Walking Hadrians Wall - Day Eight - Chollerford to Wylam

 If any of the days walking was going to break me, then it would be this one. It was the longest section I had planned, purely because I couldn't seem to get accommodation on the trail for some reason. So there was an approximately 20 mile walk between Chollerford and where I was staying in Wylam. I'd tried to rest my swollen ankle as much as possible yesterday afternoon and overnight. It was still a little swollen, and the pain was minimal which was a positive sign.

I literally followed the road back over the Chollerford Bridge and up to Brunton Turret (26B) which is nestled in a quiet field with a rather large & high piece of wall, one of the tallest parts on the trail.

Here's the remains of the turret, which would have kept watch over the bridge and river. Interestingly here, the turret was built first, and then the wall afterwards and adjoining.

You come out of the field, back onto the road and up the hill, before discovering Planetrees. The wall at Planetrees is interesting, because of the changes in construction. We go from broad wall, to narrow wall with broad foundations, back to broad wall again. It seems the builders here weren't quite sure how thick to build the wall. Nothing remains of the mile castle itself (it's somewhere under the road) but this is an important place to remember, because after this there's not much visible Roman Stonework until you arrive at Wallsend. But you do catch glimpses of the Vallum, the defensive ditch by the wall, although it can be hard to spot as it is quite overgrown in places. But it remains with you for a little while longer, while the wall vanishes.

The beautiful view across the hills. So far the weather had been dry today, and I wanted to keep it that way! 

Here, it doesn't feel like you are walking the wall, purely because you're walking along this meandering forest path. The wall is still under the road, and nothing of it can be seen. It's a good place to change your mentality to enjoying the nature more, rather than looking for the wall.

The forested area was lovely, very peaceful with lots of birds singing and leaves rustling in the wind. Before I knew it, I'd come through the forest, and was back insight of the road again.

After following the path through a very muddy field, I came to this sign by a another stile to climb over. Bull in field. I kept my eyes peeled, but I didn't see any bulls anywhere. Not that fancied bumping into one! I'd been so focussed on marching along, trying to cover as much distance as I could that I almost walked past Errington Coffee House, where I had planned to stop for lunch. I was given a nice little table in the corner, and a delicious lunch, chicken pie & salad. It was light but filling, and washed down with a nice cup of tea. It was tasty & good value, and gave me the energy to keep marching on!

The fields I was passing though was beautiful, this one was overgrown but full of these charming purple flowers.

This field was full of friends. I called over to say hello and waved, then discovered an old couple coming the other way waving to me back! I was hoping the cows would wave back! 

After walking along the road for quite a stretch, I was pleased to discover The Great Northern Lake, which was a lovely place to stop, sit and rest for a little while and take a breather. While still near the road, it's a haven for wildlife, and I even got to see a family of geese wandering what I was doing sat by the waters edge! 

Here's the geese family coming towards me. I think they wanted feeding, but the only food I could give them was knowledge about the Romans. That didn't seem to interest them, funnily enough! 

This part of the walk was really quite nice along the paving slabs, and the sky that had been quite overcast today was gradually brightening up. 

This was a bit of a watershed moment, as I came over the top of a small hill, the sun suddenly shone bright over the landscape, and I stood there in it's warmth, gazing at the pylons stretching out towards Newcastle. I suppose you could say they are similar to Hadrian's wall, they mark out a line, and give you something to follow, although I do think the wall is much nicer to look at. But the pylons meant I was getting close to Newcastle, not far to go yet! 

Not far from here was Heddon-on-the-Wall, a nice little town with a large chunk of wall just on the outskirts, before you pass through the town. There's also a couple of places to eat, and a small convenience store in the petrol station. By now it had gone 6pm, and my ankle was really starting to give me some pain. I took some more ibuprofen, and made my way down the quite steep path through Heddon-on-the-Wall down to the banks of the River Tyne. There, it was a flat path down to Wylam. Realistically it probably didn't take that long to walk down, but to me it felt like an eternity, and I could feel every step jarring my ankle.

I eventually made it to the Ship Inn where I was staying the night. The lady running it was lovely, showed me to my room and checked if I needed anything. I dropped the rucksack on the floor and just sat on the bed taking a couple of deep breaths. I noticed there was a bathtub in the room, so I ran myself a hot bath. As I was getting undressed, I noticed a huge tear in the backside of my trousers. Not again! This tear was even bigger than the other one! 

I now had a bit of a conundrum, I had no trousers left to wear. After the last pair had split, I'd ordered a pair to be delivered to a shop near the Hotel where I was staying in Newcastle, and they were ready to be collected. I didn't fancy wearing these torn ones, so I decided the only option was to walk in my pyjama bottoms. I'd look ridiculous, but no one would know me, and it could hardly be worse than wearing socks & sandals like the Romans did. Or could it?

I didn't even bother eating that night, once I'd soaked in the tub for an hour, I got into bed and slept soundly until the early morning. It was hardly surprising, I'd walked 20.1 miles today!