We're back! Day 1 Sunday 27th February - South Shields to the Tyne Bridge

Just when you thought it was all over and we had retired to the bar to ease our many and varied aches and pains, Spring is nearly here and so is the Three Tyne Trial (oops Freudian slip! I mean Trail obviously). We've picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves down and started all over again!!!

Enough of the waffle - we are walking from South Shields to the source of the North Tyne, which is, as far as we can work out, somewhere around the appropriately named Deadwater Fell!

So it was on Sunday gone we lined up on South Shields Pier on a bright and breezy morning to walk the 12.6 (ish) miles to the Tyne Bridge. We did it of course although Anne &; Nigel couldn't move the next day. Radio silence from the Willis's - I'm working on the theory that we would have heard if they had to be hospitalised.

It was actually most(ly) enjoyable - especially the bit sitting down on the Shields Ferry! We passed two Roman Forts (Arbeia and Segedunum), we walked across the entrance to the new Tyne Tunnel (no jams yet!), we walked through a park in North Shields and along old waggonways in Willington Quay and Walllsend. We saw the backbone of an old keel boat beached on the river bank and walked through the remains of St Anthony's Lead Works. The last bit is the wonderful walk into Newcastle, with the bridges, SJP, the Baltic and Sage all opening out in front of us fantastic.

Amazingly - no pubs were visited but as next week's walk ends in Wylam I fear we will have to visit the Boat - still it's only one pub (with 14 real ales on tap!!). Bring it on!