Day 6: This is England

Berwick Upon Tweed to Whitley Bay (74 Miles)

Forecast for today: Rain.

Dried out after yesterday’s rain, it wasn’t long before the storm clouds began to gather again. This was after an excellent breakfast (I’m getting used to this) at the farmhouse where I stayed and a short drive into town to withdraw some cash for my previous evenings host (I hadn’t considered that card wouldn’t be a payment option).

There was some uncertainty about when I had officially crossed into England yesterday, today I was in no doubt, this is definitely England. Houses, shops and pubs were often strewn with English flags, some larger than others. A different land, but the same weather as the rain kept tumbling down.

Today’s elevation profile looked incredibly flat, in fact, the next few days should all be relatively flat, which I like a lot but it also means that wind comes more in to play. Wind can be a pivotal factor in the success/failure, enjoyment/misery of a day and is far more of an influence when the roads are flat. Thankfully today, the wind was relatively weak and proving to have little impact.

The morning was pleasant, the route took me along a few different cycle paths and country roads, with only a short period on the busier roads. I decided to stop in Alnmouth for lunch which turned out to be a good decision, as despite the slow service, it meant that I missed the worst of the rain.

I’ve been amazed by how quickly the accent has changed since I crossed the border. I’m not sure what I was expecting, possibly some sort of weird concoction between a Scottish borders accent and a Newcastle accent, but in reality, the Geordie accent seems to have prevailed. This was certainly the case as I approached the seaside town of Whitley Bay, bringing todays total to 74 miles.

I was in a very indecisive mood, firstly regarding my destination for tomorrow (I’ve decided on Thirsk) and secondly on my dinner options for the evening. Italian proved to be the choice, due to its close proximity more than anything else. Once here, I again faced a tough judgement, pizza or pasta. Eventually I chose both.

Tomorrow I will be returning to my original home county of Yorkshire. Forecast: Rain.