Birdoswald

The drop down to the river was steep and we were glad to be going down rather than up. The river was bridged by a graceful single span footbridge made from the same iron as the Angel of the North. The path then wanders over the river plane past the footings of the roman bridge abutments at Willowford

which are high and dry in the field now as the river has moved with the centuries. Up to Willowford Farm, past another turret and onto a path following the Wall. Through a few fields over the railway to Poltross Burn Milecastle. What a setting!

Sunday 9th August 2009

Had a good breakfast served in the house dining room, complete with ancestors on the wall. Then we asked for the bill. It was much more than we expected. Last night's wine was £8 and £5 each for breakfast (cereal, toast, juice and tea), so all in all it was a very expensive stay. But beautiful.
Still, we got packed up and back on the road. The knee had improved enormously overnight (the red wine probably helped). We went back the way we came for about a hundred yards, through a couple of gates, turned left through a wood and into a clearing by another farm building and we were at the back of Sandy Sikes. We could have taken a short cut out of the back gate and been right where we were standing! We decided that would have been cheating.

Saturday continued

Lucy got me with the sticky buds as we went up Hare Hill so I ran after her to get her back and twisted my right knee really badly. It was agony, but it's no use crying about it, I had to go on we had already booked our beds at the bunk house at Sandy Sike. We walked (or limped in my case) past a really high section of roman fortification on the way up the hill. We were on the road still and nearly at the top when the trail took a left into a field over a stile. The cyclists were there heaving their bikes over the top. Why they were on the footpath rather than the cycle trail I never did find out. We left them behind and continued through along the trail. They soon shot past us and we caught them up at the next stile where they asked Lucy to take their picture. It was a good view; the Solway was in sight, we could see the grey sheen of the river in the distance. The trail started heading down hill again which was murder on my knee. I tried walking backwards which sometimes helps but it didn't make much difference. Then the cyclists flew past again. We didn't see them again, they must have turned off towards Lanercost Priory, as we crossed the road that leads there at the bottom of the hill. The trail contined down hill until we were walking along side a stream, alot of the path was very muddy and squelched under foot, not pleasant. we came off the trail on the wall just outside Walton, over a lovely stone bridge and up the hill to the village.

We were hoping to get a drink of tea there because we had run out of water, but there were no shops and the pub was shut. Time was passing too, it was nearly six o'clock so after a short sit down on a bench we pushed on for the last half mile. Through the village and out the other side we thought we had lost the path but it reappeared down the side of a house and we were back out into the fields again. Down a path that would have been very pleasant if I had been able to walk. That last half mile took me almost an hour and the last few hundred yards uphill were so bad I thought I wouldn't be able to make it. When you have no choice it's amazing just what is possible. A camper was watching me, he thought it was funny that I had taken so long, but when I explained about my knee he was sympathetic, he was stopping there because he couldn't walk any further too. In his case it was blisters, I knew what that felt like!

The camper directed us to the bunk barn, the people who owned the place had gone out, but had told us on the phone the door to the barn would be open. It was and it was really nice if a touch chilly, and there was tea and milk and cups and a kettle! Hurray! Put the elephant down (it had grown during the day), and took off my boots and bandages, and had a brew. Once again we were the only guests in the barn, so chose our beds and went and sat out with our tea. The owner turned up and asked if we wanted a meal? We didn't, and if we would like breakfast? We would, and did we want a bottle of wine? We most definitely did! A most civilised evening ensued, the camper had some wine as well, and joined us to chat and later some more campers arrived and also joined in although they had no booze. Sat out well into the night until the bugs got too big and fancied us for supper. And so to bed.

The first weekend walk Saturday 8th August

Picked up Lucy from outside Speaks at 7.45am this morning and set straight off to Crosby on Eden. Unfortunately we were not going to get there in time for a bus. Lucy had no shorts with her and we had no lunch so we had a change of plan and stopped at Tescos in Carlisle to shop for both. We decided we would leave the car in the Walltown Crags car park and walk from there. Arrived about 10.30am and got kitted up. It cost £8 for a parking ticket but it lasts for a week so we could leave the car without worrying about getting a fine. Set off at 11am. Planned to walk about 10 miles. First stop Thirlwall Castle, it was built from the stones taken from Hadrian's Wall in the 14th century. Took some pics and had a bit of a play in the ruins.

More of a fortified house than a castle but good fun. From there through a few houses over a footbridge next to a ford. We investigated but it was too deep to cross on foot. Soon left the road again and through a kissing gate on to a path through a field. Not in the field long either, on to the railway line, over the other side and walked along the roman ditch for a while. It was full of wild flowers and looked beautiful.

This photo really doesn't do it justice. Then we were on to a section we had walked before. Through someone's front garden and up a field and then walked actually in the ditch. It was deep and full of sheep.We were in Gilsland again and before long at Poltross Burn. Took a couple of good photos of the milecastle before crossing the railway. There was a good view of a longish stretch of wall down to the right but inaccessible. It runs through a private garden,

but just around the corner and across the road the paths picks it up and runs along side it towards Willowford Bridge. It was nice seeing it from a different direction. However we didn't stop long, walking a short way further to the banks of the river Irthing we stopped near the new bridge and ate our lunch. I explored the river a bit. There seems to be a lot of worked stone in it. I couldn't tell how deep the water is because it is the colour of strong tea.

There was a steep walk up up to Birdoswald- definitely a part of the walk I prefered when we did it the other way (downwards!) Then the path rejoins the wall and we were back at the fort. We walked past it and continued alongside the wall for a couple of hundred yards and past turret 49b, then the stone wall disappears and the path takes a turn up a field and on to the turf wall, site of (nothing to see). And for the next mile it stays the same, a bit lumpy off to one side and very flat and not much of a view. Saw some more wall and turrets on the way. The turf was replaced by stone at a later date, but there isn't much of it left.

The walk continues to be fairly flat all the way to Banks, when it suddenly goes down a steep hill. We must have been climbing gradually. Stopped on a handy bench on the green to have a snack and a drink and admire the view. Whilst we were there we saw two chaps coming up the hill, one on a bicycle and the other pushing his bike further down. The cycler stopped near us and got off his bike to wait for the other guy. When he had reached the top and had a breather, they both got on their bikes and went down again. Bit like the Grand Old Duke of York. We sat for about 10 minutes and then put the baby elephant back on my back and set off down the road. We turned off to the right to Hare Hill. Lucy took this photo of us on the junction.

Friday 10th July

Didn't sleep very well last night and neither did Lucy. Up at 7.30 and had fried egg butties for breakfast again. Packed up and set off about 8.45, the pack felt really heavy after walking without it yesterday. The feet felt really sore too, it was hard to get any pace going. We set out back up the road toward Steel Rigg again, we could have walked straight up the back of the farm to Winsheilds and up on to the wall but we didn't want to miss any out. So we had walked about a mile by the time we had got back on the trail and from there it was all uphill to the trig point. Still behind pace, my feet were very sore, I told Lucy to go on ahead and I would catch her up as I could. She waited for me at each stile. Dropped down off the crags for Caw Gap, then straight back up the other side to Cawfield Crag. Not steep but a long drag up. Went through Great Chesters but really struggling to keep going. Didn't stop to look at much, although once we had left the crags and were crossing farm land the view wasn't that exciting. Lucy was getting further and further in front, she stopped to wait for me at a stile that led into a wood. It was flat walking through the wood; what a relief! Then back up to Walltown Crags, except we got a bit lost and couldn't find the path. Back on track eventually over Walltown Crags, then lost the path again. Stopped for a picture- or rather Lucy did. This is a self portrait taken whilst waiting for me to catch up yet again, and this is a really good photo of Walltown Crags

The reason we had lost the path was the wall went straight over a cliff, just as well it wasn't foggy or we would have followed it. The path turned back on itself and went straight down a hill at about 45 degrees, murder on the toes, then took a right half way down the hill on to a gravel path and continued down along side a new lake that had been Walltown quarry.
The path led down to a car park where my brother Andrew was waiting for us. Originally the plan had been to meet us at Greenhead which was about a mile further along. I can't say I was particularly bothered the way I felt at this moment. We had covered about six and a half miles or 10 kms. Andy drove us to his house at Carlisle for tea. Mum was coming down from Dumfries as well, because Andy had made plans for us to stay there. Mother duly arrived but said she wasn't taking us to Dumfries, she was taking us home! So our holiday ended rather unexpectedly on Friday instead of Sunday!

We decided we would come back and finish the rest of the walk soon, here is a picture from Friday showing the happy wanderers (or not in my case- just look at the wan smile)

More 9th July

We decided we would have a pub meal tonight as a treat and went to the Twice Brewed Inn again. We had another jug of Pimms, although it wasn't as good. The fruit in it was a bit lacking in variety. then we looked at the menu. I ordered a vegetable curry and Lucy ordered a vegetable fajita. The meal duly arrived and it was awful. The other choice on the menu was pan fried Mediterranean vegetables, and that was what we got, except mine came in a lumpy curry sauce mix (out of a packet) and Lucy's was wrapped in a tortilla. It was inedible. I complained and we didn't pay for it, but we were offered no apology or an alternative, and the meal was left congealing in front of us for 20 minutes before anyone came to clear it away. I wrote and complained to the owners of the pub when I got home and they didn't even have the courtesy to acknowledge my letter. So be warned you vegetarians out there! We are moving on tomorrow luckily, so we just finished the Pimms and left. Seven and a half miles today. Image of sky on way back to Winsheilds

Continuing Wednesday 9th July

The path drops steeply down to the river over a wonderful footbridge made from the same iron as "The Angel of the North", past the abutments for the roman bridge that once crossed the river. This is now in the middle of a field as the river has moved quite a bit in 2000 years. This a photo of the invisible man near Willowford Farm.

Up to Willowford Farm, past a turret and on to Poltross Burn Milecastle. What a setting. It was the best preserved milecastle we had seen since we started and we have seen a few.

From there the path just got better and better- these photos were taken walking up from the milecastle towards Gilsland. After we had walked across country to Chapel House Farm we rejoined the road in the hope of catching a bus, We sat on a bank outside someones house and waited.... and waited. Twenty minutes later we decided it must have knocked and started to walk again. We had only covered a few hundred yards when it arrived. Hurray! We rode back to Winshields and the driver dropped us at the bottom of the drive again. Staggered up the drive and took off the boots- bliss. Best of all a cup of tea and a piece of cake at the cafe, sat outside in the sun. Wonderful

9th July, Birdoswald and back.

Slept really well last night. Woke a couple of times with cold shoulders and had to get up once to go to the loo but that was pretty much it. Had an incident with a slug though. It was crawling about last night near the bottom of the bunk ladder and I teased Lucy it would be up there after her, but we went to bed and forgot it. This morning I put on my sandals to go to the bathroom and when I got back and took them off there was something stuck to my bandages. The slug had crawled in them during the night and I had squashed it when I put them on. Yuk! The alarm on my phone got us up at 7.30. Could have stayed in bed. Did get up though and had breakfast in the cafe- fried egg butty, brown sauce and oodles of tea. Set off for the days walk at 8.40am, up the road to Once Brewed and left at Youth Hostel toSteel Rigg. The days rest had made a huge difference, we were both off like teenagers up the cat steps towards Housesteads (Lucy of course is not long past being a teenager). We walked about 5 miles on the crags, but then we had a half mile before we started. Got to the road at 11.55 and the bus came just 2 minutes late. We thought we had missed it!

We travelled by bus to Birdoswald and went to the fort. There are very well preserved gateways but not an awful lot else excavated. Then we started back towards Gilsland and Greenhead. It was a very good section of wall to start, up to 10 courses high in places and past a well preserved mile castle before dropping down to the River Irthing.

more 8th July

This is the campsite at Winsheilds. The lady who was running the camping barn showed us the room. It's marvellous, a brand new conversion, big bunks, nice and clean and, because they don't provide bedding here, they have kindly lent us a couple of sleeping bags. The only draw back is there are no cooking facilities at all but there is an on site cafe. We asked if there was somewhere we could heat soup or make toast but there wasn't, we were expected to have brought our own stove. Luckily there was a kettle, but the powdered milk had gone off so we had a pot of tea in the cafe and then sloped off back to the barn. We cleaned a tray that was in the bunk barn and Lucy made sandwiches for tea instead, using the tray instead of plates. The weather was no warmer and we were getting very cold sat in the barn. We knew there was a pub just a half mile up the road so by 18.30 we had set off, still very uncomfortable walking on damaged feet, but the lure of the alcohol helped. I bought, after due consultation, a pitcher of Pimms to share, which went down very nicely indeed. It was reasonably priced at £10 for 6 glasses. The bonus was I actually feel warm for the first time since we had the short walk this morning. It hasn't rained much today and the barn tonight is only £8, so we should be cheerful to bed.

8th July continued

Luckily the co-op was open, we bought canned soup, bread, cheese, an onion and a couple of carrots, then walked back to the town square to wait for the bus. We were early by about 20 minutes but there were benches near the bus stop, it wasn't raining, so we were happy to sit and wait a while. Unfortunately the bus knockes and we were there an hour before one turned up. The locals kept stopping and commiserating with us. Eventually a bus turned up with a very friendly driver who we had not previously met and he dropped us off on the step.