(L) Last view of Scotland, (R) crossing into England adjacent to Otterburn Training area The red military range flags were flying off to our left and we skirted round the area closely following the edge of a forestry block beginning our descent down to the A68. On the way down through a steep section of forestry we met, coming up the way, an inspiration in the form of Scott Cunningham and his dog Travis and a couple of military assistants. They were walking the length of the Pennine Way (this was part of the last section), and Scott was blind. They were raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I was left humbled as we parted. Once we managed to complete the descent, we found the A68 and a road side service station with a cafe provided more sustenance. From there it was a short hop to the Border Forest caravan park at Cottonshopeburnfoot (great name). The owners had agreed to let Marv have a field for the night. Fi and Maisie had managed another Friday off and came down to join me for the long weekend. We pitched the tent in the same (stream side) field so we could keep an eye on Marv and the two shy Alpacas in the adjacent field. Day 27 (Cottonshopeburnfoot to Woodburn, nr Bellingham - 15 miles)
Sun cream application In the morning, Marv was being bothered by midges and so we quickly packed up the tent and I headed off with Marv and Maisie. To get out of the caravan site, we had to exit a tight gate, which necessitated taking off all the saddle bags to get through (only one minute after departure). That was a bit embarrassing with all the resident campers watching. We re-joined the Pennine way heading south, which was a stony forest track, the first type of ground that Marv did not like. We had to go quite slowly and keep to the verges as the stones were getting stuck in his shoes. Finally the stones stopped and the tracks became grassy which allowed for some fast canters. Maisie had to run flat out to keep up and I got a great photo of her sprinting just by my side with all four paws outstretched in a superman pose.
(L) Maisie at speed at the canter, (R) road junction near Bellingham Fi arranged to meet me at a remote junction of the B6320 at Hareshaw Head (311m). From here it was 3.5 miles to Yellow House Farm. Fi had parked at the farm and the owner Avril then offered Fi a lift out to meet me so we could share a few miles together. It was great to have her alongside us as she put so much into the trip and it wouldn’t have happened without her. I ensured she got a well-deserved ride on Marv over Corsenside Common.
Final miles of the day into Woodburn Yellow House Farm was a horse friendly B&B, and Marv had the biggest field of the trip, at least 20 acres of lush grass. For the first time, he ignored his evening meal and just cantered off up the field into the distance. I took it personally that he had ignored me and shot off, and I then had a subdued evening as a consequence. As we had made good time today we headed off to the local town of Hexham for some essential shopping and repairs. My saddlebags needed adjusting to Marv’s changing body shape, and so Derek’s shoe bar offered to fix this for me. I bought a map I needed and some replacement trousers due to the first pair being beyond repair now. We had dinner in the local pub ‘The Bay Horse’ (aptly named) and it was Fi and Maisie who went to check on Marv.
Day 28 (Woodburn to Anick, nr Hexham - 20 miles)
As expected in a B&B we had a comprehensive cooked breakfast and cereal to start the day. We learnt that Avril’s father had been Master of the local Haydon hunt for 20 years and in the guesthouse there were some wonderful pictures and paintings depicting him hunting. Fi went over to get Marv from the far end of the field, which took her 15 minutes to do. Marv and I made up and I gave him a big hug. We were back friends again. I am not sure why he was in a huff with me the night before. I guess we all get bad days. We set off for Anick Grange B&B, which was just north of Hexham near the A69. The route bypassed Bellingham and took the winding back roads next to the River North Tyne. We also found a disused railway line to use which was perfect for some cantering.
We had agreed to meet at a village called Birtley for lunch. Fi had a good picnic in the boot of the car and we let Marv loose in the walled village green while we had our sandwiches. We didn’t take Marv’s saddle off, but just loosened the girth at little. After Marv had eaten his hard feed he moved off to munch grass. Then as we watched, his legs started to buckle. Both Fi and I jumped up and shouted at Marv as he was preparing to have a roll in the grass. Marv got quite a shock and stood up straight and looked very startled. Had he gone down, this would have likely broken the saddle and jeopardised the trip. Off came the saddle, and Marv duly had his roll.
(L) Picnic lunch at Birtley, (R) heading off afterwards Shortly after lunch I was tracked down by a University friend’s parents who had a house near Kielder Water. Nick’s folks knew my route and timings and just drove round the corner and found us on the move. It was good to catch up with them as I had stayed with Nick a few times during our University days. We passed Chipchase and Haughton Castles and then crossed the line of Hadrian’s Wall at Walwick (which was the location for a Roman Fort and Mile Castle no. 28), just after crossing the Tyne. All very fortified round here!
I had then agreed to meet Fi at Keepwick Fell four miles north of the B&B. Fi duly made the rendezvous and found me, Marv and Maisie motoring on. I needed to utilise what I termed the ‘speedy stick’ as Marv was taking the P with his pace a little. A speedy stick is any stick, which if waved or seen by Marv, induces an increase in speed without any contact needing to be made. Later in the trip proximity to pigs would have the same effect.
(L) Marv waited outside this Post Office whilst I got snacks, (R) munching verge whilst Maisie keep a close eye It was quite a long day and I was glad of the company for the last few miles. Maisie had done well in joining me for the second half of the day. We met Julie, the owner of the equine B&B, and were given an excellent field for Marv, accessed through the garden. After sorting out Marv and putting away the kit, we showered and headed to the local inn ‘The Rat’ for some scoff. We were to spend two nights in Anick as we had earned a day off on the Sunday. Staying at the B&B felt like pure luxury and maybe not fully in the original spirit of the trip, but after Monday night Fi was heading north and I would not see her again until Worcester. She had supported me and seen me through the first four weeks superbly, and had driven hundreds of miles to share the first four weekends with Marv and me, sorting out numerous nights’ welcome accommodation.
Day 29 (Hexham - rest day)
We had a long lie in and a relaxing breakfast before heading back in to Hexham for another look around. I spent some time getting my diary up to speed, so that Fi could take my scribbles back to Edinburgh and convert it to legible text to be uploaded to the website. Writing the diary was something I did do every day despite how tired I was, as I did not want to miss detailing any part of the trip. This is probably partly why, seven years on, I have decided to complete this process of recording in the format of a book. I tidied up the maps from week four and bundled them up for Fi to take home, while I looked over the next bundle of maps. My plan was to carry a week’s worth of maps at a time. They were quite heavy, and so for later weeks, I had sent some bundles of maps to pre-planned addresses to be collected on route.
Marv enjoys his field at Anick, Maisie enjoys Marv’s saddlebags
Week 5 (104 miles) Week 5 (total 104 miles)
Day 30 (Hexham to Rookhope - 19 miles) Marv was on fine form today, whinnying for his breakfast of Staypower muesli. He was waiting at the gate raring to go and this meant a lot to me, that Marv was very likely enjoying the trip too and was keen for the next leg. After breakfast, I trotted Marv into Hexham town centre, through the streets and back out into the countryside, after which I was joined by Maisie as the roads became quieter. We were heading for a village called Blanchland (which was my intended night stop). Today was only planned to be 14 miles and the next day was a planned 24 miler. When I pondered this again, this seemed very unbalanced. So midway through the morning I called Fi to tell her I would be pushing on to Rookhope to even out the distances over the two days. She had already been to Blanchland and secured a field for Marv, s
o I apologised and asked her if she could possibly try Rookland. Maisie managed to get stung in the eye again and I met up with Fi on the corner of a forestry block to hand over the dog and have some lunch. Marv started to attempt to sneak back the way he came instead of just his usual grazing so we cut the lunch short and pressed on.
Marv goes looking for snacks We met up again later at Townfield, and Maisie’s eye was vastly improved. Marv spotted Fi in the car and trotted over and stuck his massive head into the driver’s window to look for food. Maisie’s morale was back and so she joined me for the last five miles over Hunstanworth Moor (500m). We had now left Northumberland and were in County Durham, and it was good to be making real progress south. The area was spectacularly beautiful, but this came at a price of being very hilly with plenty of steady climbs to contend with adding to the travelling time. Fi came to meet me at the summit of the moor to tell me that she had found a friendly farmer Ian, in Rookhope, who kindly let us have a field to camp in and graze Marv overnight, and that was very welcome news. We shared the field with Marv and an assortment of sheep and chickens which certainly amused Maisie, who had to be cautioned not to herd the sheep and worry the poultry. She was then seen off by a particularly fierce ewe putting an end to her shenanigans, as she ran around behind Marv for protection. We had the use of an outbuilding to store the saddle and gear, and this also came with an outside loo and running hot water (bonus!). As the weather was not favourable it was great to be able to cook our evening meal inside the outbuilding, as the tent was a bit cramped for the stove. Later on we met Ian’s wife Jackie and her daughters, who had just returned from a county show. They were pleased to see Marv and hear all about his tales.
Is there room in the tent for us?
Day 31 (Rookhope to Middleton in Teesdale - 20 miles) Fi had to leave very early to get back to her job in Edinburgh. Marv and I bade a sad farewell to Fi and the Mooch, who had kept up our spirits continually. With the tent gone too, I had a few extra hours kipping in the outhouse. The rain and wind had increased and so I moved Marv into an empty stable for an hour before we started off. I started to feel the apprehension again as I was heading into the unknown territory of the north of England, with only a couple of fields organised. My next ‘well booked’ section was Shropshire and Worcestershire still a few weeks away.
I pulled on the waterproofs. Marv and I headed south somewhat down spirited, and to top it all I was feeling ill for the first time on the trip. I was so glad I had done some extra miles yesterday as I found today one of the toughest. Our route took us through, up and over Lintzgarth Common and into Westgate (which is high up in the Wear valley). The roads were too steep to trot and so the miles came slowly. After Westgate it was up over Swinhope Moor (609m). My memory of this day is limited as I mentally shut down and just plodded on in the rain, just concentrating on navigating to the next checkpoint and paying little regard to my surroundings. We dropped down into Newbiggin, where I had a sleep by the side of the road whilst Marv munched verge. I was dehydrated and needed to pull myself together a bit. We pushed on and made the lovely village of Middleton in Teesdale. I wish I could have appreciated it a bit more, as we strode through and out again for another four miles on the B6276, to find Les Spark who is the man behind Free N’ Easy saddles.
With Les at his home near Middleton in Teesdale Les had warmly offered Marv a field and me a bed en route. I was very relieved to reach his farmhouse and steading which served as his workshop. Marv was turned out into an adjacent dry stone walled paddock. After a shower and some much needed sustenance, Les showed me his workshop, where my saddle was made, and we talked for ages on how Marv and I had got on to date. I raved about the saddle, knowing that Marv’s back was in great condition with no soreness or rubs. Les was counting on this too, as he had used our trip to help advertise the benefits of his type of saddle construction. I am surprised that not more saddles are made in this style, as the military have used similar saddles successfully for centuries. Yet in the last 50 years that knowledge seems to have been forgotten by most. What Les has done has improved upon a tried and tested saddle construction method, allowing easy adjustment of the saddle by the rider. This enables the saddle to change with the horse as the horse’s back muscles evolve, and also means that the saddle can fit a variety of horses easily. Les is also a successful long distance rider himself, and he has proved that his own saddles are successful by undertaking hundreds of miles of testing. Les took the saddle and looked at it on Marv, then brought it into the workshop to ensure it was adjusted correctly. It seemed I hadn’t done a bad job of self-adjustment on route. Whilst there, I also purchased a neoprene girth for Marv, as I thought he would benefit from it.
Day 32 (Middleton in Teesdale to Kirby Stephen - 16 miles)
During the previous evening over a few glasses of wine, I had noted to Les that Marv’s front shoes would need replacing soon. They had lasted almost 500 miles and is a testament to Donald, our Edinburgh farrier, who used to be in the Army and still shoed the Police horses. He had used special tungsten tipped road nails to minimise the wear on them. Les found out that his local farrier William was to be shoeing nearby today and could squeeze Marv in for a set. We had to box Marv over to the farm as it was a few miles away. Marv wasn’t keen to be loaded up and needed a little encouragement to get up the ramp. Logically, in these parts, the farriers ask that if local horses need shoeing that they congregate at set locations so they didn’t have to drive around and lose valuable time. We were put to the front of the queue and it was great to meet other horse owners who had travelled over to get their horses re-shod and talk through our travels. Once he had his new pair of shoes, he reloaded ok, and we drove back to Low Selset.
We didn’t set off until midday, and I was still not 100% ok, but certainly better from having had a hot shower and a bed. We headed west on the B road passing Selset reservoir steadily climbing to 482 metres, with Warcop (ranges) danger area ahead of us. This is where I completed the P Company 20 miler back in 1998 and I thought it fitting I was back in the area doing another 20 miler, but with a horse and saddlebags instead of a rifle and a bergen. The moorland road was very remote and we didn’t see much until we reached Brough (pronounced bruff I believe). I found a shop and bought us some lunch and horse snacks. The food and rest helped reenergise us, before we tackled the last few miles to Kirby. Just after setting off, I bumped into an Artillery officer in his Army landrover (Capt Wall from 12 Regt) and our chat gave me another boost. I had hoped to take a circuitous scenic route via Great Musgrave, but the extra mile that that would have entailed swung it for me, and I opted for the direct A685 road instead. Looking back now, that was a bit poor, but I just wasn’t in the right mood for sightseeing. So we used the wide grassy verge and we did a great deal of cantering alongside the traffic to speed our way to the town.
Kirby Stephen is a smart little town in Cumbria and it had a very relaxed feel to it. After a quick stop in its local supermarket for supplies, we then headed south out of town looking for a suitable field for Marv. We took the Nateby road and I stopped at the first farm opposite the local pub. We were now very close to Appelby, which was due to hold its famous horse fair in a week’s time. I was aware of the large quantity of travelling folk heading north to rendezvous for this equine gathering, and people were beginning to warn me of the likelihood of meeting some of them. They do get a bad name and I was just concerned that Marv might go missing during the night only to be found pulling a caravan in the opposite direction!
I met Malcolm the local farmer who offered Marv a field. After supper in the pub I retired back to my bivi and Malcolm came over to sit with me for a while. We had a poignant chat watching Marv grazing and mixing with his sheep. Later on I kept checking throughout the night from my sleeping bag that Marv was still grazing nearby.
(L) Marv explores the barn, (R) Marv comes looking for his evening treats under the bivi
Day 33 (Kirby Stephen to Cowgill - 16 miles) I woke early to find Mar
v still eating close by. Relaxing somewhat, I had a lie in as Marv continued to stock up on the green calories. I had a tasty breakfast of Alpen and powdered milk, before collapsing the bivi and packing away the gear into the saddle bags. As soon as my packing was completed, Marv casually strolled over and just stood for me while I saddled him up. This was fantastic as it meant he knew his job and we didn’t have to communicate to know what was required.
As we left Nateby we followed the River Eden, and the road ran alongside the line of the Settle to Carlisle steam railway for a good distance. We were passed by the steam train puffing its way north, whereby Marv’s eyes nearly popped out as he froze and prepared to make a dash for it. I utilised his sudden spurt of energy and we trotted fast for a mile or until he was sure he was safe. It was along this scenic section that we also were treated to a free air display of RAF Tornadoes, a Spitfire and Apache helicopters. A real bonus for me, but Marv was unconcerned.
Marv tries trainspotting The rain started in earnest and we stopped periodically under trees and in abandoned barns for the heavy showers to pass. Marv was also freaked out when we met a gypsy caravan coming towards us heading for Appelby. I stopped to chat and they were friendly enough. I didn’t say too much about where I was headed, just in case. Finally we reached the solitary Moorcock Inn at the junction of the A684, and I left Marv outside whilst I managed to nip in and grab a takeaway baguette. After which, we did one mile on the A road before turning left at Garsdale Head station and heading up a monstrously steep (two chevron) incline over Garsdale Common.
Long Trot Page 7