Belford to Fenwick

Sunday 20^th March

The penultimate day of the Northumberland coastal walk covers Belford to Fenwick 7miles and appropriately today we share part of the route with the St Cuthbert’s way. Parking in the centre of Belford we soon left the village with the coastline behind us heading in land where woodland and farmland replace the seascape.

There was a steady climb rewarded by a stunning panoramic view taking in Bamburgh Castle, the Farne islands and Holy Island then we were quickly brought back to the 21^st century with our guide book instructing us to follow the path to a mobile phone mast! The farm land soon give way to woodland where we disturbed a fox sending it racing into the thicket and reminding me of a poem I studied at school by John Mansfield Reynard’s Last Run which I never enjoyed reading as it had a sad ending.

  Our path brought us to a T junction where we joined St Cuthbert’s Way and St Oswald’s Way and decided on a stop for lunch but not a leisurely one due to the wind chill from the off sea breeze. Again farmland give way to woods this time Kyloe Woods where the original and controversial hedging tree Leylandi was raised, it is also designated a red squirrel reserve although there was no evidence of them today. Very soon the track brought us to a minor road leading into Fenwick village with plenty time to find a bus stop and head back to our B&B at Belford.