Day 34- Chew Green to roughly 5miles south of bryness (forest)

We didn't really want to leave this morning but knew that if we didn't leave today we never would, so we got up and started packing up. After another yummy breakfast we got in the car and Margaret and vin drove us back to chew green where they picked us up from. I felt a bit car sick on the way there as the roads were pretty windy so we had to stop on the way so I could get out and get some fresh air, Margaret also let me in the front which was really nice of her!


At chew green margaret and vin walked us back up to the path and waved us off...we were on our way again, bags full of food that Margaret had given us. The first part of the walk down to byrness was really boggy and we had to keep zig zagging and keeping out wide to find some ground that we wouldn't sink through! It was also raining! The very last bit into byrness was through a forest and it was actually ridiculous! It was like an obstacle course...muddy, rocky, overgrown and very steep in places! We finally made it down this dangerous section of path and ended up in a field that we couldn't get out of. We couldn't find the gate anywhere! We decided to have a food break and then worry about getting out of the field after but this wasn't as leisurely as it sounded as we were soon being attacked by midges!


We finally managed to get out of the field and walked along the road then down through another forest....here is where the day started to get really frustrating! We ended up missing our turning and walking right into the forest which we weren't meant to do. We spent ages wondering around forest tracks and looking at the map and in the guidebook trying to work out where we went wrong. In the end we realised we must have got lost pretty much as soon as we got on this track off of the road so walked back to a campsite that we passed. We asked in the campsite for directions and the man in reception who seemed a bit strange told us to go right back over the bridge and there was a little gate there that we were meant to go through. Whilst we were there we used the toilets and there was a strange sign which said "if you hate children don't turn off the lights and the taps"....we think they were trying to be dramatic but we had to read it a couple of times to understand and thought they could have just written "please turn off the lights." Anyway, we walked right back to the bridge we thought the man meant to then have to walk all the way back when we asked another girl for help and she said the path was next to the bridge that was right next to the campsite! Eurgh!! Very annoying!! After wasting hours wandering around we were finally back on the pennine way, by now it was 5 o'clock! We knew we wouldnt get to Bellingham now which had been the plan so we decided just to walk on a bit further and find somewhere to wild camp.


We ended up camping 5 miles further on in a forest, on a small bit of grass right beside the track. We decided to camp here although it wasn't the best wild camping spot ever as the guidebook said that it was really boggy the other side of the forest. By now it had stopped raining and it was actually a really nice evening, however we had to hide in the tent as there were midges absolutely everywhere! I have never seen so many midges on a fly sheet!! We were surrounded. Fortunately Margaret had made us some pasta so we didn't have to sit outside and cook and get eatqen alive!