The Long Distance Walkers Association 100 mile challenge walk departs from Hexham at 10am, so my wife and I are up and having breakfast at 7.30am, and then we drive to Hexham where we meet up with her parents and younger brother. We see her father off (he’s walking 100 miles in the next 48 hours, with only brief stops for food and drink) and then my wife and I, her mother and her younger brother spend some time sitting in the sunshine outside Hexham Abbey, people-watching.
We briefly meet up with my wife’s dad at the third checkpoint of the day (Haltwhistle) – just to cheer him on, and arrange to meet him for a quick half this evening in The Cumberland Inn in Alston where he will be passing on his way to the fifth checkpoint of the walk.
This evening, my wife and I met with her mother and brother for a couple of pints and a bar meal in The Angel Inn in Alston, before walking down the hill to The Cumberland for a couple more pints. My wife’s father comes in (briefly), downs a swift half of bitter and continues on his way.
We make arrangements (with my wife’s mother and younger brother) for the Sunday, and then my wife and I disappear off to our accommodation to get a (relatively) early night.