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.