Once Brewed to Bellingham

Today was a good day!
Most importantly, it was Adam's birthday, and his football team had a finals match on at 3pm - which of course necessitated getting to Bellingham in time for kick-off.
We aimed to leave the hostel at 7:30, but were held up by a pot of tea, and polite conversation with a group of Americans that I met last night. They were full of concern that I was heading out the door without a jacket on, and asked if I recognised the signs of hypothermia - thanks, I think I'll be fine.
I actually made it a good few kilometres, along the wall, past the famous Sycamore Gap, and north into the Kielder Forest, before the drizzle became persistent enough to require my raincoat - and I can promise you I'm perfectly comfortable in shorts in the rain.
The path wound through the pine forest, with a couple of k's of boogy moorland (MORE moorland) and we lunched hunched in a patch of trees as the rain continued. Singing along to some T-Swift did brighten the dreary day.
Another bonus today was a lovely "pit-stop" set up in someone's farm shed - free tea and coffee, biscuits, and a box of hiker supplies left by other walkers. A note from the owners said that their mother used to do tea and buns for Pennine walkers, but they never found the time to do it when they took over the farm. However after walking the Pacific Crest Trail they were inspired by the kindness given to them to provide something for walkers on their property again - magic!
Striking out across farmland we met Maggie, a friend of Adam, who came up for the afternoon and ran back from Bellingham to meet us at the not-at-all-amusingly-named Shitlington Hall. A brief hike up the Shitlington Crags then takes you on the downward track into Bellingham.
We made it to the pub in time to have some cake and blueberries brought by the lovely Maggie, and meet an unexpected Aston Villa fan for Adam to buddy up with. This guy was full out in his Aston Villa kit, and Aston Villa tattoo proudly on his leg - brilliant.
I'll admit I didn't watch the game closely, chatting with Maggie and then reading my book for a while. However I did see 2 out of the 3 goals scored, and did get involved in watching the tense final 7 minutes, with 2 excellent saves - resulting in a 2-1 victory for Aston Villa over Derby, winning the Championship League, and getting them promoted to Premier League - Adam is a happy boy!

Sycamore Gap