The clouds touched the Pennines Mountains in the background and scattered showers on us throughout the day. We managed to walk 7 miles to Greenhead, stopping along the way to visit historical sites and museums. Even though the weather was gloomy, we were in high spirits.
For the past two days, I have been trying to quiet my mind and let nature and the beauty of the Wall fill me with its wonder. Unfortunately, I am too preoccupied with the now–where to put my foot without stepping into dung, the beauty of the scenery, and my unstopping mind. I think about what to blog, about what living as a Roman in this environment must have been like, or something Dennis said which triggers a song. For me, meditating is very difficult.
I never tire of the pastoral scenery, the sheep and cattle, the openness. This section is hilly, but not mountainous, and the alternating climbs and descents makes walking interesting. The rain made it slippery in spots and definitely muddy, but we managed to have a very good day. I am so happy to be out of cities and back to nature.
There are more hikers going west than east, sometimes in large groups. At the hotel tonight, we met two hikers (Stuart and Malcolm McKay who wrote a book about the Camino, The Path). They are staying at the hostel across the street from Greenhead Inn, where we are staying. They will stay there again tomorrow, take the Hadrian’s Wall Bus forward in the morning, and then walk back to the hostel. Sounds like a good plan, and we are considering doing the like.
Today we purchased an English Heritage Oversees Pass, which entitles us to nine days of “free” entries to heritage sites throughout England. We visited the Birdoswald Roman Fort. The museum had artifacts from the fort, a Roman Soldier (acted by Tony Wilmott) School teaching kids dressed in Roman garb how to become a soldier; the kids were quite enthused.
It was amazing to see the archeological remains. Birdoswald housed 1000 Romans. There were granaries, baths, blacksmith shops, kitchens, butchers…everything needed to live at the fort. I find it difficult to imagine building this with the tools available 2000 years ago; it exemplifies how people underestimate the capabilities of people in ancient times.