Walton > Gilsland, 10.1m
Had a nice stay at the Bunkhouse – lively conversation with 2 Irishmen who sat shooting the breeze and downing whiskey for a couple of hours before heading out at 5:30pm, in the pouring rain, to walk 2+ hours to their luxury hotel(!). I just caught the last 20 minutes of their visit but Manny (he’s the only other guest tonight) and I couldn’t stop wondering if/how’d they make it!
After such a miserable night the sun was bravely trying to shine this morning when I started out, but I wasn’t to be fooled and had my clunkers on and all waterproofs at the ready.
I’ve a relatively short day of ~10 miles planned today with a late check-in time of 4pm at my next BnB so I plan to dawdle on my walk and do the short detour to Lanercost Priory.
Built by Robert de Vaux in 1169 when it was fashionable to sponsor abbeys, Lanercost sourced much of its stonework from nearby Hadrian’s Wall. It’s other dubious claim to fame dates back to the winter of 1306-7 when King Edward I stayed there for 5 months while ailing with dysentery and he and his 200 person entourage almost bankrupted the place! (He died shortly after in Burgh by Sands)
The rain started as I left the abbey and as there was no wind I tried using my umbrella which was a game changer! No overheating, no claustrophobia, and I could enjoy the surroundings rather than staring at my feet from the blinkered vision of my hood. Good thing too as it rained, lightly, almost all day long…
There was road walking for quite a bit before finally the first real sighting of the Wall going eastwards. And the sightings came fast & furious. I walked past the foundations of 9 turrets and milecastles and one fort within 4 miles and looong stretches of the Wall itself.
The light rain continued all day and my clunkers were just starting to soak through so I gave up walking on the official HWP through sodden, poop-filled fields and stuck to the parallel road for the next several miles.
There was a humongously long section of Wall leading up to and away from Birdoswald Roman Fort @ ~ 8.25 miles in. I was more than happy to have a well deserved cream tea in the museum’s cafe as it was the first chance to get out of the rain and have a sit down. I didn’t bother to see the fort as I saw Housesteads already and the real star of the archaeological museums is Vindolanda, which I will visit in a couple of days.
The Wall disappeared as the path dropped steeply down to cross the River Irthing, then appeared again, straight as ever, with the ruins of a massive Roman bridge that once crossed the same river.
I arrived at my BnB at 3pm but the lights were off and there was no answer at the door. I therefore sheltered from the elements in a beautiful bus stop – complete with mosaic and a lending library, until the official opening time of 4pm. It turned out to be a lovely place with a beautiful room and I had delicious dinner down at the community pub so once again a happy camper.
Oh, and I met the Irishmen in the pub! They made it to the hotel last night but one guy had a large, deep gash in his forehead from falling into a puddle in the dark last night…. I’ll see them again tomorrow night so I’ll get the full scoop then.
Oh, and I chatted en route with a woman walking with a huge backpack and a dachshund. Poor little Hazel (the dog) did 19 miles yesterday and probably would be doing 15+ today! The lady said Hazel was tired….!!
