Sandra, the B & B proprietor expressed a local axiom, “Rain by seven, clear by eleven.” Since it poured this morning, I was hoping the adage was accurate. Though we had a cloud burst at 11:30, when we ducked into a tea shop, the rest of the day was sunny, though windy. Since the predominant winds come from the West, we were happy with our decision to walk to the East. For a change, the winds are to our backs, helping us climb steep hills.
We met several unprepared east-to-west hikers who were limping along or looking distraught. Apparently they started hiking Hadrian’s Wall Path yesterday, and their bodies had not yet adjusted. One person had so much gear, I doubt he was able to meet his destination today without taking a cab.
We walked 18 miles from Greencarts to Heddon-on-the-Wall in about seven hours. We started at 9:30 A.M. at Blackcarts with what turned out to be the last visible section of consolidated wall (First picture). The Blackcarts turret (above right) is one of the better preserved, and most likely predates the wall.
From here forwards, there are only traces of the wall, sometimes lumps under the grass. Off course, the ditch on the north side of the wall and the vellum on the south side are visible. Several times throughout the day, we walked in the ditch on stones placed to prevent soil erosion and to keep our feet out of the mud.
The remainder of the day’s journey was through fields that were often muddy, single tracks through forests, on pavement or stone paths–even on busy streets. Often times, the only trail indicator was the green, mowed grassy corridor, and we wondered what winter hikers use to follow the path when the ground is covered in snow. Though the scenery was beautiful, nothing was breath-taking.
This section was riddled with stiles—53 of them—almost three per mile. These ladders used to climb over stonewalls were, at times, no more than a few feet apart. See me poking my head out through the second stile in photo on left.
Unlike the middle section which is mostly distant from the road, today we walked through several villages with many opportunities for food and drink. We stopped for tea to wait out the rain, had a carrot and coriander soup for lunch, and a “carvery” (buffet) at the Swan in Heddon. With all the exercise, I had no trouble eating a plateful of food.
From there, the taxi back to the B & B recorded 17 road miles and cost us £25 ($38)… a price we were only too willing to pay, since we had no other way home.
We have only eight miles left (from Heddon-on-the-Wall to Wallsend), and we should finish our hike tomorrow. Then off to France.