John O’Groats to Land’s End, part 2: Northern England
It started raining almost as soon as I crossed the border. I could have stopped and enjoyed the symbolism, but instead I carried on, making my first departure from the Pennine Way almost as soon as I’d joined in to take some shelter in the little outcrop of the Kielder Forest that led down into Byrness. I didn’t realise at the time, but this was a signal about how my relationship with the Pennine…