So we did it. I now have the badge to prove it but decided to forgo the t-shirt. There was a point today when I wanted to throttle Hadrian or rather the people who insist that his Wall extended beyond Carlisle, especially as there has been NO sight of it for more than 24 hours. Instead the powers that be have somehow convinced the people who certify the National Trails that it extended to the far west coast and that if some of the Wall was dead straight, so the route to Bowness on Solway, in the back of beyond, must be as straight as possible. Which is all very well but when it's 30 degrees, your feet hurt and all you want to do is finish then, let me tell you, straight and flat is no fun*.
Not easy to tell but this stretch of Tarmac across the marshes must have been 4 miles long. No shade, nothing to break the monotony, in other words seemingly interminable. *This is the tramp, by the way. It's not a reference to HRH however hot and sweaty he looked - poor thing.
There were a couple of points of interest along the way however. We stopped for lunch on a wall in a graveyard (we sure know how to live!) Actually it was the only place we could find with any shade. It was a tiny church, no benches, nothing very remarkable - on the surface.
We were rather surprised therefore to see a series of stone plaques set into the grass one of which referenced the dedication by the Duke of Gloucester on a visit in 2014 which piqued our interest. Furthermore we'd been spotted by a couple of local parishioners who were clearly there on official business, and could see how hot we were. The lady offered us a cup of tea! Very sweet. I think if she had been offering pistachio ice cream HRH might have divorced me and married her on the spot. As it was we declined but took her up on her other suggestion to pop in and take in the cool of the tower. Which is when it struck us. The church has received lottery funding to restore it and encourage visitors. Why? Because the church is built from Wall stone, and because it was here, in Burgh by Sands, that the body of King Edward I who died of dysentery whilst waiting to cross the Solway Firth in 1307 to take on Robert the Bruce, was taken to lie in state for two weeks before being moved to Westminster Abbey for burial!
Edward I, looking a little healthier than when he met his sad end.
The other highlight of the day, apart from The End, was meeting the young woman working behind the bar in the pub. As the daughter of the new-ish landlord and lady she has a day job but is helping out in this busy season for bed and board from her folks. Nothing too remarkable there. What impressed us was that she is herself going to walk The Wall in a few weeks' time "because she feels someone in the family should be able to relate to all their customers". Too right. But perhaps more amusing, she is such an unlikely looking long-distance walker and with no experience, that one of her doubtful supporters has offered, if she makes it as far as Port Carlisle, to walk the last mile with her in a mankini! And if, for no other reason than this, I think she'll make it. What great publicity for her parents' new venture for, I can assure you, this will make the local paper!
And so to close another chapter in my Ramblings. I shall shortly be putting my fresh clutch of blisters, my "I've walked the Wall" badge, and my huge self-satisfied smile to bed. Thank you for coming on the journey with me.
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