Mind the Bloody Gap

Some things were just meant to be. On a day when Murray started his Wimbledon 2015 challenge, when the temperatures soared around the country, and when I found myself sadly nursing a blister the size of a 10p piece it seemed nevertheless that destiny was on our side. The shortest day of walking so far was achieved such that by 3.30pm just as the players stepped onto the court to 'warm up' (joke) so we checked in to The Samson Inn in Gilsland after a tough but mercifully short 9 miles. Simply put, after yesterday's roller coaster terrain over 13 stunning but exhausting miles and with today's heat to contend with it seemed the scheduling Gods were on our side. 

We began the day today by climbing up to Steel Rigg and onward to the highest point on the Wall. Thankfully it was not yet too warm which proved fortunate since despite the general trend from here onward inevitably being downwards the undulations were by no means over. 

Bit blowy up at the trig point at Green Slack! Not quite enough to have blown the clouds away though.

The crags which form a natural barrier to the north also dictate the course of the Wall, When it does make an appearance though it has the most incredible scenery as its backdrop.

Note how straight the section ahead is.

Looking back. A descent typical of today's walk. But what goes down ....

... Still got those ridges ahead to take on.

Every so often the path drops down into a gap. Caw Gap was pretty steep down then up again, here we're at the bottom of Shield on the Wall, later we trekked down Bogle Hole, through Thorny Doors and onward via Bloody Gap (I kid ye not) and each time you have to go back up again! 

Sometimes you get helpful steps 

Other times not! I am there somewhere, it's just a very long way from where I am (near the top, taking it steady) to where HRH was, already at the bottom, taking the pi...cture!

And finally, shortly before the end of today, we stumbled upon the ruins of the 14thC Thirlwall Castle. Thirlwall means 'gap in the wall' and it was built as such where the Wall had deteriorated to defend the owners' lands from sheep and cattle rustling by those brutes north of the border! 

A shady spot. Unfortunately we didn't find this bench until after we'd had lunch in the full sun, up on the ridge at turret 45a. 

Mercifully tomorrow is again just a 9 mile stretch with far fewer undulations, which is just as well as we may need to step it up to stay ahead of the threatened storms due to arrive at around 2.00pm. 

Early night tonight, tired from heat and hills. Here's hoping I don't now dream of London Tube Station announcements! 

A Military Operation

"Anyone glancing at the maps for today's 15 mile stage will find their heart sinking and probably conclude that this is a walk to be endured, not enjoyed". These are the words of Henry Stedman, author of our Trailblazer guide book! You can imagine, therefore, why I was prepared for the worst. As it turns out the majority of the day's walk was really very pleasant. Henry manages expectations based on the fact that the trail runs close and parallel to the busy B6318. You might be thinking that a B road in rural Northumberland can't be that busy but the fact that it is straight as a die and undulates gently up and down for most of it's length means that if you were not on foot it would be the perfect road on which to put the pedal to the floor and have some fun behind the wheel! Not great for walkers for whom the constant background noise gets a little waring at times but by and large the Hadrian's Wall Path (HWP) is screened from the 'racing chariots' by a modern wall, line of trees or the remains of the Roman ditch that formed a further defensive line on the North side of the Wall. Actually we found the walking more than tolerable (and super easy to navigate), the scenery growing increasingly beautiful and the weather perfect once again. 

No, for me the problem was rather more due to our timetable. After a pleasant morning and our delightful picnic lunch on a huge rock, toasted warm by the sun, we were better able to calculate the remaining distance for the day and that was when the concerns set in. With a further 7 miles to go and only 3 hours till the last bus of the day the pressure was on. Doesn't sound that much of a feat but another significant feature of today's section was The Ladder Stile! 

In total we had 42 to traverse and let me tell you that would slow down the fittest, most nimble Centurian. It certainly did for my knees! And so it transpired that it wasn't the road or the distance that was the problem, it was the bloomin' bus timetable! 

Anyway, here I am tucked up, well fed, everso slightly weathered by the sun and wind but satisfied that we enjoyed rather than endured the day and after a good night's sleep should be all set for whatever Monday throws at us*. 

Oh, and another reason I can forgive the buses is that the number of the service ferrying people to the various towns along the way is the AD122! Tee hee. Why might this give cause for forgiveness? Well it certainly amused me when the penny dropped this afternoon .... this being the year the Wall was ordered to be built by Hadrian himself. Canny Geordies eh? 

*Actually we already know what tomorrow has to throw at us: "Perhaps the most thrilling day of the entire walk, this is a 13 mile stage to be savoured. Encompassing the best preserved fort on the trail, the finest views, the most complete sections of the Wall, the northernmost point of the Trail and some great, if slightly exhausting walking, this is a day for superlatives". He's not all bad, our Henry! And no bus to catch at the end. 

"A Sizeable Chunk"

It's been a day of unexpected surprises. Little did we expect when we set off today that we'd find ourselves 'gannin alang the Scotswood Road', if not quite to see the Blaydon Races certainly in close proximity http://youtu.be/6PrMaVjHS74, seeing a sign marking the depth of the water after the 'great flood' of 1771 which must have been 25 ft above the level of the river today ...

... and later to be following the former Wylam Waggonway where, as a young boy, one George Stephenson took his first job keeping a neighbours cows off the line and undoubtedly where his love of linear transport systems was born and this just metres from his childhood home! Fascinating. 

We've had riverside pathways on our way out of Newcastle, stretches through rather unimpressive industrial areas, pretty parkland and finally a "bit of an exhausting schlep to the top of the hill" (guide book speak) but what we hadn't really seen before 10 miles were up and we arrived in Heddon on the Wall was any wall! It transpires that many a walker forgoes the first true section of the National Trail for this reason and starts at Heddon but we've had glorious weather again and with mostly flat, easy paths and simple navigation we purists are happy to have spent another lovely day making good progress. 

Heddon on the Wall is a pretty little place perched up on a ridge above the Tyne and boasts the first (or last, depending on which direction you're heading) real sight of any Wall. Clearly now only a few feet high since much of it (before UNESCO protection) was pilfered by people building other local constructions, the 100m section of preserved Wall in Heddon is quite impressive, and includes the remains of a kiln, albeit one that post-dates the Roman era. 

Tomorrow is THE BIG ONE! 15 miles following the military road, up and down and, because we're billeted in Corbridge some 8 miles off the path, requiring some nifty scheduling to be sure the Sunday bus timetable back to Heddon and returning from Chollerford via Hexham doesn't outwit us. 

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the 'sizeable chunk', (again guide book speak), is pictured below.

Well built - steady on the comments please :-)

HRH figuratively toasting his toes in the kiln.

Segedunum*

"Not the most salubrious of National Trail starts", the guide book said. The guide book was not wrong. Apart from our brief visit to the Segedunum Museum with it's 35ft viewing tower, marking the extreme eastern-most end of the wall and which was very well done, the first few miles are largely through an area of built-up former industrial units and warehouses. Well, this part of Newcastle was once given over to coal mines, then major shipbuilding and now lies somewhat derelict pending it's latest reinvention (probably cheap housing) but it has to be endured in order to move onwards to the significantly more pleasant riverside/marina and the town centre. 

At St. Peter's Marina - the exclusive part of the riverside development.

The museum itself boasts a fully excavated outline of the entire Roman fort that once stood there, indicating everything from the main offices to the hospital, barracks, stores and the General's house, interactive displays and a reconstructed bath house but arriving only 45 minutes before it was due to close meant for just a mad dash around the key exhibits - and no entrance charge! Bonus.

Anyway getting the grotty bit over, plus our wish to shorten the distance to be covered tomorrow, was what made us decide to hit off 5 miles before dinner. As it happens the latter stretches were very pleasant: the sun was shining, the seagulls were in fine voice and we caught our first sight of the Millennium Bridge. HRH calls it the winking eye. 

Beyond it is the Tyne Bridge (that's 2 of the 7 that cross the Tyne in the centre of toon). That other shiny bump in the background is Sage, an art gallery. Impressive. 

Off to test the worth of bringing my feathered friend on holiday. 10 miles to Heddon tomorrow. X

* Strong Fort

Pronounced segg-eh-doo-num

Vallum Aelium* - Maybe

So here we go. 4 hours in the car ahead of us en route to N'Castle has driven me (forgive the pun) to the guide book for want of something to do whilst HRH takes the first stint at the wheel. And guess what? It seems pretty much all the 'facts' recorded about the construction of The Wall are at best speculation! Apparently the first written accounts of Roman influence in Northumberland can be attributed to John Hodgson, a local vicar, who wrote six volumes over 20 years, finally published in 1839, presenting a mass of evidence blowing previous theories and attributing the construction (largely) to Hadrian rather than the Emperors before or after. And from what I can gather no-one has convincingly argued against him since. 

What is apparent however is that the beginnings of the 'wall' (rather more turf and timber actually) were constructed during the reign of the previous Emperor, Trajan (AD97-117) with the intention of providing a launch-pad for attacks on the pesky Caledonians! I have to say reading up about this period of British history presents a few parallels with modern times. You will draw your own conclusions but if I were to say that on Hadrian's accession he decided that it was proving all together too costly to keep fighting to take control of those aggressive tribes north of the border and so adopted the defensive approach to keep them out, you will get my drift. 

There ARE writings on the construction of the wall but the earliest date from around 150 years after it was completed and it would appear the Romans were not averse to massaging the truth to suit their  marketing and egotistical needs! 

Most surprising perhaps is that Hadrian's Wall took just 6 years to build and yet only 10 years after it's completion and when his successor took over, Antonius, not to be outdone, decided to push the Empire's border further north and built a wall of his own, leaving Hadrian's famed feat of engineering to languish as a series of trading-post forts rather than a military defensive barrier. Can't wait to see what all the fuss is about. 

*Vallum - wall

Aelium - Hadrian's family name

Crutches

[IN SINGULAR] A thing used for support or reassurance:

Janet the Walking pole - tick

Stephen, best buddy, all round good egg  - tick

Foot fleece - tick

Bio freeze and Ibuprofen gel - tick

Wall Passport - tick

Own pillow ! - tick

Some of these are clearly self explanatory. We all need support and I don't mind admitting I might need a little more than my forever friend who hasn't packed any of the above. Others might require more clarification.

Foot fleece is a recent discovery. After much searching on the web, not really knowing what I was looking for but certain I wasn't the only person who would benefit from something to protect sore spots, I stumbled upon this great idea. I purchased it from New Zealand, waited several weeks for it to arrive, tried it, loved it, recommended it to friends ... who promptly found it on Amazon UK!

http://m.hikerswool.co.nz/blister-treatment-foot 

When we walked The Camino a couple of years ago I found collecting stamps along the way quite motivating so was pleased to discover a similar summertime-only 'passport' scheme also operates along The Wall. Yes, I know this smacks of children collecting stickers but sometimes we just have to do what works for us. So there.

And finally, you might think it over the top to take my own pillow on holiday (HRH certainly does) and I haven't done so on holidays in the past but sleep is already at a premium these days so I'm not taking any chances. Previous experience of B&Bs has perhaps made me wary. Certainly I've had a mixed bag of bouncy sponge, rock-hard bolsters and flat flabby things but rarely these days do you get a nice feather pillow (allergy rules understood but not appreciated when I'm going to be needing my rest) so given I had room, my old favourite found it's way into my suitcase. We shall see whether my eccentricity pays off. 

Hic Nos Iterum *

In trying to summon my inner Roman I've been researching the nominative hero of the piece (about whom more later) but remained unconvinced that he, Hadrian, ever paid more than a cursory visit never mind lifted a shovel, heaved a brick or tramped the length so he wasn't really helping. No, what I wanted to know was who actually put in the hard graft (in other words who I have to blame for putting the 84 mile structure there in the first place, tantalisingly challenging the eternal rambler in his-nibs and the wearily competitive in me!) Anyway, I seem to have gotten to the bottom of it. I still don't yet know who barked the orders, set the pace, motivated the troops or kept morale high (this role to be played out next week by none other than HRH, you understand) but I have been able to establish a little more about the grafters. 

*Rather alarmingly when you type 'legionnaires' into Google images you tend to get disease! 

Sorry - distracted by germs there. Where was I? Oh yes, so somewhat surprisingly I discovered that not all of them were there under duress, in fact far from it! So it helps to remind myself that I did volunteer for this latest jaunt, I did look upon it as a way of improving my fitness and I was curious about the landscape in a part of the world as yet unexplored since I find that, wheras many believe mistakenly that the wall was built by slaves rather it's construction was a kind of occupational therapy for Roman legionaries! [i quote:  "Men from all over the Empire who had voluntarily joined the army probably needed such an exercise to keep them fit and busy in what was, at that time, a lonely outpost at the farthest edge of the world"]

So there we have it. The occupational therapy week is almost upon us. This is what's known, I believe, as 'reframing' - stop thinking about something negatively and try to see it positively. Don't get me wrong I'm anticipating some lovely scenery, hearty breakfasts, the opportunity to write again, to walk myself fitter as the week goes on and to enjoy the company of HRH but I have been struggling with nagging doubt as to why I ever agree to these things! We have a schedule of between 9 and 15 miles to get through each day (plus diversions), the forecast is not looking great and training has thrown up the inevitable catalogue of twinges, aches and pains but looking at it as occupational therapy, well, if the legionnaires could construct it then surely I can walk it. We shall soon see *Here We Go Again