Travel Journal

St Oswald's Way (Jun 2021)

This was our eighth walking holiday with Peter and Rachel, and we were back on home soil for the first time since walking the Hadrian's Wall Path in 2012. (The COVID-19 pandemic had scuppered any chances of travelling overseas for another year.)

We had been considering a coastal walk around the Land's End peninsula, but it seems that everybody (including the G7) was heading to Cornwall in June. Instead, we opted to travel to the opposite corner of the country: Northumberland. The challenge ahead was St Oswald's Way, a 97 mile route from the Holy Island of Lindisfarne to Heavenfield (coincidentally, back on Hadrian's Wall).

The trip was organised by Macs Adventure, the company we'd last used for our Camino back in 2013.

Holy Island

Having stayed overnight with Peter and Rachel in Lincolnshire, we travelled up to Northumberland in two cars. We dropped off Peter's at the Hadrian Hotel in Wall - our final destination on the walk - before squeezing into our car, with four suitcases, and continuing the journey north.

We crossed the border into Scotland to visit Jedburgh, before heading back into England and on to Berwick-upon-Tweed. It wasn't possible to leave our car on Holy Island for the week, so we parked in Berwick and took a taxi to the island.

We enjoyed a walk out to Lindisfarne Castle before dinner at The Crown and Anchor, and then cracked open a bottle of whisky as we watched the sun go down over the Holy Island Sands. Then back to our rooms for the night, at the Manor House Hotel, to contemplate what lay ahead...

Day 1: Holy Island to Bamburgh (19.4 miles)

The longest day! We could see our destination, Bamburgh Castle from our start point - just 5 miles as the crow files, but an awful lot further going St Oswald's way.

Having left the village, we followed the Pilgrims' Way, three miles across the wet sands, to the mainland. With our boots back on we headed inland, crossing the East Coast Main Line and the A1, before swinging through Shiellow Woods and eventually into Belford for afternoon tea at Well House. Crossing back over those two major arteries, we then headed for Bamburgh. With the castle barely a mile away, the final three(!) miles, following the path around Budle Point, was a real killer. Beers, dinner and accommodation at The Victoria Hotel were all good.

Spurred on by sibling rivalry, Peter even went for a swim in the North Sea before dinner. I think he's still shivering.

Day 2: Bamburgh to Dunstan (16.3 miles)

A slightly easier day's walk today, following the Northumberland Coast Path from Bamburgh, via Seahouses, Benthall and Newton-by-the-Sea, down to Craster. The views of Dunstanburgh Castle were excellent. If there is one criticism, it would have been nice if the coastal path was a little closer to the sea!

We still had an extra mile to walk from Craster to reach our accommodation for the night, at The Cottage Inn in Dunstan. All very nice.

Day 3: Dunstan to Warkworth (14.5 miles)

This was probably my favourite day of the walk: back into Craster, before re-joining the Northumberland Coast Path, heading south through Alnmouth on our way to Warkworth. With low tides, we spent a good part of the day walking along the beautiful sandy beaches. We even had a paddle!

We really enjoyed our stay at The Old Post Office B&B in Warkworth, and we highly recommend dinner at Bertram's Bistro too.

Day 4: Warkworth to Rothbury (18.7 miles)

Today, we left the coastal path and headed inland, roughly following the course of the River Coquet from Warkworth, through Felton and Weldon Bridge, to Rothbury. Another very long day but a complete change of scenery, as we walked through meadows and woodland, with wildflowers in abundance wherever we looked. All very peaceful.

We stayed the night at The Queens Head in Rothbury, and ate well at La Mensa, just over the road.

Day 5: Rothbury to Kirkwhelpington (15.7 miles)

Another change of scenery today, as we climbed up to the moorland of the Northumberland National Park, followed by a nice stretch through Harwood Forest, before reaching our destination at Kirkwhelpington. With no local accommodation available, we were picked up by 'Tearoom Dave' for the longer than expected journey to Simonburn. And a very warm welcome awaited us at the Simonburn Tearooms. Nice.

Simonburn is only a few miles away from the Battlesteads Dark Sky Observatory in Wark, so we'd booked ahead for one of their Summer Stargazing events. Needless to say, this evening brought the first clouds since our arrival in Northumberland! The talk was interesting though, and we did get to spot a couple of stars through breaks in the clouds.

Day 6: Kirkwhelpington to Heavenfield (17.4 miles)

The final day of our walk was another long one. We were dropped off back in Kirkwhelpington, to continue south, mainly through farmland, before heading west once we hit the Hadrian's Wall Path. We had hoped to find sustenance at Great Whittington, but we had to push on for another 3 miles to The Errington Coffee House for life saving tea and cake!

Nine years ago, we'd walked this stretch of Hadrian's Wall (in the opposite direction) in terrible weather. This time round, we did feel a few spots of rain - the first of the holiday - but not enough for us to make use of our new and expensive Gore-Tex jackets! (Maybe I can send them back unused?)

As we entered the home straight, the miles were taking their toll on Laura and me; Peter and Rachel were way ahead and pushed on from Heavenfield to Wall without us. They picked up the car and met us back at St Oswald's Church for the survivors' photo ... saving us the 2 mile walk on to the hotel. (Thanks guys!) The Hadrian Hotel was an excellent place to celebrate the completion of our walk.

Berwick-upon-Tweed

The next day we stopped off in Alnwick before heading back to Berwick-upon-Tweed to begin our rest and recuperation. We stayed for three nights in an excellent Airbnb garden flat right by the town's ancient walls.

As well as exploring the town, we visited St Abb's Head, a nature reserve back over the border in Scotland; the site of the Battle of Flodden (1513); Ad Gefrin, the site of King Edwin of Northumbria's 7th Century palace; Watch Water Reservoir on the Southern Upland Way; and as we headed for home, Kielder Water.

We had a couple of excellent meals in Berwick, at Atelier and Audela both on Bridge Street, and both highly recommended!

Where next?

Our 102 miles may only have come in at number two on our total distance chart - our previous walk in the Basques Pyrenees (over seven days) had been about 12 miles longer - but 17 miles per day puts St Oswald's Way at the top for daily averages. Maybe something a little less ambitious next time?