Early
breakfast and, courtesy of our host, we’re back outside the Bush Inn by 8:30.
Today we’re aiming to get to Burgh (pronounced “Bruff”) by Sands, via
Drumburgh, and after an initial short walk to Whitrigg, there are three
possible ways of getting to Drumburgh. Either directly east from Whitrigg; or
north across Bowness Common to Bowness-on-Solway and then south east to
Drumburgh; or west to circle around the Cardurnock Peninsula
and back through Bowness. Not surprisingly, in the interests of coastal purity,
we take the third route. This will mean a walk of around 17 miles to Burgh
which is the same sort of distance that we covered yesterday. How strange it is
that, in these circumstances, conversation now occasionally turns to
One-Day-Johnny and One-Trip-Jimmy, our two mythical standard bearers for
mileage comparison purposes, who haven’t featured in our discussions
since….well probably the last time we managed over 15 miles per day. The guide
book informs us that there is much of natural and historic interest on Bowness
Common, but these delights are largely denied to us by following the road for
the dozen or so miles around the peninsula. The only thing which might qualify
as natural interest is the sight of some cows emerging from a farmyard in
Cardurnock and then herding themselves slowly up the road (very slowly in the
case of one seemingly lame animal) in front of us, and some cyclists, to a
field about a quarter of a mile away. And historic interest comes in the form
of the Hadrian’s Wall path which we join where
it begins (or ends) in Bowness. By now, the continuous hard underfoot surfaces
are giving rise to varying degrees of foot discomfort and, shortly after Port
Carlisle, John opts for half an hour of shoreline action rather than continuing
along the road towards Drumburgh. Further relief is afforded by most of the
remaining 4 miles or so to Burgh being along a flat grassy bank which runs
beside the road. So we’re not too weary on arrival at the Greyhound pub just
before 2 o’clock. Sean isn’t picking us up until 2:45, so plenty of time for
drinks, sandwiches, inconclusive discussion with the barmaid about why the pub
is called the Greyhound, and a bit of map study to determine our route to and
beyond Carlisle. After going through Bowness,
some consideration has been given to whether it might be better simply to
follow the Hadrian’s Wall path rather than to
stick as close as possible to the border. The path would certainly be easier to
follow but, in some places, it’s a considerable distance from the border and we
decide that we’ll head to Gretna
and the border. It’s not immediately clear how easily we’ll be able to get onto
a newly built road bridge over the River Eden but, when Sean picks us up, he has
the answer which is very easily. Not only is he able to show us by taking a
short diversion over (and back over) the bridge on our way to Carlisle station
but it also transpires that, before becoming a cab driver, he was a
construction worker and was involved with the building of the bridge. And
whilst he’d be more than happy to drive us back to Burgh on our next trip, he
says that it would be cheaper for us to get a cab at Carlisle
station. Very helpful and a really nice bloke. He gets us to the station today
in good time for our trains and there is no temptation on this occasion to
while away our wait with expensive cans of lager, because the Costa Coffee
outlet is closed. An excellent couple of days and, after the problems
encountered on the last trip, a feeling that we’ve started to make real
progress again.
Day 84 – Silloth to Kirkbride
No transport
problems this morning. Our train arrives a few minutes late at Carlisle, but Flimby Colin’s son is there to drive us to
Siloth, to which many apologies because it isn’t the one horse/crossroads town
previously described. Residentially at least it’s quite extensive, but the few
commercial outlets are all based around said crossroads where we arrive just
before noon. The first 90 minutes or so of today’s walk is north east to Grune
Point and then back round the headland to Skinburness. This follows the
coastline along a concrete seafront promenade and a couple of tracks, and we
know that the vast majority of these two days will be spent on roads and
pavements. However, on leaving Skinburness, we’re able to leave the road and
cover the next 6 miles or so towards Abbey
Town by crossing Calvo
Marsh. We quickly realise why the guide book says that this should not be
attempted in misty conditions or at high tide. Apart from the occasional farm
building, the marsh is pretty featureless, the waymarking is sporadic at best,
and there are frequent ditches which it’s possible to get over when the tide is
out, but which presumably become creeks when it comes in. And when we’re not
crossing ditches, or scanning the horizon for waymarking and stopping to check
on the logger that we’re going the right way, the underfoot conditions are
essentially an expanse of tussocks, so it’s not the most comfortable or
enjoyable couple of hours. Still, it’s taken us off the road and closer to the
sea, and the weather’s clear and warm; so mustn’t grumble. We’re back on the
road for the stretch from Abbey Town to Newton Arlosh, but the next and final
section is through a series of fields and past a couple of large World War II
aircraft hangars to reach a lane into Kirkbride and the welcoming sight of the
Bush Inn. We’re staying a few miles away at Wheyrigg and, while Ben and Gary have a refreshing
cider, John (who is on antibiotics and therefore off alcohol) tries to order a
cab. This takes some time – due just as much to difficulty in getting a phone
signal as the scarcity of Colins in the area – and involves much discussion
with a man at the bar who runs a B&B in Bowness, and speaking to someone in
Wigton who is only prepared to do the job for the princely sum of £40. However,
eventually, somebody more accommodating called Sean is found who can pick us up
in 20 minutes. Shame…that means a second cider for Ben and Gary. We arrive at
Wheyrigg around 7 o’clock for a cost of only £15 and, although Sean can’t do
the return journey tomorrow morning due to a Manchester
Airport booking, he says that he will
be able to pick us up tomorrow afternoon and take us to Carlisle
station. Pre-supper showers at Wheyrigg prove to be variable, but food and
drink is more than acceptable and, having been unable to find us a cab for
tomorrow morning, our host kindly offers to drive us to Kirkbride himself.
Result.
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