Sept 8th – 15th 2011
Thurs Sept 8th Wallsend to Newcastle Quayside 5 miles
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| With a 'Roman Centurion' |
We (Dave, Mike, Elizabeth and Lynda) took the train to Newcastle arriving before noon and found our B&B with the help of our bus passes and very friendly but sometimes difficult-to-understand locals. As we had time, we decided to walk the first 5 miles, and probably the least interesting section of the route, that afternoon.
Another bus took us to Wallsend and the Roman fort of Segedunum. After taking photos with a ‘Roman soldier'
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| Out of Wallsend |
we went up to the top of the observation tower which had an excellent view over the site of the fort and the River Tyne. There was also a fascinating interactive screen showing how the view we could see had changed over the last 2000 years. Then we started our walk. The path (very well signposted all along the route as we were to find) went alongside the river and was not as industrial as we had feared. In fact it was a very pleasant walk in the afternoon sunshine as was our first pub stop just before reaching the Quayside. The day's walk ended alongside some famous landmarks: the Baltic Arts Centre housed in a former flour mill, the impressive Sage Theatre and the Millennium or 'Winking Eye' bridge over the Tyne. We then stayed in town to eat in a tapas bar where we had an excellent meal to round off a good first day.
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| Our first pub stop |
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| Famous landmarks of the Tyne |
Fri Sept 9th Newcastle Quayside to Heddon-on-the-Wall 10 miles
Weather - dry all day, mainly overcast with occasional sun
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Neptune on top of the Fish Market
in Newcastle |
After taking lots of photos of interesting buildings and bridges by the quayside, the route continued along the riverside on a cycle track, through the Tyne Valley Country Park, and finally became a proper footpath.
We had bought lunch at a fantastic deli before setting out and also took advantage of a café and a riverside pub en route.
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Classy signpost near
the start of the walk |
At Heddon we found our first piece of exposed Wall, which was very impressive.
We were staying at Houghton North Farm hostel, which turned out to be excellent in spite of our concern at the word ‘hostel’. Mind you, the girls had a large ensuite room whereas the boys had to make do with a small twin.
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| The bridges of the Tyne |
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Sitting on our first bit
of Hadrian's Wall |
Sat Sept 10th Heddon to Greencarts farm, beyond Chollerford 17 miles
Weather - mainly dry but overcast, a brief shower and a few breaks in the cloud.
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Following the Wall at
the start of day 3 |
We walked a lot alongside the military road today but mainly on grassy paths with the scenery becoming increasingly attractive with lovely views.
We also saw large sections of the Vallum (the ditch to the south of the Wall), the first significant section of the Wall itself and the best-preserved turret, all very interesting.
Sun Sept 11th Greencarts to Twice Brewed, plus visit to Vindolanda 10 miles
Weather - mainly overcast, some bursts of sunshine, some showers, very heavy while visiting Vindolanda late afternoon.
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| Milecastle 39 |
Lovely walking now on springy turf, and very hilly over to Housesteads and beyond.
Glorious scenery – so much Wall we became blasé about it, the Sycamore Tree (made famous in Robin Prince of Thieves and in every set of photos you see of Hadrian’s Wall), lots of milecastles and turrets.
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| Sycamore Gap |
We had planed to walk to Vindolanda at the end of the walk but when we realised we could settle into our rooms first and then catch a bus, it became an option too good to ignore. Vindolanda is the site which is recommended to visit if you can only fit one in and it was certainly very interesting. There were extensive excavations and finds there, really well presented. Heavy rain drove us inside to the museum (at least some of us went to the museum; others, who shall remain nameless, spent most of the time in the café!). Among all the treasures found there, they were showing an excellent video on the writing tablets discovered on the site which are now one of the top 10 treasures in the British Museum.
Finished the day off with another good meal in the pub where we were staying and all ate too much!
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| Trig point on Sewingshields Crags |
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| Vindolanda excavations |
Mon Sept 12th Twice Brewed to Sandysikes, just beyond Walton 18 miles
Hurricane Katia Day!
Weather - 70/80mph gusts, difficult to stand up, constantly fighting against the wind. Some sunshine, some showers, but an exhausting day overall due to the hurricane.
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| Sheltering from the storm |
We climbed to the highest point on the wall at 345m and descended over rocky sections – neither to be recommended in those winds! The scenery was beautiful when we had chance to look at it.
The pub at Gilsland was very welcome, especially the toasted cheese sandwiches! We stayed there longer than we intended as we found it hard to move, so after an equally tiring afternoon we reached the B&B exhausted at 7pm. A very hard day.
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| One casualty of Hurricane Katia |
The B&B was an old Georgian farmhouse, and reports said you would either love it or hate it! Certainly it was very quirky. It had beautiful, massive rooms with amazing views but no tea-making facilities or ensuite or TV. We ate in the enormous dining room with pictures of ancestors on the walls, but the kitchen where the family seemed to spend most of their time was pretty grubby and had lots of dogs. I think some of us loved (well quite liked) it and others hated it!
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| Impressive remains at Birdoswald |
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| The wall clings to the heights |
Tues Sept 13th Sandysikes to Carlisle 11 miles
Weather - sunny, still windy, some showers pm
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| Stall-on-the-Wall |
Mainly flat and pleasant walking all day, much of it following the line of the Wall, with the Wall ditch to the north and the Vallum to the south. We were quite taken with the Stall-on-the-Wall, an honesty box along the route full of things walkers might need such as bottles of water, snacks and chocolate bars - a nice gesture on behalf of the farmer who put it there.
We then followed an enjoyable stretch along the banks of the River Eden until we came to parkland on the edge of the city.
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| Carlisle Castle |
A short walk along handsome streets brought us to our B&B by about 3.30pm. It was very pleasant guest house, voted best on the walk. Some of us went to explore Carlisle (lovely stained glass in the cathedral, impressive castle), others rested.
Again we went to an excellent restaurant in the evening to take advantage of being in a city.
Wed Sept 14th Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway 15 miles
Weather - sunny all day, some cloud am. We were lucky enough to have beautiful sunshine for our arrival at the end of the walk.
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| Coffee stop on the final day |
Mostly flat walking, first alongside the river through Carlisle, then through fields and green lanes. We walked along the top of the dyke to cross the section which can be flooded at high tide although we were told by a local that it almost never floods. The last section had lovely views over the estuary, where we had lunch.
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| The next part could be slightly damp |
We were staying in the pub at Port Carlisle, a mile or so from the end of the walk so we left our luggage there to walk the final section to Bowness-on-Solway. We took photos, went for a celebratory drink and signed the Hadrian’s Wall Walk book in the pub. We also helped a frantic walker find his wallet which he’d lost in the pub merely by asking if he’d left it in the toilets. We were feeling quite mellow now so we didn’t point out that that would have been the first place we would have looked!
We then walked back along the estuary to our B&B where we rounded off the holiday with another enjoyable evening meal in the bar.
The walk is well worth doing - lots of historical interest, lovely scenery and well signposted all the way. If you're lucky, you may even get a hurricane thrown in for good measure!
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| Only 5 miles to go |
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| The end! |
