Janet, The Happy Wanderer: Hadrian's Wall.

Over a week has gone by since my last post, a week in which I began, and have finished, walking Hadrian's Wall Path from Newcastle on the east of England to Carlisle, in the west.

Of course this path is absolutely steeped in history, following what remains of a wall almost 2,000 years old. It is a wall begun by the Roman Emporer, Hadrian, built to keep out the "barbarians" of the north. It went from the coast east of Newcastle to the west Coast beyond Carlisle, though I only walked from city to city, and not coast to coast.

The wall was built on a natural barrier called the Whin Sill, a formidable series of "crags" of hard igneous dolorite rock, with their sheer, near vertical, drops. The wall is 80 Roman miles long which equates to around 135kms. It bagan life near Carlisle as a turf wall, but with parts of it being eroded quite quickly, it was changed to stone. The stone wall was around 3 metres wide and up to 5 - 6 metres high. Some parts of the wall that survive are 3 metres high. Sadly, there are great swathes of wall that no longer exist, or are now at ground level. This is partly due to the plundering of the beautifully uniform squared stones for making other buildings and the dry stone walls marching across the paddocks, oops I mean fields! Furthermore, the stones were also plundered and ground for road surfacing.

Because of this plundering of the stone, the gaps in the wall mean that those following the line of what was the wall now have numerous obstacles to overcome. As walkers we are not allowed to walk along the top of the wall because this would damage the historic monument. However, this rule does not apply to cows and sheep, and so, although steps have been taken to protect the path with such things as massive flagstones to walk on, stock also uses them too. This means they are slippery and messy, but worse still, at the end of the flags there is inevitably a massive puddle of slurry, needing skill, time, and patience to negotiate if one doesn't want to sink past the ankles in it! Despite using patience trying to weave a path through the quagmires though, there were times, inevitably, when one took speed as the easiest way to negotiate the mess, hoping that a quick sprint through meant there was no time to sink too deep!

Despite the slurry, the ladder stiles, the slippery flagstones, and the very slippery rock stiles over walls though, seeing the ruins along the path was well worth it. There were the ruins of turrets, mile castles, and forts. The forts are massive, and the explanations along the way extensive and informative. Like Roman roads, this wall went more or less in a straight line, which of course means that it went up and down, sometimes steeply, across the countryside, though never really high, 345 metres being the highest point.

Mud, slurry, fog, and rain not withstanding, this was an enjoyable way, seeing part of history which I only had a little knowledge of. This wall was an incredible accomplishment, and I'm glad I've seen it almost in its entirety.

From here I am heading South towards the Lake District, though I am only going to skirt across the top corner of it. I will now try and go in more or less a straight line - enough of the meandering back and forth across the country. More soon!

One of the numerous bridges crossing the Tyne at Newcastle, with the millennium dome on the opposite bank.

Travelling along the Tyne the signs of previous industries are very evident.

The path on day one from Newcastle.

This statue is entitled "Yesterday, today and tomorrow", the children on the pit pony representing the future, the miner, the past.

The one remaining glass making cone at Lemington. Glass making was a thriving industry here once, and there were four cones.

The former pumping station where George Stephenson was in charge from 1798 to 1801.

After the industry of the River Tyne, day 2 is much more rural, if foggy!

There is a photo point just past the sign, but it was hard to see much more than 50 metres ahead.

This photo shows where the path goes, and how one needs to concentrate to stick on it. This part of the path is heading to the wall in the top right corner.

Day Three, and another foggy one. The bridge at Chollerford.

Chesters, just outside of Chollerford is a Roman fort, with an extremely well preserved bath house. This is the latrines at the bath houses.

The path, in the fog.

Housesteads is the next Roman fort on the path, and on the way up to the fort I passed these two Jackdaws.

This is the grain store at Housesteads.

The Hadrian's Wall Path coincides with the Pennine Way for a couple of miles and here it turns off. Note one of the numerous stiles in the centre of the picture.