personally I wouldn't change a thing (apart from me bum) and I can't wait until next year.  I reckon St Oswald's Way... 100 miles in 7 days.

You can find out more about Renee, Richard and me at www.taxassist.co.uk/reneemackay