Hadrian's Wall part 3

The walk became more challenging as we entered the National Park, but it also became very scenic and lovely. Where it was steep, steps had been put into the cliffs in the shape of large boulders, and where it was boggy there were flagstones. I am timid and slow downhill but made up speed where it was fairly flat. But sadly on this day it rained, and we walked all the way to Housesteads before it stopped at about 2 p.m. and I was drenched and didn't think it fun.

However, when it stopped we went on and had a good walk to the Sill, which was a massive tourist centre in the national park, where we could get tea and look at the exhibits until our bus came along and took us to the pub, and again we went to the pub before we caught another bus to the accommodation, which turned out to be an entire holiday cottage to ourselves, with comfortable settee and telly. Taking the bus like this didn't mean we cheated, it was just to get to the accommodation which was booked at the last minute and was at Haltwhistle, way off the track.

It was grim

But it got better later

This wall is a farm wall on the line of the Roman wall, which was MUCH taller and wider.

We met more Americans on this day, and we liked them very much, they were very game to come to the North. They were only doing the middle part of the walk, with the Roman camps. Gretchen and I (for her name was Gretchen) both considered the wall to be a terrible waste of resources, for the enemy the Romans were defending themselves against was only a badly-organised group of tribespeople who didn't even have any armour. The wall was also a training camp for auxiliaries like the ones in my book (Island of Ghosts, see previous post) and I think probably a punishment posting too, for cohorts whose loyalty wobbled. It was a customs barrier (Donald Trump might like to take a look at it for ideas - milecastles every mile and two watchtowers between them, evenly spaced.) but really, what had to be controlled that was so important? It was enormously impressive but who were they impressing? either just the locals or possibly the new recruits to the Roman empire - their own soldiers. 

The next day we walked to Gilsland and stayed at Green Croft, an air bnb which was actually on the route, and where we got advice for care of our blisters - and some Ibuprofen. Had Amanda been a nurse? I enquired, and no, she had been a dancer and knew how to push on when your feet hurt. Dancing is not a career for softies. We ate at a restaurant with a really terrible ambience where you feel as though you have to speak quietly, and the waitresses were very intrusive, as though the whole experience was about them. Much preferred the raucus chips-with-everything pub the night before. 

The next day we walked to Crosby on Eden, by way of Birdoswald Roman Fort, which I remember as interesting, but by now I didn't take any picures.

Think this is the river Eden

Very large blocks at Birdosward probably came from a monument somewhere.

We had left the moorland behind and the farmland was spectacular.

To cut a long story short, we arrived at Carlisle and were not very impressed with it, had to find our bnb and leave our luggage and then do the walk out of town - very, very boring! and then take two buses back in again. We spent quite a lot of time in Tourist Information discussing bus services. On the next day, started by taking the two buses again, then walked to the end point at Solway on Firth which was about 13 miles away, and we were pretty crippled by then but the walk was pleasant and flat, so we DID IT and then took the 93 bus back to Carlisle, and the next day took the train back home. Carlisle station is pretty special though.

Here is a statue we saw at Burgh, where we also looked at the church. This was a very successful King of England, who loved his wife, Queen Elinor.

This King. Edward 1, died of diptheria here and was carried home

The estuary - can be dangerous when tides are high.

This was once a lock at Port Carlisle, but Carlisle never became a port.

At the very end of the walk was a celebratory promenade with a mosaic floor designed by the local primary school, showing a group of sea birds and some fish. A tribute to the Romans.

 But the amazing thing about the Roman occupation was that they stayed for about 300 years, but when they left, everything advanced (architecture, water management, literacy) fell into disuse or disrepair. The British were completely unable to copy and pass on any of their skills. This is strange and very sad. 

Hadrian's Wall, part 2

As you might have been able to tell from my previous post, I was very interested in the industrial archaeology and not sure that I would be interested in the Roman stuff, and I tried to be interested by reading a novel set in Roman times, "Island of Ghosts". It was about a Prince of nomadic tribespeople from East of the Danube, who has come off the worst in a war with the Romans, and has been forced to take hundreds of his kinsmen to be of service to the Romans. He is a leader, but here he is leading them into servitude, and he is therefore a man riven by guilt, and also by grief, as his wife and children have been killed quite horribly by the Romans. They are sent across the sea (which they have never seen before) to keep order in the North of England, in short, on the wall. Of course, their loyalties are divided as in many ways they have more in common with the Britannic tribes. So there is quite a bit of conflict and drama, but in one place I was thinking, oh, how this goes on and on! So, not quite snappy enough. But the writer, Gillian Bradshaw, did her research and it was excellent from that point of view. I had other Roman books to read (books with a Roman setting) but sadly I broke my Kindle, I don't know how, and the screen is half screen-saver; half good. But that's no good! I have Googled the problem and tried the remedies but none of them work.

After Heddon-on-the-Wall, where we joined in the local pub quiz, but the team with our landlady (the farmer's wife) in won, we walked to Corbridge, which had a Roman camp that was very important, called Corstopitum.  I remember the weather was fine and not too hot, and the going was fairly level, and we looked at the wildflowers a lot as our walk went from the ditch to the road and back. A man called Wade had come along and knocked down Hadrian's wall and used it for hard core for his Military Road, which is a fine road if you like roads. The walk went well until the turn off, and there was a small castle and a lovely little church to see, but as we walked past the ford I felt very tired, and of course I was carrying my backpack. I slowed down considerably and found it tough until we got to our B&B at Corbridge, and for some reason we had to walk around the village in the rain that evening, in search of the Roman Camp, but we should have saved it until the morning. 

There were some lovely things in the museum, like this good statue of a sheep with a tiny lion, and a relief of a sun god.

There were plenty of drainage channels and so forth in the Roman camp at Corbridge. 

On that day we saw the Tyne again, and it was beautiful. 

We also went to the even bigger Roman camp at Chesters, and so they blended into one. 

We went to the pub for a meal before we went to the farm where we were going to sleep, so we walked until half past eight. But we were in good spirits after a meal.

Then we walked on to Chollerford, where there was a camping barn, and we met with some Americans, father and son, who improved my life considerably by saying they sent on their baggage every night by using a company called Walkers' bags, who performed this wonderful service. That night I couldn't sleep because the bed was so terrible, and it was a bunk room with other people (the Americans) so I felt very embarrassed by my noisy discomfort. I used my phone to read my Kindle book. I felt very cheered by not having to carry anything as we set off the next day. The Amercans told us the walk was going to get tougher, and we would be out in the National park without benefit of tea or toilets.

This year's holiday - to the North.

Every holiday my husband makes me walk for many hours around the cities and towns of our destination. Under no circumstances can we take a taxi.  I get very footsore and it is much worse when the weather is hot. This year I am  prepared for long walks and I chose a cold destination, Hadrian's wall in the North of England.

I really wanted to drive around looking at railway lines and other industrial archaeology, throwing in a day's walking on Hadrian's Wall path and looking at Roman camps such as Housesteads. But the Man in my Life decided we should take the train to the East end of the wall (Newcastle) and walk to the West end, and take the train back from Carlisle. We should walk the WHOLE THING.

He also thought we could carry our stuff in backpacks, so we took very little stuff.

First day - Wallsend to Newcastle - You start at the Segundum fort, and look at the remains of the Roman camp. There were 16 camps on the wall and this looked like a small one. It is right next to the now extinct shipyards. I was very sorry indeed to look at the complete lack of industry in Newcastle.

deserted buildings

The Roman camp partly exposed.

The museum was quite helpful, telling us from how far afield the soldiers came to man the wall. There was only one British troop. The rest came from many different areas of Europe and Asia. There were even troops from Syria and Iran.

It seems that Roman soldiers wore shoes and socks. I was pleased. How could they bear the cold of Up North with their little sandals?

 The path was entirely on the flat, next to the river Tyne and there were many information boards to look at telling about the industries that were there. Terrible industries like treating lead ore, leather working and most  noxious of all, making coal tar products like creosote, pitch and tar. The last industry caused such pollution that an entire embankment had to be built to stop the polluted earth seeping pollutants into the Tyne. It was a hell of a job but it has been done and the river is clean, and now there are flats and small houses built along there - and many more will come. The tide was out as we walked along. There were rows of tires in the mud and there were a couple of people digging in them. I asked what they were doing and they said digging for crabs to use as bait. A few people were fishing with long rods - the tide was out.

Once we reached the city we postponed the walk because there were things to see in the city - sadly I did not see, for example, the art gallery, but we did see the "Rocket" - the locomotive engine which won the Rainhill trials in 1829 and convinced the engineers watching that locomotive steam engines were the future. This machine is on display in the Discovery museum, which is in the old Co-operative building. It is hard to know whether any of the iron or brass parts are the originals. The wheels are wooden - probably original. The buffer is wooden! The design was re-worked by Stephenson so the pistons were lower, and we were looking at the original configuration. I think this artifact is not really the original Rocket. There was a display of pictures and documents with the Rocket which was very interesting. Especially - how soon Stephenson was able to design and build a much better engine! I think the science museum has exchanged this exhibit for the "Puffing Billy", which was the first locomotive engine, probably, and was used at Wylam colliery of which, more later.

The Rocket's wheels were made of pine

There was an old Merchant's house which was very impressive, and an old pub next door - walking is thirsty work. We also saw the castle and looked at the renovated double-decker bridge designed by Stephenson - the High Level bridge, it's called. Much original ironwork in it, I understand, but now has been put together more strongly. We also looked at the art (not impressive) in the Baltic building (impressive) and took a picture of the new bridge (beautiful and clever).

This entire bridge tilts, allowing river traffic underneath.

Day 2 - walk from Newcastle to Heddon on the Wall.
This walk started from the middle of town and we were carrying all our luggage on our backs. I admired Newcastle very much. What gorgeous Whig buildings! and a column to Lord Grey for passing the Reform Act of 1832!

Theatre, Newcastle

The walk stayed flat as we walked by the Tyne, where we saw some old coal staithes. The point of these was to load ships with coal when the tide was low. Here is a graphic showing the wagons on the staithes.

  and then we had to leave the river to go through a country park, eventually returned to the river and enjoyed leaving the city behind. At this point the walkers share the path with a lot of cyclists which could be annoying. We walked several miles and eventually came to the Wylam waggonway, where coal was taken to the staithes a few miles away. This was the place the first steam engine was developed - the Puffing Billy. I have looked it up in the Science Museum website and it was not invented by George Stephenson, but he would definitely have seen it as a young man. The cottage where he lived as a boy was a bit further on, on our route, so we made the effort to see it. It is owned by the National Trust but is not open to the public. In the 18th century four families lived in this modest cottage. They can't have had much space nor any privacy. The men and boys would have been miners.

Dating to 1813-1814, Puffing Billy was built by William Hedley, Jonathan Forster, and Timothy Hackworth, for use at the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

Built to replace the horses used on the tramway, Puffing Billy was one of three engines built by Hedley, the resident engineer at the colliery. It remained in service at the colliery until 1862, when it was lent to the Patent Office Museum in South Kensington, which became the Science Museum. 

Puffing Billy

It's basically two beam engines working alternately. I think.

After this we had to climb a steep hill by a golf course to Heddon on the Wall, where we found a delightful tea room and we deserved some cake, certainly! We stayed that night in a farm outbuilding which had been converted for walkers. We had the room that was adapted for the disabled, so we had a bath room to ourselves, and we slept in bunk beds - they were hard.