July 31 Fenham Farm

The walk today to Fenham Farm was billed at 13 miles, and the accommodation made it quite clear that arrival time is 3:30.  They would, however, let me check in at 1:00, which I thought was very nice, but what to do with those extra hours?  Well, turns out that walking the city walls in Berwick-upon-Tweed is a THING, so I decided that I would sleep in—which I did until 5:20—walk the walls, and set out late.  The wall walk was terrific, especially in the early morning when only a few dog walkers are out; that way your views are uninterrupted, and it is just grand.  It was a lovely way to begin the day.  A late start, a purposely schleppy pace and two extra miles (the walls) = arriving at destination at 1:00 p.m. on the dot!  

The farm itself was kind of fun.  You had your own cabin, so to speak, each one named after a bird, and to get wifi you go to a "main house."  

To leave Berwick, you cross a bridge:

On the outskirts of town, there was a bird.  Was it wondering whether to cross the road?  Was it wondering whether it might want to join its feathered friends at the establishment across the street?

No, even the bird decided it could find better lodgings:

Bee and thistle:

At a safe(?) distance, and not bothering to worry about the focus, I decided I HAD to have a picture of this bull, despite a fearsome look in his eyes, and a posture that communicated, "I can charge at you, you know:"

As Rosie would say, "I faced my fears," and also thought/hoped he had enough other interests nearby:

There sure is a lot of road walking on these walks, and the Northumberland Coastal Path, despite its name, goes miles inland more than it is on the coast.

I have eschewed a number of little and not so little side attractions.  On the way to St. Abbs, for example, there were the remains of the castle, which, "though spare were dramatic,"  and on other days a cave here and there where a saint performed a miracle, and other such diversions.  Today's no-do was a walk out to Holy Island.  I thought, "Do I want to walk three miles out and three back on a concrete causeway on which company is car after car whizzing by?  No, I do not!"  And am I ever glad I made that choice!  There is a way to do the walk along sand and in the water, but when (dependent on tides) and how one can cross in this manner is not publicised and what little (negative) information is given makes it seem that unless you have a personal guide especially trained in understanding the intricacies of the water walk, you take your life in your hands and might never be seen again! Most people who visit Holy Island do it out of religious impulse, I think.  That St. Cuthbert's and St. Oswald's Way begin there is a clue!