Day 1 - Sunday: "The longest day"

A bright sunny morning saw the team regroup then make our way to the official starting point at Wallsend. And before we knew it, at 09:30 we were off...only to find at 9:32 that we'd already taken our first wrong turning! We were soon back on track as we followed the Tyne through Newcastle.
An enjoyable and interesting morning followed spiced up by a beautiful rainbow over Byker Grove with St James Park in the distance (Ant and Dec would have been rumbling all the way to the Blaydon Races).
The wildlife spotting count grew today, most notably the surreal sight of a racing pigeon centre (the real Urban Homing Pigeons were in full flight).
All in, we couldn't have asked much more from the weather...it was largely sun, with the occasional light showers and even lighter hail. And it was a case of Hail Caesar Steady as Phil declared he had a Roman's nose.
The afternoon saw us gradually move from urban to countryside and the flat ground got more hilly. The game changing turning point then came when the team waved a temporary fairwell to Peps and C as their B&B was 3-4 miles from the rest of the group.
The last section of the walk was the best and toughest of the day as the hill climbs started and we ultimately ended up completing just short of 20 miles. The team were rewarded by our first sight of the remains of Hadrian's Wall then a very welcoming B&B owner at Ironsign Farm.
The team regrouped in Corbridge for the footie and our best dinner so far when we were joined by Pep's friends Fiona and Simon.
As I lie here the morning I feel shattered whilst inspired by the brilliant views over God's green and pleasant land and the thought that most of the team recorded PBs for their furtherest ever walks in a single day. The team seemed strangely motivated by the words of last night's taxi driver on the way to dinner..."that's by far your easiest day"!!
A thought spared for Peps and C who have 4 miles to walk this morning before the rest of the team is mobilised. "Wagons roll" is the text just received from Peps...come on lads!!
For the stattos amongst you, yesterday's official distance was 32.38km and 43172 steps, burning 2200 calories.