Day 9, East Wallhouses to Newburn

We started out in light rain but it stopped by mid-morning. Still, wet socks and shoes caused a bloody bunion by evening, which was nothing compared to the excitement of the day

It was a pretty walk.

Pretty landscape with clouds.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at The Swan in Heddon-on-the-Wall, separated briefly, we thought, but could not find each other in this tiny little town. In addition, the wall walk signage was particularly bad.

After 45 minutes of searching for Cathy, I reluctantly left messages at the two restaurants and the gas station/grocery that I was going on and would meet her in Newburn.

She had the map but I had a copy of our hotel address. Of course I had not bothered to figure out international calling and Cathy left the sound off on her phone most of the time, anyway.

I was asking everyone I ran into if they had seen her and a local man out walking with his dog told me I was not only not on the trail but there was a shortcut to Newburn and sent me off.

When I arrived at our destination 5 miles away, she was not there but the hostess called our walk coordinator who had heard from Cathy and knew she was on her way. She had run into man with dog who told her I was ahead of her and he walked her almost all the way to our hotel.

We had a lovely Italian dinner.

I’m fascinated by all the ways the Britts design gates for walkers, both through and over fences. Lots of people walk over the countryside, often long distances most every day.

And these next two are the same gate, called a kissing gate. It swings in a way that would make it almost impossible for a cow or sheep to get through so there is sometimes no latch.

Day 8, Chollerford to East Wallhouse, 9 Miles

Monday, September 23

Down out of the hills today and back to bucolic countryside. Also, places to eat along the way for the first time in several days. This was the first day of rain, pretty steady, pretty wet, all afternoon.

Hips and knees recovered. Wet shoes and socks. Wondering if abandoning my waterproof boots that took up half the suitcase and were a bit uncomfortable was wise. Didn’t take pictures after the rain started.

The River Tyne.

Long-eared sheep.

We stayed at the Robin Hood Inn, warm, dry, cozy, washer and dryer down the hall, hair dryer for drying our shoes - we liked this place.

Housestead to Chollerford

Day 7, Sunday, September 22

10 miles

Another up and down day but less up and down than yesterday. Unfortunately for my gut, it’s mostly ibuprofen getting me through the hip and knee pain. Still, no blisters, blue skies, and amazing views.

We stayed at the George Hotel in Chollerford. It is a 17th century building, redone inside so it looks more 1940s, and, at least in our room, lacking hot water, so not as charming as one might hope. Up until now, the accommodations have been way more lux than we expected so we just spent the night and walked on without complaint.

I was fascinated by a couple of Temples of Mithras along the trail. The book suggests the spiritual practice was roughly equivalent to Scientology.

Gilsland to Housesteads

So this was the tough day. Up and down extremely steep hills, all day. The book says ten miles but it is based on a flat map. Everyone’s pedometers say 13 miles. Our hips and knees say 232 miles.

We reached the highest elevation on the trail and the midpoint of our walk.

What’s worse, I forgot my cell phone so the steps didn’t even get recorded!

The good news is that we are staying two nights at the Old School House B&B with the lovely Ian and Kate who ferry us to and from the trail and provided a bag of ice. The phone was where I left it in the mud room when putting on my boots. The pictures are from Cathy.

Lanercost to Gilsland

Our first wall sighting, this piece of the wall probably still exits because a house had been built up against it.

Today, we continue to see more wall and climb more hills. We also pass fewer villages which means fewer places to eat and appreciate toilets, as opposed to nettle infested opportunities.

Turret and mile castle foundations are increasingly visible as we walk into rolling hill country. The wall is estimated to have been 12 feet high most places. The construction technique changed. At this end of the wall, the construction was smooth and precise across the width. As we move east, it will become less smooth on the outside and very sloppy inside.

A foundation set on the diagonal, followed by the explanation, and a sketch of a possible likeness.

And miles and miles of wall, and wall building ruins with excellent explanations, and walking up and down and up and down.

Crosby-on-Eden to Lanercost

Thursday, 9/18, the taxi took us back to Crosby and we walked 8 miles to Lanercost. The landscape is changing to rolling hills.

Whereas before it was uncertain exactly where the wall was, there are sections here where we are clearly walking on unexcavated wall.

I haven’t figured out why there is so much red in the water, in this case, the Eden River.

Lanercost was an Augustinian priory. The monks owned a lot of nearby land which supported the community.

Back to Edward I - when he came through to fight the Scots in September 1306, he was old, sick, and being borne on a litter. His retinue of 200 including Queen Margaret of France and Edward II needed to be housed and fed. Seven carpenters and a builder were employed to create temporary residences.

Apparently the monks were appalled when some of the king’s soldiers already in Scotland sent the heads of two of Robert the Bruce’s brothers to Lanercost, on sticks, to prove to the king they were on it. Such delightful people some of us came from.

By March 1037, Edward I recovered enough to proceed on to Burgh-by-Sands, die, and lie in wait in that tiny little Roman church mentioned earlier.

Edward II took over. Some say he wasn’t as motivated as his father to beat back the Scots and some say he probably just ran out of money.

Regardless, when Edward I died, Robert the Bruce proceeded to savage this part of England. Those of us with English and Scottish genes have double the bad behavior.

The Lanercost Priory suffered from Robert the Bruce, and worse, Henry VIII’s dissolution of the Catholic church.

The front of the church, on the left, remains and serves the community today. We stayed in one of the nearby buildings to the right of this picture.

Our hostess, Charlotte Graham, a British photographer of some renown, served dinner and all guests, who happened to all be hikers, not only shared stories, but continue to visit as our paths repeatedly cross on the trail.

We are at 37/84 miles according to the book.

Carlisle

We walked on to Carlisle, where we had come in on the train from Edinburgh a few days before. Here are some pictures of the walk so far.

We walked within viewing of the Solway for almost two days. You can see the hills of Scotland in the distance.

Some a bit muddy but so far no rain.

I just love all the beautiful old trees.

We stayed at Courtfield Guest House in Carlisle where our hostess, Marjorie, took excellent care of us. We had a half-pint of ale, and our first fish and chips at the Bee Hive Pub, and walked on to Crosby-on-Eden the next day.

A taxi driver drove us back to Carlisle where we walked in on a grand organ recital at the cathedral, admired this beautiful interior, and ate a yummy Coronation Chicken sandwich at the Cathedral cafe.

Edward I ordered the building of this cathedral in 1102 and both Henry VIII’s dissolution and the Scottish Presbyterians have caused partial destruction. With continuous rebuilding, it’s spectacular.

The castle was a defensive castle, for soldiers, not elites. I was the only one there and the nerdy, ticket selling kid, a former student type, gave me lots of info.

It was just stone and some wood, never finished off for comfort, and super interesting to explore for an hour on my own.

Bowness on Solway

We arrived at Bowness House Farm B&B in Bowness on Solway by taxi from Carlisle Sunday afternoon; walked a half block to the King’s Arms, the local pub; bought a Hadrian’s Wall passport book, and walked down to the Solway. It is a wide, shallow estuary, a primary breeding ground for salmon, and a winter home for arctic birds.

Shallow, and with Scotland on the other side to the north, the Solway was used as a ford for the English and Scots to invade each other for centuries, losing a few humans each crossing to “sinking sand”.

Bowness was, more or less, the western end of the wall Hadrian built across England, beginning probably AD122 to keep the Pics from invading Roman controlled England.

We’ve stayed at several B&Bs with the word “farm” in their name.The farm usually includes a rectangular 2-story stone house, attached to a set of multi-height stone buildings surrounding a brick or stone rectangular farmyard, often with a few chickens, cats, and a dog.

Occasionally some of the buildings house milk cows. The surrounding pastures usually have sheep, and sometimes Holsteins or beef cattle.

Most often the people who rent the land and own the livestock are not the people living in the large stone “farm” structures.

The stone from these “farms” and the churches and pubs and little homes along the way was taken from Hadrian’s Wall which is why it is no longer visible in most places.

We began our walk in Bowness on Solway Monday morning.

We walked 5.5 miles to Hillside Farms, where our hostess’s family had lived for three centuries, and have rented out the pastures. This is the view out our bedroom window.

We were tired and hungry upon arrival and Sandra gave us tea and scones and biscuits, and later some lovely veggie lentil soup. She was so caring, especially since there is no tea and supper in the word B&B.

The view out our bedroom window.

Tuesday we walked 9 miles to Carlisle, stopping at a small, stone (also from the wall), 12th century church, St. Michael’s, at Burgh by Sands. Built in the Roman style, it was dark and cold and damp.

St. Michael’s was the site of what was an extraordinary event for the locals in 1306.

When Edward I, sometimes called Long-shanks because he was 6’4”, and also known as The Hammer of the Scots, brought an army of 400 from London to ford the Solway and defeat the Scots, he got disentary on the way, stayed over at Lanercost Priory where we stay later, and continued on to Burgh by Sands where he died. His body lay at St. Michael’s while his heir and advisors and whoever else, came up from London to collect the body. Locals from all around came to mourn the dead King in this tiny little country church, and observe the associated pageantry.

Saturday and Sunday, September 14 and 15

The highlight Saturday was visiting Ginger Twist, a delightful little yarn shop and yes, we bought some. Then we spotted a craft fair held in the artists’ front yards and sometimes their homes in a small neighborhood with tiny homes and tiny charming front yards.

On the walk home we spotted a church yard fence crying out for some attention from Jane H.

The next morning we attended the local Unitarian church and joined the congregation in a potluck.

From that fun encounter with interesting people, we set off for Waverley Station where we caught the train south to Carlisle, then a cab to Bowness on Solway where we begin the walk.

Friday continued

We went from Holyrood Castle and the gardens outside into what our book called the Queen’s Gallery but is now the King’s Gallery. The exhibit was mostly paintings of long deceased royals in great clothing and a few artifacts of royal clothing style and, of more interest to us, lots of information about clothing construction.

King Charles is responsible for a Physic Garden out front, full of medicinal plants, and now used for training health care professionals.

The thistle, the Scottish national flower, was prominent and a small stone building in the garden was charming.

On the Royal Mile between Holyrood House and Edinburgh Castle are many touristy shops, historic sites, and statues. I really liked Edinburgh.