Saturday 12 October 2013--Gray morning. I've made a miscalculation--I'm running out of clean clothes, and I realize this morning that if I
don't get laundry done today, it'll have to wait until Tuesday. Planning laundry stops is one of the more important logistical considerations for
a five-week trip, and I'm afraid I've neglected to pin this one down. The tourist information office in Corbridge gives me some leads, but I run
into dead ends in Corbridge, Prudhoe, and Hexham. My last hope, a commercial laundry in an industrial estate in Hexham, saves the day. I leave my
stuff and go hang out in town for a while.
I was thinking of heading up to Hadrian's Wall after picking up the laundry, but the day is getting increasingly dreary, so I go for a drive
up Allendale instead. Of course, the farther I go up the dale, the drearier it gets. Pass Allendale town on the way up to Allenheads, where the
Allenheads Inn seems to beckon me. Allen heads in! Don't know how I missed that the three or four other times I've passed by here. I find a cozy
and quirky pub with a fine fire going. The inn caters to walkers and cyclists. Doesn't seem much like a walking day, but a soggy group pops in,
accompanied by a gaggle of wet dogs, who make themselves at home.
I zig-zag around the moors and eventually make my way back to Corbridge. I was thinking to eat at the Black Bull this evening, but it's
Saturday, and they're booked up. The Golden Lion finds a place for me. After dinner, the place begins to fill up with rambunctious youth, and the
music gets progressively louder. I have a nightcap at the Angel, which seems to attract a more mature crowd, and retire early.
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