One week after the trek

I am still wordless to describe my feelings – exhausted, painful, excited, happy … I have no clue. I, however, still remembered the moment when I reached the finish point. The trek was tough and I was challenging my own limit.

But there is no limitation, I know.

Reading information as much as I could, doing 3-month fitness training, buying suitable socks (socks only, I did not spend much on clothing) that all helped me to achieve this goal easier and better.

When I chatted with fellow walkers, some were amazed by my 4.5day walk especially I did it alone. It was because most of them spent 6-8 days to finish the whole trip with families and friends.

Yeah, I am also flattered by myself.

No matter how harsh I found the trek was, I must confess that it is a trip that is much more unforgettable than the past ones. I did some evitable silly mistakes which made the walk longer and vanished both physical and psychological strengths. It was, moreover, an tempation made me nearly give up. These little difficulties are all my experiences and my history. They are parts of my life.

Human lives are really short comparing with the Hadrian’s Wall. While I was stepping on the ancient Roman sites, there was a Déjà vu feeling. I always though of the ancient Roman who built this marvelous wall. But what can we do to have a life without regrets? Do we seize the days? Do we cherish our experiences whatever good or bad?

I am an person with an ordinary life but I have no regrets in my life. So far.

I do wish everyone I met along the Wall have a healthy and happy life. Thank you so much for your encouragements and warm smiles.

No doubt, I express my humble gratitude to all of the sponsors both for RASHKB and the ORBIS.

That's me - a happy flying cow!!

B&B Review - Greencarts at Greenhead

After a long walk in a nasty weather, I was so surprised that someone called my name at the entrance of road, 'Are you Moody?' Hmmmm Who's that?! That was the B&B owner, Sandra, who estimated my arrival time.....OMG...it was so touching that who saved my last 0.5 km and dying energy.

It is understandable that everyone will be requested to remove their muddy & dirty boots at the entrance. Even though if Sandra did not request, I would love to keep the place clean and mud-free.

When I entered the bedroom...wow, it was a typical English bedroom with floral decoration. It was a clean and spacious twin ensuite bedroom with generous tea & coffee and welcoming biscuits. What a little sweet treat after a long day!

Nice and tidy ensuite twin room

I did not spend much time in sitting room with fellow walkers as I was too tired and needed to type my 'walking report' (there is no wifi/internet connection though). But a comfortable room with a TV (there was a football match on that night) kept me stay in my little paradise. Although the shower is not superb powerful (well, it's countryside not in city, comparative low water pressure of a farm is understandable), water is hot and easy to use.

The breakfast was BIG (for a 5'3" tall Asian female) and Sandra was so kind and generous to ask me to take anything I like. As usual, I did not eat bacon so Sandra gave me more mushrooms and tomatoes. It was happy to have a short chat with fellow walkers in a decent sitting room.

As I had to start my trek that I could not stay too long. Probably forgot to say Goodbye and Thank you to Sandra after putting my dirty boots on. Thus, the other visitors helped me to call Sandra who was workng in kitchen.

Greencarts was a good choice and a friendly B&B. I would recommend it.

 

 

Sitting room + dining room

Breakfast at window side

Day 5 - Carlisle to Bowness-to-Solway

A good bed might be a reason for waking up late. I woke up at 06:50 and found that it was a mistake. It was because I did not pack both of my backpacks and I should have started walking at 08:00 shapely. Finally I started at 08:30 and headed to the Sands Sports Centre to stamp the passport.

Today was a bit cold (around 12-13c). It was wise to put on a thick (breathable & lightweight) wind-breaker and gloves all the time.

Neither a long nor a tough day but I had to keep pace at 5km/hour and last for 5 hours. It was because the bus return from Bowness to Carlisle would depart at 14:10 and the next one will be at 17:10. If I could not catch it, I will need to call a cab back to Carlisle which will cost me a fortune.

1st check point....oh....just finished 5.5 miles?!

2nd check point .... over half done .... go go go

The views along the path are not very attractive but save time. I only took few 3-minute break to rest my painful feet. While entering the marsh area (bay side actually) near Drumburgh, I forced myself to ran on a flat paved road for 2km. I must thank Stephen who suggested me to bring a pair of old trainers. However my legs nearly broke and I could not run anymore.

River Eden in Carlisle

View of the Port Carlisle

Okay, the last 2 miles to go. Run Moody Run.

Yeah, I reached the finish point, the small English Heritage wooden shelter, at 13:17 which was a bit faster than I expected. But sadly, I could not find the final passport stamp neither in the wooden shelter nor the King’s Arms pub. The pub opens at 4pm and there was no other place to get the stamp. It was a little imperfectness in the journey.

I finished the whole path for 4.5 days. I did it!!

I did it!!!! What an unforgettable magic moment :)

My goodness! Why the King's Arms opens at 4pm? It was unfair to the early walkers!! I missed the final stamp :(

Day 4 - Greenhead to Carlisle

I finally knew why I felt so exhausted and a bit unwell.....oh....1.5 days to go.

It was such a coincidence to meet my Argentine 'Amigo' Ariel at the same B&B. After settling down at the Four Wynds B&B and my computer got connected with Wifi, a FaceBook chat message popped up. It was Ariel. He started his trek from Bowness one day after I started mine in Newcastle. We though that we would meet somewhere along the Wall while we were walking. But we did not imagine that we did meet up here. After a comfy shower, we met in the sitting room and had an one-hour chat.

The B&B owner Nigel was very kind and generous as Ariel’s stomach was not very well and could not have a big breakfast like I did. We spent some times beside the dining table to finish breakfast with a nice English morning tea.

It was nice to meet an overseas friend in a foreign country. Ariel walked to the East and I walked to the West. Adiós! Let’s start our trek.

around 45 minutes after leaving the Four Wynds, here's the Poltross Burn Milecastle 48.

Bridge over Poltross Burn

Today's trek was not very exciting after Birdoswald. But before that, accident happened and it was a kind of torture!!

 

After crossed the railway which is just out of Milecastle 48, I believed that I did follow the Wall trail! As the maps in Henry Stedman’s guide do not cover a larger area like Ordinance Survey maps do, I did not know where I was and I was still ‘following’ the farmland. But finally I got lost.

 

When I reached locked gate of a cattle grid, I met a father and his daughter who also lost their way and invited me to join them to trace the original trail. As they had an Ordinance Survey map and seemed to be the experienced walkers, so I followed them. We walked across an abundant farmland and attempted to cross the river (should be the River Irthing). Walker Daddy tried and crossed the river successfully and Walker Daughter took off her boots and threw them to the opposite shore (but failed and boots were in the shallow water!!). I was such a chicken-chic worrying about my seem-to-be-alright boots (not completely the best hiking boots but definately water-proof). Well, it was better to return to the path and tried again. So, I just bided farewell to them and continued my way.

As followed my own sense, I went uphill as I though the trail should be away from the railway. Okay, went UPHILL.

However, I got lost in the hilly farms again. What should I do? I totally lost bearings! A pitiful idiot tragically spent extra 1 hour going uphill and downhill in the lost farmland which was full of animal waste. Ahhhhhhh......the blisters under my poor feet were calling...What should I do?

Okay, calm down.

I walked to a farm house and pressed the door bell. A handsome young man answered the door and was confessed at the very beginning. He however quickly found out that an idiot got lost in his giant farm. Well, he was very kind to guide me the way back to the Wall and waved me goodbye!

Willowford Farm in which a Roman inscription on plaque on barn wall

 

Original Roman Wall and the bridge foundation - it would be terrific if the bridge were still there!

After the extra walk, it was good to back to the Wall trail. About 15 minutes later, the splendid Roman bridge foundation occured and the trek turned to the other English Heritage site, Birdoswald. I did not visit the site but just enjoyed a bottle of Ginger Beer at the little cafe and to get the 5th stamp!

There is still a fairly long wall after Birdoswald but after leaving a small section of woodland, only several Turrets and bits of wall. The only interesting Roman site is the Pike Hill Signal Tower. It is only signal tower on the Wall and it was a pre-Hadrian construction.

Time to hurry up to Carlisle. I felt tired now and it was already 3pm.

Modern Willowford / Irthing Bridge

Got the 5th stamp at Birdoswald and took a short break there. Birdoswald was a Roman name 'Banna' means 'Spur' and the fort sits on a spur about the River Irthing.

Pike Hill Signal Tower. It was already 3pm....still half way to go '.'

Wow, entering the 'Great Border City' Carlisle at 18:15 but I totally missed the 6th stamp point, the Sands Sports Centre. Glad to settle down at the decent B&B and started my peaceful night.

Market Cross at the City centre

Day 3 - Chollerford to Greenhead

Sandra of the Greencarts B&B offered a generous BIG breakfast and I must confess that this B&B is very good and caring. A portable heater was a bonus which dried all washed clothes (Dry-fit sport apparels are not a problem but the thick trekking socks need to be dried) and I was so ‘clever’ to turn on the heater too. Most of the B&Bs will not turn on the central heater as it was already in June.

Okay, I started to walk at 09:00. Once turned to the main path, a long Roman ditch and a site called Brocolitia which was a Roman fort with a little temple attributed to Mithras. Today’s trek pattern was exciting with a lot of ups and downs. After the Coesike Turret 33B, it was time to go uphill. The first fantastic view was Sewingshields Crags with a fine stretch of Wall. Following with Housesteads Crags, Cuddy’s Crags, Hotbank Crags, Peel Crags, Winshield Crags, Cawfield Crags and finally the Walltown Crags. The crags are linked up by the original Wall and the stone wall formed an amazing picture.

Day 2 - Heddon-on-Wall to Chollerford

After a big breakfast, time to start a 24km walk.

Today's trek was another 24km walk with 70% flat road. Everything seemed to be perfect at the beginning - Sunshine and moderate weather.

there are many signs to show directions and to remind people to be responsible as many farms are kind to let visitors pass. It maybe a disaster if people forget to shut the gate and animal run away.

according to the guidebook there is the point to see Mile Castle 13 but i saw nothing

Rudchester Fort (Vindobala) (check-point time: 0945) 

why you cows stared at me all the time? (at Vindobala, an unearthed Roman fort site)

power fuel was essential

I reached the second summer passport stamp point at Robin Hood Inn and met several fellow walkers. Tony Duff from Manchester also does the trek for charity, Help for Heroes. Many fellow walkers use JustGiving.com for raising fund for various purposes. Here's Tony's page: http://www.justgiving.com/hadrianswallwalk2010

this is a wooden stile between farms and there should be over 50 of these on the trail. They make the walk more tough but very important to the farm owner and their animal.

yeah, got the 2nd stamp at Robin Hood Inn

Tony and Harry the Hero Bear

Leaving Tony behind, I headed to Chollerford.

Rambler Rest, a place I took a short breat with a can of 'warm' Light Coke...better than nothing. I needed something sweet.

Rain started at 14:00. All I needed to change a thin light-weight Dri-fit windbreaker to a thick Goretex jacket quickly. I did not curse the weather. It was because there were 2 sunny days with 25-32c. The rain was not heavy but just ignoring enough. You cannot predict the weather here and even 100% trust the weather forecast. UK weather is UNPREDICTABLE.

Rain Rain Rain

Later on, I met a young walker from Finland who studies Law in Luton and we walked together till Chesters. Both of us stayed at the Greencarts B&B (I made a reservation but he just walked-in) but I paid a short visit at Chesters Fort. So he went ahead.

Oh, I had no mood to visit the site but just got the stamp and took a short break

Day 1 - Wallsend to Heddon-on-Wall

Roger!

I've started the trek today (5th June) in a hot and sunny day. But let me 'rewind' the time to the night before.

After having dinner with my uncle and auntie in their London home, I headed to the Victoria Coach Station to take an over-night bus to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The bus journey took 6 hours and arrived NC at 0530. Owning a nature of backpacker, sleeping on the bus is not a tough business and I can manage to sleep 4-5 hours (some of you might know that I live in the North of Hong Kong and my work place is in the South. So, sleeping on a trembling bus is a habit.

the Flying man - when you see it, it means that you are entering the city of Newcastle

Okay, first thing was to drop my 65L backpack at the first pick-up point, the Hadrian Lodge Hotel at Hadrian’s Road. I hate to say that I don't really like the underground system in Newcastle. The signage and routes seem to be very clear and easy to understand. But I spent 30 minutes traveling from the Central Station to Wallsend. Perhaps I did not get enough good sleep, I made a silly mistake that I needed to pay for. I though the Hotel is located near Wallsend, so I dropped the tube at Wallsend and believed that it might take 5 minutes to reach there. Since I updated the iPhone map application before leaving London and all downloaded maps has been erased, therefore I got lost somewhere in between the Hotel and Wallsend. Finally I went to ask the kind old man who works at the patrol station. Time flied, I spent around 1.5 hours to send my backpack to the Hotel!!

 Newcastle's Central Station at 0530

empty Central Station in the city centre

 Wallsend Station was the first check-point - Segedunum - it was too early (around 0745)，Segedunum was not yet opened, so I needed to go to the petrol station to get the first stamp.

Segedunum is the eastmost and the last part of the Hadrian's Wall, but why the Roman did not build the Wall to the shore? It was because there was the Arbeia Fort at the Tyne River and the Wall's 'final' destination was 3 miles away from Segedunum. Segedunum was built afterward.

 Starting point - Segadunum at Wallsend

Okay, back to the trek. 

I started the journey from the Segedunum (translated as 'Strong Fort) at 0815. But how could I get the first Hadrian's Wall Path Summer Passport stamp if the Segedunum opens at 10am? The patrol station is an alternative point to get the stamp if the Segedunum is closed.

Following the guide book Henry Stedman Hadrian’s Wall Path is not as good as I expected. It is very informative and easy to read. But the main problem which drives me nut is the inappropriate scale of the hand-written maps. Maybe I am too naïve to expect the drawn routes are not THAT long and estimated the inaccurate walking time. Sorry Mr. Stedman. This is perhaps my own fault, not yours!

 when you see this plate, it means that the trail is correct and time to turn to the river path (check-point time: 0833)

hello, whale tail :)

 it is nothing to worry of being lost on the trail which has plenty of well-designed signages.

 finally reached the city centre, the 1st bridge, Millennium Bridge.

After 2-hour walk to reach my first rest point, Baltic the Centre for Contemporary Art, it was time to fill my stomach and recharge energy with a full English breakfast (10:15 already!). Then I spent other 3.5 hours to visit the Baltic, Sage (the Cultural Centre), St. Mary’s Church (Heritage Centre) and the Great North Museum.

A full English Breakfast (traditional breakfast plus a big glass 'Beat the Bluesli', and a large scone for tea, total £12.85) of was my main meal to recharge my dying energy after a long bus journey and 2-hour morning walk. It was too big but saved lunch and even dinner.

 the 2nd bridge - Tyne Bridge (built in 1928)

the 3rd and 4th bridges - Swing Bridge (1876) and the High Level Bridge (1849) at the back

Resuming the trek at 14:15 along the Tyne River, the midday heat made the first-day trek not easy. The last 1-hour walking was a bit tough as it was all the way uphill. I reached the Heddon-on-Wall and saw the first major piece of Wall.

the 5th bridge - Queen Elizabeth II Bridge (1981)

the 6th & 7th bridges - King Edward Bridge (1906) & Redheugh Bridge (1938)

this is the 2nd Milepost. the first one is at the East but I forgot to take photo

the 3rd Milepost at Elswick (check-point time: 1443)

the 4th Milepost at Scotswood (check-point time: 1525)

  

the whole trail covers part of the highway

 the 5th Milepost

Monument to Battle of Newborn Ford, 1640

























the first part of the Hadrian's Wall - met and chat with a family who travelled to Hong Kong recently

first / last piece of Wall in Heddon-on-Wall

The full English breakfast was still in my stomach. I, therefore, did not have dinner. The B & B I stayed today is called Tyne Valley View. It is not a posh but comfy. What made me happy that I took a hot bath! 22:30 – time to rest.