Pennine Way 2000 : Day 15 : Byrness to Kirk Yetholm

The Home Straight

In a bothy.

Well, this is it, the last day and also the longest, some twenty-five miles by our reckoning, but time is running out and it's Kirk Yetholm or bust.  We set off before 7am and start off with a long, steep climb up a muddy woodland path, and it's no surprise at all to find bog waiting for us at the top, and indeed most of the day is through bog.

However for once it isn't so bad as a real effort has been made to lay artificial surfaces on this section, and we make good time along the flagstones, marvelling at the effort involved to lay them in this desolate place.  The weather makes a last effort against us, but with our waterproofs on it's only our boots that get wet - and they are wet enough from the bog anyway.  It is a little unpleasant to stop for lunch in the rain, on an exposed ridge, but we have no choice really - we must look very strange, sat with our boots off and plastic bags over our feet, eating cheese and pickle sandwiches in the rain.

Last crossing into Scotland.

There is little to tell of these twenty odd miles on the border ridge - the time wears on, and so do the miles, and we just keep going.  There is no way we could have done this two weeks before, but now, with the finishing line in sight there is no stopping us.  To be sure, there is little in the way of scenery, and the first photo I take is in a mountain rescue hut (P1) with around seven miles to go - it may not look like much, but sitting there smoking a cigarette some kind soul had left seems like one of the best half-hours of my life.

The last pub!

We then have to traverse the Cheviots, indeed the guide suggests we take a three mile detour to walk up the Cheviot itself... yeah, right.  For me the Schil is entirely adequate as a 'last big hill'.  From here it's downhill all the way, firstly passing over the border (P2), and then down a grassy track into Scotland.  The rain has cleared up, the late afternoon sun beats down and the going is genuinely pleasant.  As for the arrival in Kirk Yetholm (P3 & P4)?  Well, if you want to know what that feels like, you'll just have to do the Pennine Way yourself...

We paid for a room at the inn.  I think we earned it...

Photos to go with this post can be found here.