Day 98 – Beadnell to Alnmouth

Trains arrive at Berwick on schedule, and Colin is waiting at 12:20 to drive us to the coast road at Beadnell. According to the Met Office, we should expect rain of varying intensity this afternoon and heavy rain throughout tomorrow. The drive to Beadnell does nothing to change the immediate expectation. The rain is steady at best outside, and is continuing to fall, with the wind in our faces, when we arrive at the sea front and set off from outside number 20 shortly after 1 o’clock. It’s not exactly monsoon conditions, and we get an early bit of beach action around part of Beadnell Bay. However, the prospect of a wet and cold 15 miles ahead of us does make the first hour just a tad miserable. But remarkably, around High and Low Newton, the wind drops slightly, the rain disappears, and a little while later something appears in the sky which could be mistaken for the sun. And so, as we approach Dunstanburgh Castle Golf Course, we’re beginning to dry out and feel a lot more cheerful. Despite the earlier conditions, we’ve already seen quite a few people out and about, and the numbers increase markedly as we walk below the walls of the castle and descend the hill into Craster. We reckon that we’ll have seen more people walking today than on any stage since the day we arrived in Blackpool. Indeed, it might even be more than the number we’ve seen on all the stages after Blackpool put together! Anyway, for the moment, the weather apps on John’s and Gary’s phones indicate that more rain is on the way so we need to maximise our time in the favourable conditions which means, among other things, resisting the temptations of the Jolly Fisherman’s Inn at Craster. It also results in us maintaining a pretty good pace along the cliffs around Cullernose Point, past Howick and on towards Boulmer. In fact, we eventually get a total of about 3 hours in the dry before the rain returns when we’re just over 3 miles short of our destination. So our final hour of the day is pretty similar to our first, to include more beach action practically the whole way from Boulmer to Alnmouth. We check in back at the Sun feeling a bit cold, more than a little damp, and more than a little tired having covered just over 15 miles in 5 hours. The customary refresher in the bar has a marginally reviving effect but, with the weather forecast unchanged for tomorrow, we’re already questioning the wisdom and practicality of our plan to get as far as Cresswell. This would involve setting off soon after 7 o’clock and missing a full breakfast (which isn’t served at the Sun until 8:30), paddling over the Aln at low tide to avoid the two miles to, over and back from the bridge crossing the river, stopping off somewhere in Amble for a mid-morning breakfast, and reaching Cresswell in time to be picked up at 2:15 for the drive to Morpeth station. A hungry early morning start followed by a presumably cold paddle and walk of nearly 7 hours in what could be continuous rain is not an enticing prospect and, when we reconvene for supper, the decision is quickly reached to have breakfast at the Sun, set off some time after 9, and see where we’re likely to get to by 2 o’clock, so long as it can be accessed by the Colin currently booked to meet us at Cresswell. The decision makes for a far more relaxed supper – with further “relaxation” being afforded by post-meal stickies.