Sunday 13 August 2017
Today was a beautiful day in Carlisle. I explored the high street area and bought a guidebook for Hadrian's Wall. I visited Carlisle Cathedral, and then explored Bitts Park and walked along the River Eden for a bit.
I didn't really know what to expect from Carlisle, never having been here before. But I really, really like this city. It's attractive. It's open. The air is fresh and clean. I can tell I'm getting close to Scotland.
Leg One of Hadrian's Wall tomorrow!
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Monday 14 August 2017
Bowness-on-Solway to Carlisle
Distance: 14.5 miles
Start: 9:00am
Finish: 5:00pm
Weather: Cloudy with occasional rain showers
There is a bus between Carlisle and Bowness, but its timing isn't really useful to Hadrian's Wall walkers. So I took a cab to Bowness instead.
The Solway Firth, with its views across to Scotland, was my companion for the first few miles. This section of the trail is tarmac-heavy, with the most memorable section (to me) being the three or so miles of dead-straight road paralleling the firth between Drumburgh and Burgh-by-Sands. I made pretty good time to Burgh-by-Sands, where Edward Longshanks died and where I stopped for lunch, and then it was time to push on to Carlisle.
After some more tarmac-pounding, the trail got into pastureland - much easier on the feet. But it was around this time that I discovered that Hadrian's Wall occasionally suffers the same ailment as Offa's Dyke: waymarkers too overgrown with vegetation to be seen. NB: If the path suddenly gets unreasonably overgrown, you've probably gone wrong somewhere. Turn around. Also, the day's off-and-on rain meant that conditions were very muddy underfoot in places.
About three miles from Carlisle, I got stuck in the mud. Legitimately stuck. I thought I was going to have to wriggle my feet free and leave the boots, that kind of stuck. Determined that I was absolutely NOT going to call Mountain Rescue over something this stupid, I managed to free one foot by rocking it back and forth (which broke the suction pretty rapidly), and the other by using a trekking pole to essentially dig it out. Using poles on this trip continues to be an excellent decision.
I knew I was getting close when I hit a series of highway underpasses. Soon after that, the River Eden drew alongside. After a day of mostly dead-flat walking, the undulating trail along the river was not exactly welcome. At least there were steps to facilitate the climbs and descents. Ordinarily the riverside path would continue all the way to Bitts Park, but a detour had been put in place due to flood damage. I followed the detour into town for a while, and then called it a day. I was simply too tired and footsore to keep going. I ducked into a pub and had them call me a cab to my hotel. This was quite possibly my longest walking day ever in terms of mileage, and I'm worn out.
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Wednesday 16 August 2017
Lanercost to Greenhead
Distance: 8 miles
Start: 9:35am
Finish: 3:45pm
Weather: Sunny in the morning, increasing clouds and wind in the afternoon
Yesterday I woke up feeling sluggish and feverish, so I had a slow morning in Carlisle, took a bus to Brampton, and then walked two miles into Lanercost (of priory fame). I had a passable scampi at the priory's tearoom and slept like the dead at my B&B, where the landlady was Very Concerned that I arrived without accommodation booked for the following night. I mean, I get that she must see a lot of underprepared Hadrian's Wall walkers, but seriously. (I was able to find a room in Greenhead with ease, by the way.)
This morning I walked out of Lanercost, past Lanercost Priory for a final time, and up the road to rejoin the path at Haytongate and its famous honesty hut. I didn't partake of any of the refreshments since I was just starting the day, but I did read a few of the notes people had left. Then it was up a hill through a pasture with fantastic sunny views of the Cumbria countryside, and down the road through Banks. It was around this time that I had my first sighting of the actual wall! It's in fragments here, but unmistakably the original Roman wall. The weather was great and lots of day-trippers were out in their cars and RVs, visiting wall sites.
After some pleasant walking through gently rolling pastureland, I reached Birdoswald Fort and ate my packed lunch. Then it was a steep but short descent to cross a river, and a re-ascent back up for a bit more pasture on the way to Gilsland. Passing through Gilsland, I crossed the county border into Northumberland! Woo!
I encountered my first (and second, and third...) ladder stile on the way out of Gilsland, and reading the guidebook, it looks like they're here to stay. I was getting tired by this time, but Greenhead was mercifully close. Although I might have missed the turnoff had it not been for the sharp eyes of the German couple walking with me, searching for their lost camera.
A very long eight miles, but a pleasant day today.
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Thursday 17 August 2017
Greenhead to Walltown
Distance: 2-3 miles, maybe
Start: 9:30am
Finish: 11:00am
Weather: Sunny and warm
I took a wrong turn at Thirlwall Castle and climbed a big hill I didn't need to climb. This pretty much set the tone for the day.
I came back down and found the right path again, around a house and over a bridge across an attractive stream. Then there was a precipitous climb up another hill to a ladder stile. When I got to the ladder stile I nearly bailed. The wrong turn and mistaken climb had damaged my morale and sapped my energy, and I had a good sulk as I sat in the shadow of the stile, ate a bag of potato chips, and watched the scenery.
Eventually an Australian couple came along and prodded me back into motion, and I continued on to Walltown Crags. I topped up my water in their visitor center, and then it was time to have a go at The Craggy Bit. This is the most famous section of the wall, as well as the most intact and picturesque bit. And with the weather so nice, there were lots of people out visiting it for the day. I made my leisurely way up and along the wall, all the while looking ahead at the crags with not a little trepidation.
At one point I came to a spot where the path dipped down to road level, before ascending up the next crag. It was here that I bailed out for real. I was overwarm, running out of energy, and not feeling confident to continue. So I made my way back to the visitor center and got the AD122 bus to the YHA at Once Brewed. Plan for tomorrow is to walk from Once Brewed back to Walltown and return by bus, weather permitting, because this is a really pretty section of the trail and I'm not quite ready to give up altogether yet.
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Sunday 20 August 2017
The weather did not permit.
It had been raining off and on all morning, but I did make an honest try at going out for the day on the 18th, intending to walk from Steel Rigg - just above Once Brewed - to Housesteads Fort, a little less than three miles away. But as soon as I made it to the top of the ridge, the sky opened and it started raining and sleeting sideways.
I went back to the hostel, soaking wet.
Yesterday I got the AD122 bus to Hexham and then the train to Newcastle. Today I took the train to Durham for the day. One of the gentlemen I met in Gladestry on Offa's Dyke, on learning I was from a different Durham, said "Oh, you really should visit our Durham while you're here." And I replied, "You know, you're absolutely right!"
Durham is a cathedral city in every sense, and it is beautiful. I loved it. I wandered around the city center, visited the cathedral (including the shrine of St Cuthbert), and had an early dinner at an Italian restaurant on the riverfront. I tarried coming back to Newcastle, because I was so taken with Durham and didn't want to leave.
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Monday 21 August 2017
Today I successfully navigated Newcastle's metro system and made my way to Wallsend. Wallsend doesn't have much going for it besides Segedunum, the eastern terminus of Hadrian's Wall and my reason for coming to Wallsend at all. I gave the fort a brief visit and then headed back to Newcastle.
On a whim, I took the train up to Berwick-upon-Tweed for the afternoon. I took a pleasant walk along the mighty River Tweed and another walk down the high street. I'm glad I went, and now I'm itching more than ever to get to Scotland. Edinburgh-bound tomorrow!
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A brief aside by the author: I want to try Hadrian's Wall again at some point in the future, with better planning and preparation. It really is a very picturesque long-distance trail, and I enjoyed the bits of it that I did on this trip. Now that I know what the terrain is like, what distances are feasible, where the good bases are, and how the AD122 bus can best be used, it's on the list to attempt again. I'm not done with it yet, and neither is it done with me, I feel. Cheers, y'all!
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