The Last Miles To Berwick

The final descent of the pilgrimage, after the pilgrims split, through loss of the dog, collapse at Wooler, and the gates of the hospice.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Alone After The Secession

Alone After The Secession The Field Left Empty Rich Lion persuades most of the pilgrims to break away and march straight to Berwick. Kate stays only long enough to say goodbye. Harold is left with the dog and the ashes of the camp fire. The Relief Of Silence Harold finds relief in being alone again. He and Dog walk without debate, and he is open once more to memories of Maureen, Queenie and David. The world feels whole. The Cost Of Carrying Others Yet the desertions leave a wound. He has learned how heavy other people's hopes can be, and how much strength is required to let them go.

Dog Chooses A New Companion

Dog Chooses A New Companion The Missing Dog Harold looks behind him on the road to Cambo and realizes the dog is gone. He searches the gutters, asks drivers, and retraces his steps toward Hexham. A Girl With A Stone He finds Dog sitting at the feet of a schoolgirl in a bus shelter. She picks up a stone and puts it in her pocket, and when the bus comes, Dog follows her on board. It does not look back. Another Goodbye Harold tells himself the animal has made its own decision. But losing his last companion rips away another layer of skin. He is afraid of what will come next.

The Wooler Telephone Call

The Wooler Telephone Call I Can't Do It Harold phones Maureen to tell her he cannot finish the walk. He does not know where he is, or where he has come from. He says he wants to come home. Maureen Refuses To Let Him Stop Maureen and Rex work out that Harold is likely in Wooler, and she books him a hotel room. She tells him Queenie is still alive, that the weather will be good, and that it is only sixteen more miles to Berwick. The Invisible Thread Maureen's voice gives Harold a map when he has lost his own. He checks into the Black Swan and loses the brass compass. It is the lowest point before the end.

The Endless Road

The Endless Road The World Reduced To Road Harold no longer sees hedgerows or hills. He sees only tarmac, flies, rain and wind. His yachting shoes are bound with blue duct tape, and he is no more than a body that houses a walk. The Nightmare Pictures Return Awake or asleep, Harold relives the shed, the smashed clowns, and Maureen turning away into a ball of light. He calls out but no sound comes back. Salt In The Wind At three thirty on a Tuesday afternoon he smells salt. An hour later he sees the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed fringed by the sea. The miles are ending, but the inner journey is not yet complete.

The First Arrival

The First Arrival The Uncelebrated Gate Harold reaches the gates of St Bernadine's Hospice. No one stops or waves. Patients sit in deck chairs like clothes set out to dry, and no one is expecting him. The Finger On The Buzzer He lifts his finger to press the buzzer and then cannot press it. The journey has been about Queenie, but at this moment he is afraid of what she has become. He turns away. The Dust And The Meaning Harold sits in a café and breaks down. He is a joke old man, a misfit, a pilgrim who cannot remember his son's name. The extraordinary moment has come and gone without trace; the real arrival must wait for another day.

Late June, south of Newcastle

Near Cambo, on the A696

Early July, in a phone box near Wooler

The final days before Berwick

Eighty-seven days after setting out, early July