Day 5 on the wall ( a rest day!)
But….
Chollerford to Temple of Mithras, Carrawburgh
4.4 miles all on the wall
Approx 48 left to walk
Today was supposed to be a rest day. It was hard going yesterday particularly in the sun and we all struggled so we decided to have a stop day.
However, we needed to move the van further along, do a few chores and we also wanted time visit the small village of Wall, and town of Corbridge. As we enjoyed a lay in, I was looking at the map and noticing a problem with the bus link and times for tomorrow – Chollerford to Housestead. We only had 6.5 hours between the first bus and last bus of the day yet 9 miles to walk. Originally we would have had Gandalf at the end point as we’d have been moving sites today, but with our rest day, Gandalf would be at the campsite and we didn’t really want to move him. I suggested to Keith that we should consider walking the first 4 miles of tomorrow’s walk, with Gandalf parked at the temple of Mithras and a bus to the start. He agreed this made sense and would still feel relaxed compared to the previous days.
So next thing we know we’re packing up and heading on our way with a plan.
We’d enjoyed our stay at Well house farm, especially our pitch which was overlooking the fields. It wasn’t immediately close to the wall which added miles on for us every day, but we managed accordingly!
So on our way to the end point of today’s short walk, we stopped for a picture stop at Wall, a lovely small village with houses made from stones off the wall. Many of the houses here are listed and it’s very pretty.
We then moved on through Corbridge and stopped for a Quick Look at the Roman ruins of the Roman town. We didn’t have time to visit fully but we snuck a look over the fence 😜
From here we made our way to the car park of the temple of Mithras, had some lunch and waited for the bus back down to Chollerford. The AD122 Bus service runs every 2 hours along this middle section of the wall and costs just £2 for a single journey.
At Chollerford, we got our stamp for our passport as Chester’s fort, then made our way uphill. In fact the path took us mainly uphill today but as such the views suddenly became unbelievably beautiful.
Keith started severely struggling with some nasty blisters so our pace really slowed down, to the point where I wondered if he’d be able to continue.
There was a great stretch of wall at around mile number 3 and we enjoyed a rest and some pics there.
The last mile was a struggle for Keith so when we arrived back at the van in the temple car park we hot footed it to nearby Hexham to Millets to see if we could find a fix. Keith’s boots were really rubbing and so after some advice from the great staff there he’s gone for some summer style breathable walking shoes half a size too big and some lovely soft new socks so hopefully that will improve things for him. We also managed to fix Jazz’s harness which broke yesterday and re stock the non perishables and plasters! So some good jobs done on our day of rest.
I’m still chuckling because in our day of rest we arrived at our next site, Hadrian’s wall campsite at 6pm which is late for us. It’s a lovely site and we have a well landscaped pitch and the sunset was lovely.
I’ve did a load of washing and drying as we’re both running out of sunshine clothes!
After a delicious dinner of Indonesian Nadia goreng with prawns and lots of veg and spinach, and at 9:30pm it was finally time to relax!
If that’s our day of rest, il be glad to be back on the trial full time tomorrow!
Day 6 on the wall, our favourite yet!
Temple of Mithras to Caw Gap
10 miles on the wall, and 12.3 miles in total
I’ve lost count of how far along the wall we are now but know we’re past half way!
Today has just been exceptionally awesome!
We took a bus from near to the Campsite up to the temple of Mithras and then walked all the way back.
The weather was cooler which really helped and Keefy’s new shoes were basically miracles in disguise. The views were amazing and we absolutely whizzed through, going up then down and up and down again.
Most of the time we had the wall alongside us today and we passed the devastation of sycamore gap, I had a few tears I must admit, before getting cross with the amount of people there!!
We deviated off path for a mile to grab a beer and a local gin or two at Twice Brewed. At the point we had the option of busing back to campsite or walking and we decided to make a start on tomorrows miles by walking back. A true testament to how much we’ve loved this section .
We visited Housesteads fort. Jazz has been a superstar grabbing a quick nap at our two mile refresher stops.
It’s just been a wonderful days walking!
And we are so glad we did keep going as we feel so proud of ourselves. It’s hard to put it into words the atmosphere on the wall. Every time we meet someone else doing the trail it’s like a little pocket of loveliness. A five min chat, comparing notes. It really picks us up and we’ve met some really interesting folk!
Day 7 on the wall
Our campsite, Hadrians Wall campsite (which is lovely by the way!) to Banks
12.75 miles walked in total and 11.75 on the wall
No idea how far left but we are very close to Carlisle and today we left Northumberland into Cumbria!
We are bushed! Today was hard. Really hard and we (I!!) nearly opted for an early finish today less than half way. The first 5 miles were just so hard! But- we managed push through (Keefy was a champion support 😘) the route took us over some remaining. Crags but not quite as steep or nasty as yesterday’s.
We mainly travelled on Farm land filled with sheep and cows and we were on high alert tick radar!
The scenery today was just gorgeous. Lush green rolling hills. Lots of cattle and sheep. A suspected tick in Jazz’s paw thankfully turned out to be a false alarm.
2 packets of wine gums, flapjack, cakes egg butties, 6 litres of water and even some Northumbria rum. It all kept us going today!
Logistics 🔽
Day 5
Chollerford to Temple of Mithras, Carrawburgh– 4.4miles (You could do further than this)
➡️ Move van to end point of walk. Ours was Temple of Mithras but originally would have been Housesteads Fort. Catch AD122 Bus back to George hotel Chollerford. Bus runs every two hours with the first being around 10:15 (check times here) £2pp
⬅️ Walk to van.
⛺️ Then drive on to Hadrians Wall Campsite
🧺 Opportunity to grab supplies in Hexham and Haltwhistle on drive to campsite.
Day 6
Temple of Mithras to Hadrians Wall Campsite (exit wall at Saw Gap/Shield on the wall)
12 miles – could do less than this.
➡️ Bus from 0.4 miles from campsite. AD122 To where ever you finished yesterday. Ours was temple of Mithras. £2
⬅️ Walk to campsite (or if you need to stop earlier there are bus stops along the way about 0.5 – 1 mile off the wall)
Easy places to stop beforehand
Housesteads Roman fort
Twice brewed (🍻 nice pub )
Day 7
Hadrians Wall Campsite to Banks
12.7 miles
➡️ start at campsite
⬅️ cab back from Banks. There is a small car park ideal for a meeting point just before you get to Banks.
We used Sproul Taxis and he was amazing, offered us a bit of flexibility and was easy to contact by text. £28 but pre book in advance.
