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Continue reading Just follow the signs…Category Archives: Hadrian’s Wall Walk
Landscapes along Hadrian’s Wall Walk
Sometimes the land shapes what humans do and sometimes human endeavors shape the land, sometimes a bit of both.
From Sea to Shining Sea
Our walk along Hadrian’s Wall Path last summer took us from Solway Firth on the west coast of England to (after a short metro ride from Wallsend) to the North Sea at Whitley Bay.
Solway horizon to the northwest in the evening.
Solway horizon to the northeast in the morning
North sea horizon at Whitley Bay facing to the northeast.
Horizon at Whitley Bay facing southeast.
At the start of the 12 day walk we were up late (sunset was around 10 pm) and early, due to a combination of jet lag and adrenaline. The day after the walk we just went out after breakfast.
Back to the Wall
I never finished the series of posts I intended to write about walking Hadrian’s Wall last June.
Here is a gallery of pictures from the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail between Housesteads Fort and Chester’s Fort.
In this stretch, while not including the highest point on the walk, it passes something equivalent to the Continental divide in North America, the texture of the clouds changed, and it got way less windy.
Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge
The Sycamore of Sycamore Gap
The sycamore of sycamore Gap along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumbria is the most photographed tree in all of England. No surprise since it is perfectly framed by the dip in the terrain, which allowed it to grow by protecting it from the sometimes brutal winds of the area. The day we were there was a little blustery, giving us just a little taste of reality.
Here are my takes on this famous tree.
Hadrian’s Wall Walk: Steel Rigg to Housesteads Fort
We took an extra day on our walk in the middle of our trip, an area which is remote and therefore more intact sections of the wall and forts. If you ever do the walk think about it. It give you lots of time to enjoy the area, and to take a break during the storms.
In this area the wall is built along the edge of cliffs. It is fairly vigorous walking, and some of the steep, rocky areas are a bit treacherous when wet.
This section contains a lot of lovely scenery, even on a cloudy day, including the most photographed tree in England: the sycamore of sycamore gap. It is a striking site: a large healthy sycamore tucked into a gap in the cliffs.
The walking part, for us, was from the Steel Rigg visitor center to Housesteads Fort.
Housesteads Fort
Housesteads Fort
Turret on Steel Rigg.
Housesteads Fort
We took the bus from Housesteads past Steel Rigg to Vindolanda. Vindolanda is not to be missed. If I had it to do over I would have opted for 3 nights at Henshaw Barn so we had a full day there.
Vindolanda is a very large fort and the civilian settlement that built up around it, still under excavation, along with a well done museum of the finds. Including personal letters, miraculously preserved and located that give insight into daily life.
Traces of the Past
Our recent walk along the Hadrian’s Wall National Path in north England was a bit of a scavenger hunt for traces of the past, specifically sign of Roman Britain.
Walking along the vallum near Gilsland.
Even over a thousand years later the arrow straight defensive ditch is visible.
The shape of the vallum and some mounds of un-excavated ruins at “vallum farm”.
Sometimes it could be seen in the shape of the land, with lines just a little too straight to be natural, or bumps and lumps where there were none others nearby of the same shapes.
Hare hill.
Long stretch of the wall east of Housesteads Fort, I think this area is Sewingshields.
At other times jagged stone piles jutted out.
At the easiest times the National trust provided outlines of what was where and informative signs that made it easy.
For Paula at Lost in Translation’s Thursday’s Special: Traces of the Past
Hadrian’s Wall Walk-Gilsland to Steel Rigg
Gilsland to Once brewed wasn’t the original plan. We were supposed to go to Housesteads Fort, another three or so miles. After looking at the weather report (wind and rain) and studying the terrain (turning to the steep side) and maps I proposed that we shorten the day and use the following day (supposed to be a rest day where we just visited Vindolanda) to do just the section between Steel Rigg and Housesteads Fort. Boy was that a good call!
In Gilsland there is a ruin of a mile castle, number 48, it’s called “Poltross Barn”. The marked trail had a detour around this mile castle but the woman who ran our bed and breakfast told us to ignore the detour because it was passable and the “barn” was worth seeing. It was.
You can see the Roman’s effect on the landscape…and the current guardians.
This stretch has a lot of wall…and a lot of hills. But the hills are unusual: from the south they rise gradually then drop down abruptly. The Romans deviated from the straight shot across the narrowest part of Britain to take advantage of the unusual landscape running the wall along the crest of the hills. The military road was to the south where the landscape was easier to navigate and travel was both quicker and could be done on horseback. Frodo is played by my husband.
The scenery was beautiful and I was glad that we cut the day shorter, especially when a rain squall came at us as we started the steepest segment. We could just wait it out. By the end of the day the sky was looking innocent with a lot of blue and fluffy white clouds, as if there had never been a storm.
Hadrian’s Wall Walk: Lanercost to Gilsland
Our fifth day going east from Bowness-on-Solway took us from Lanercost Priory to Gilsland, the county line between Cumbria and Northumberland.
It felt a bit like the real wall walk started as we headed east from Lanercost. Before that it was a lovely walk through English countryside. We finally got to see Hadrian’s wall, not just stones from the wall used in other buildings. That is because we were moving into less populated, more rugged terrain: Fewer buildings that needed stone (like the Priory) and harder to take the stones far.
Path, wall reamins and road running arrow straight.
Stile built into a stone wall.
Kissing gate.
Wooden stile.
Straight path forward.
Pedestrian bridge over the Irthing River at Willowford.
Remains of the Roman abutment at Willowford, the river shifted away from the bridge over the past 1500 or so years.
Looking back to the blue sky.
Looking forward to stormy skies.
Carlisle to Lanercost Abbey
Most people “do” this 14 or so mile stretch in one day. The walking is pretty easy and even I could have done that (although it would have been a stretch), but we took two: Carlisle to Crosby-on-Eden, then Crosby-on_Eden to Lanercost Abbey.
We did this in order to backtrack a bit and spend the morning at the Tullie House Museum in Carlisle. This was a very worthwhile stop because we learned quite a bit about how to recognize the wall and the earthworks near it when un-excavated-which is most of the way. It made the walk into a sort of scavenger’s hunt.
On this stretch you start out walking along the Eden River in Carlisle, the main charm of this stretch is the wildflowers along the way.
It is a nice walk through Cumbrian countryside. The tower in the picture below is a folly, not an ancient fort.
The weather was okay until we got to Crosby-on-Eden, then the wind came up. Overnight it really blew, and the next day was blustery–good English weather with lots of atmosphere. It was in the stretch between Crosby-on-Eden and Lanercost that you start to see the signs of the earthworks and un-excavated wall. The only parts of the wall itself that you see are the stones re-purposed in churches, manor houses, etc along the way.
Hadrian’s Wall Path.
In this stretch you are walking on un-excavated wall with the defensive ditch running by your side.
Passing though farms and fields of buttercups.
As you leave the river the terrain is no longer flat, but sometimes that is because of human activity.
These young bullocks seemed to be saying “and don’t come back” to me. They had followed me across their field.
The sun came out at the end of the second day.
The end of that section, Lanercost Abbey, a lot of the stones for the Abbey were initially part of Hadrian’s wall.
