Day 37 - Going Over The Wall

 

From the campsite, it was only half a mile before I rejoined the Pennine Way at Caw Gap. For the next five miles, the PW follows Hadrian's Wall, past the Twice Brewed Inn, the Once Brewed Youth Hostel and Steel Rigg. It is hard walking, a bit like my old foe the South West Coast Path, with sharp ups and downs. Those five miles took me the best part of two and a half hours.

The wall was conceived in AD122, when Hadrian found it impossible to control the lawless tribes in the area now known as Scotland - go to Blackpool on a Bank Holiday and you will soon see where Hadrian was coming from. A defensive wall was built along a fault line with the crag providing a natural east to west barrier. The crag was supplemented where necessary with stone and turf and incorporated turrets or castles every mile. It is a lot more substantial than Offa's Dyke - just a pity Wolves' defence on Saturday was more Offa than Hadrian.

As for Once and Twice Brewed, around 1700 the local inn provided some notary or other with beer so weak he demanded it be brewed again, giving the inn its new name. The youth hostel opened in the 1930s and the patron requested that her tea only be brewed once. Probably complete baloney but at least it stops us all wondering.

Initially relieved at leaving the wall, despite the splendid views to north and south, I soon reverted to bog territory as I headed towards Kielder Forest. I managed to remain vertical, despite the occasional Jayne Torvill impression, and went in no deeper than my ankles, so I'll settle for that. I always enjoy a woodland walk (still looking for a treecreeper) and the paths were a lot firmer and clearer than when Pete Forster and I were here last year. It was like being in the jungle then, the aftermath of some storm or other. 

I was soon back to open moorland and familiar mud before encountering a nicely timed Pit Stop where a farmer had a tuck shop that also incorporated a bed, in case any walkers were in need of putting their head down. The food and drink were very welcome but you would have to be pretty desperate to climb in that bed. I wouldn't be surprised to find the odd animal from the farm had popped in for a bit of peace and quiet.

Before long, I was in the pleasant village of Bellingham, apparently pronounced Bellinjam in case you are ever in the area. The campsite is a working farm, right in the village itself. An impressive-looking bull is in a pen right beside the shower block. I checked the lock on the gate as I passed, so I was at least a little more relaxed as I bathed.

18 miles walked today, with most of the climbing done before lunch, and then a relatively straight forward 15 miles tomorrow, taking me within 5 miles of the Scottish Border. Lawlessness is just around the corner.

 

The Sycamore Gap Tree, reputedly the most photographed tree in England and also featured in the 1991 Robin Hood film. I knew nothing of either until today

Good food, dodgy bed