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7 miles
Our day started as normal with Jen & I having our standing "Medic Matt" appointments for feet doctoring. Mine taking place 30min before breakfast, Jen's 15 before. LOL
Matt was still doctoring Jen up when I went down for breakfast to get our coffee started. There was a British gentlemen also there waking the trail East to West. He told me that a few years ago he and some friends had set out on the trail and he had to quit at Housesteads because his feet were so shot and blistered. Since that time his friends had continued to give him a hard time, so he was out solo for a second attempt. We chatted about the trail, and I shared how we were so surprised at how remote it had ended up being. No towns, stores, etc. to restock on medical supplies. That led me to share Jen's and I's woes and the fact her heels had peeled off. It really has been a great surprise as our book made it seem like at a minimum there'd be outhouses and water stops along the way...nope. We also thought in the little villages we were staying in
there'd be a store right? Nope. Houses, a school maybe and the pub...that's it!
We had our best breakfast so far and the couple who owned the B&B were really nice. The house was actually built with stones from the wall and they showed us some Roman graffiti in one of the bricks on the way out. Before we left, the English gentlemen brought us these giant bandages for Jen that we were extremely grateful for!
We met our first trail diversion early on due to flooding that took us through a small town. We came across a playground with a giant slide that Matt slid down for fun. We were all telling each other how we needed to use the bathroom, and the disappointment in how early in our day this need came, then....BAM! A bathroom appeared! It was a birthday miracle!
Today was absolutely gorgeous with blue skies and a lovely breeze. We rounded the corner after our restroom stop to see a tea shop, so stopped for tea & scones. Soon after exiting the town we were back in nice flat farmland with subtle rolling hills. Jen was really hurting today, so we stopped
a few times for medi checks and boot adjustments. I was luckily feeling pretty good in the pain department so far. Another birthday miracle, or just a lot of Aleve and Ibuprofen?!?!
We nicknamed Matt "Zippidy-do-da" as he seems unscathed by the hike so far with his only compliant being sore muscles. Guess Hadrian just has it out for the ladies?? So he was ahead of us naturally, and came across a young bull standing directly in the middle of our path. As Matt approached he did a little foot stamp, so we began to make a wide swing to the left to avoid him, but he sort of followed us and when Jen passed he did a little jig. Lol. We were definitely on his turf!!
We hit a few large hills closer to our destination and the decents fired up my knee again, so by the time we go to Lanercost Priory I was hobbling. Our BnB is right on the property and looks like it also walked out of the 1300's. We were greeted (and of course asked to take off our boots) before shown to our lovely rooms. The owner asked if we'd like
tea or a beer and considering we were warm and it is my birthday we said beer! We met in the common area where we began to enjoy a local cool (never cold in England) brew and surprise! In walked the owner with a cake and lit candles for my birthday (insert emotional moment). It was a lemon ginger pound cake and tasted so wonderful. This has been a very unique birthday for me as I wanted to do something this year that pushed and challenged me...well, I certainly got my wish!!
After our cake and beer, we hobbled over (Matt skipped, LOL) to the Priory to check it out. The woman in the admittance shop was quite chatty and gave us a bunch of history (too much to remember honestly) but basically it's been around since the 1300s. William Wallace (Braveheart) ransacked the place, and King Edward I stayed there and was very ill. He actually died in a town we'll be walking though on our last day following staying there.
The priory was in excellent shape considering and interesting to explore. There was even a graveyard on the side! The chatty lady was closing up so
let us sample like 6 different liqueurs and elixirs which was kind of fun. We relaxed a bit until dinner time at 7.
The wife of the owner we met upon checkin is a chef. They used to run a hotel in Scotland where she was head chef, so when we made our reservation we said "yes please" to her 3-course farm-to-table dinner. Our first course was an Parmesan egg soufflé that had a runny yolk in the middle (Yum) with a salad. Main for Matt and I was grilled chicken with mushroom sauce, a spicy potato and cabbage sauté, and this awesome veg (name can't be recalled) but Jen thinks they're called Seabeans. Dessert was a traditional pudding with a warm red currant topping. It was all Devine except the husband is a lingerer. The kind of host that keeps on hosting and just never lets you be. BUT he did have some crazy stories to share. All in all a wonderful stay.
We chilled by the fire for awhile in the common room before turning in to prep for our last two days of the trail.
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