Sunday 31st July 2011 began with the chore of unpitching the tent and packing the car. This is where it always becomes obvious the scale of benefit of having Craig with us. Him and Jimmy both worked hard to help me unpitch and pack up. Liam helped a bit!  After the now routine provisions stock up at Wooler Co-op, we now headed into the beautiful Cheviots. Liam and I reminisced about our last drive along this road into Upper Coquetdale, during our 2010 Pennine Way Road Trip - http://tomread.co.uk/road_trip_day_4.htm

   

Snow had prevented us from getting to the top of the road on that occasion, so we resolved to do so after this activation. We parked in the car park at NT866103, just before the hamlet of Barrowburn, and we soon gazing into the deep water below the bridge as we crossed Wedder Leap, somewhat more successfully than the legendary sheep rustler who may have been an early candidate for a Darwin Award!

   

From here we made a snaking approach to the gate at NT873101, through deep heather on steepish ground, so progress was slow. After then, it was a familiar SB slog uphill to the summit, where again, a large stone shelter cairn surrounded the triangulation column. I sat with Liam in there after setting up the aerial.  Jimmy managed five QSOs on 2m FM, whereas I made eight on HF CW, one on 10m, and the rest on 40m. Lunch eaten, and gear packed away, it was time to descend this final hill of the expedition and go home.

   

We did follow the road up to the Pennine Way on the border ridge, then used the military ranges, which were open, to continue and drive down to the A68 at Byrness. Already, I was feeling tired, so a rest was in order before a very long drive south. We called in at the Byrness Hotel, where Jimmy and I had overnighted on the Pennine Way in 2006.  It was now open as a tearoom during the day, and Katy the landlady remembered us from five years ago. We had an enjoyable 45 minute break of tea, coffee, cakes and J2O, while chatting with Katy about subsequent progress in 2006 and events since.

       

Suitably refreshed, it was back on the road, and down the A68, A1, M1, M62, M60, A34 and A537 to Macclesfield, with a loop to Bollington to drop Craig off. It had been a really successful outing with favourable weather, nice (long) walks, good company, radio, food and beer. But Jimmy and I agreed quietly with each other that we were astonished that Liam had managed that level of intensity of walking over the five days, and had done so cooperatively and cheerfully!  Many thanks to all the stations that called us on all the SB summits, and those below that called us on this last one: