Walking Hadrian's Wall - Day Six - Once Brewed - Chollerford

 Luckily, the rain seemed to have stopped by morning, which I was rather glad to see! I think I'd had enough rain by this point, although it is rather inevitable considering I am in Northern England! 

Time for a good breakfast at the hostel, gotta get my energy levels up for the day!

First thing today was going back up to the wall and tackling the steep path up to the top of the crag, which then dropped in height a bit down to the remains of the Peel Gap Tower, the only one not numbered as it was an additional tower to cover a blind spot. Just after it, was a moment when I reconsidered my choice to have a big breakfast (and everything I'd ever eaten up to this point) as I tried to squeeze through this ridiculously small gap in the wall. Who on earth built this?

I had a good "moo-ning" from this friendly cow!

Here we have the remains of Milecastle 39, also called Castle Nick, which welcomes you as you come over the crag and start descending again. It's rather splendid with the outline and wall next to it, and gives you a great idea of the size of some of these structures.

After another gain and then loss of height again, you then discover the legendary Sycamore Gap Tree, one of the most famous trees in England. It's been in movies, tv shows, even filmed for top of the pops! It's a beautiful place to stop and rest for a moment, and marvel at its height in the dip. I didn't realise how tall it was until I'd gotten closer, as you descend down the crag from above the height of the tree. The blue sky behind it was a nice touch too! 

A view over Crag Lough, with it's calm dark waters. Just don't get too close, it's a very steep drop the other side! 

This part of the path was stunning. This area here in particular was beautiful, with the farmers wall made from stones of Hadrian's wall zig-zagging about, the trees, the Lough, it was just lovely here.

A view to the South, with the yellow corn fields sticking out between the green land and the blue sky.

You guessed it, another down and then up again! Here the Hadrian's Wall Path crosses the Pennine Way, another long distance walking path connecting Derbyshire with the Scottish Borders. At 268miles (431km) it's the longest in Britain, and one that is rather more challenging! Maybe when I'm a bit fitter I might attempt it! 

Here is Milecastle 37, instantly recognisable with the remains of the arch where the gates would have one been. It gives you some stunning views over the landscape to the North, as well as a nice place to take a moment and a breather. My knees were fed up with all the up and down!

I then crossed through a wooded section, before coming across Housesteads Fort, another very well preserved fort on the wall.

It's perhaps the most complete fort, with much above ground that gives you a really clear concepts as to the planned layout of the fort, like here, with the pavement and barracks.

Who doesn't love a good hypocaust? Imagine how toasty and warm it would be in here, and would have been needed in the winter.

One of the gates, that would have allowed access to and from the fort to the wall. The fort was a late addition to the wall, the original turret that had been built for the wall was demolished and the fort built in its place. If you're looking for a little Roman drama, one of the houses that were excavated in the civilian settlement (or Vicus as the Romans called it) had a body hidden beneath the floor with a knife still in the ribs. Dubbed "the murder house", it's suspected a double murder took place here, with the body of a woman found under the floor upon further excavation. Burial's inside settlements was frowned upon, both for religious and hygiene reasons, hence why this is suspected to be a crime scene. Could this be the first documented double murder in the British Isles?

Housesteads is also famous for another, slightly less but equally unappetising reason, which is that it's home to the most complete Roman latrine (toilets) in the whole of Britain. So it's well worth visiting, just to tick off another place on your "across the UK in 25 iconic bathroom visit's" list.

There's also a small museum at the site, and the friendly lady at the ticket desk let me store my rucksack behind the counter while I explored the site. The museum has a few exhibits, and a short film giving you a brief history. Housesteads fort is open every day, and tickets are £16 for adults. There is a small discount up for grabs if you pre book on the English Heritage website, and of course EH members get in for free. 

I grabbed a cold drink, and sat on a bench chatting to a chap I had seen at the hostel that morning, before continuing on my walk. I've still got a few miles to go, so no dilly dallying!

A little further up, you see Hadrian's wall diverge from the farmer wall which had been built upon in the 1800's, although they join up again a little later on. Fancy tearing down a bit of one wall, only to rebuild it again on top (and arguably less beautiful!)

There's a lovely view of Broomlee Lough, which looked like the water would be very cold and uninviting, which the landscape gently falls and rises with these sloping hills for as far as I could see!

Another trig point, and a good place to stop and take a breather while admiring the views. The weather was on the turn too. The clouds had been thinning out, revealing some sunshine and blue skies. I was praying we didn't get any more rain today, as the trail was very boggy in places.

Here, you can see how much a battering the wall has taken over the years. When built it would have been over four meters tall, now much of it has vanished, particularly in the more accessible or populated areas, whereas on some of the crags it's around a meter tall. There's been numerous restoration efforts, some better than others in areas, but it's amazing that nearly two thousand years later so much is here. Alas some areas, like above, you can see the toll that time has taken on the wall.

A little further along, on the rocky outcrop the wall regains some height, no doubt because of the steep terrain around it that prevented a lot of it being carted off for building purposes.  I imagine a lot of people believed the wall to be no longer required and saw it as a free quarry.

But some others have had a very different approach to the wall. Here we can see a Saxon era burial chamber built against the wall. Today it seems strange for a burial against the wall like this, but there was obviously a reason. Perhaps this was the burial of someone who lived near the wall, perhaps a farmer or a shepherd. Maybe it was someone who lived on the wall, the Romans left in 410 AD, and although life changed and Britain fell into the dark ages, there is still evidence to suggest people lived nearby. Perhaps, and it's the one I think most likely, the structure of the wall at the time was still large and impactful, and burying the deceased next to it may have comforted their loved ones, as the wall would have watched over them. Whatever the reason for it, it proves that even after the Roman's left, activity continued at the wall.

The last few miles saw the ground start to change. It was becoming flatter, with less rise and fall, and was becoming easier to walk on. Also, there seemed to be much less people on this part. I'd had several small conversations and few greetings from other walkers, but now I seemed alone. At first I thought I must have gotten lost or taken a wrong turning, but the bits of wall kept appearing!

Now the ground was flatter, I could seem the Vallum much better, and even got to stand inside it for a moment. It's still deep enough that I didn't see much of the land around me! 

Next up I came across Brocolitia Fort. There's not an awful lot to see here, but's worth stopping and having a little look at the Mithraeum which has been excavated. Once you've seen it, it's worth stopping in the car park next, as there's a cheerful gentleman with a coffee van who is there most days. A hot cup of coffee was gratefully provided, as well as a couple of biscuits, and I know this will sound super snobby, but the coffee was actually quite nice!

I think this sheep wanted one of the biscuits, but it's wrong to share biscuits! British laws forbid it.

This trig point here doesn't look anything special, but it's actually a really important point, and I thought it was rather under celebrated. This point at Limestone Corner actually marks the most Northern point of the Roman Empire when the wall was built. Can you believe it? It's a rather remarkable point, yet nothing really marked the spot! (I should point out that the Romans built a "wall" further North known as the Antonine Wall, but this was a wooden wall on a turf bank, with very little stone construction, which is a partial reason as to why so little remains. The wall was only in use for less than a decade, before the frontier moved back to Hadrian's Wall. Proof that you can't beat the original! 

Another view of the wall looking along the path. Here, the wall appears less and less, with larger distances between each visible part.  Here was one of the final sections I saw today, before the wall vanished. It was then a case of following the road (which followed both the old military road, which followed the wall) towards Chollerford. I walked past Chester's fort, which I was going to visit tomorrow, and headed straight for The George Hotel where I was booked to stay for two nights. 

What I will just say, is the hotel is one of those places that trade on their reputation. If I had visited ten or fifteen years ago, I probably would have loved it. While it was nice, it was certainly dated, and needed perhaps more than just a lick of paint. Frequent complaints on the reviews were maintenance issues, the spa/pool being closed, and numerous leaks in heavy rain. Location wise it was perfect, I'd planned to have the day at the fort and then have an easy afternoon and allow myself to have a bit of rest before continuing on the path.

There was a limited but tasty & reasonably priced menu, but there was a shortage of spaces to sit and eat outside the restaurant, with there being bar service and food brought to you. The first night I shared a table with an old couple who explained they had started in Newcastle and were doing  around 10 miles a day. They also warned me about the steep hill coming up from the waggonway, and the havoc it had played with their knees. I wasn't looking forward to that bit quite so much! 

From what I gathered while I was finding the link for the hotel to share (@bespokehotels.com/the-george-hotel/) It was recently taken over and some refurbishment has happened, although some of the more recent reviews are still rather scathing. I've you've stayed recently, share your experience in the comments. Like I say, for me and my plans it was the perfect location, but if you're wanted a better stay, try one of the local B&B's for better quality accommodation.

I'd walked 15.7 miles today, so I was very grateful to be somewhere that I could have a filling dinner, a warm (ish) shower, and somewhere to sleep. Before eating, I decided to have a shower, and to my surprise, my trousers had at some point today split, and when I took them off, I could see carpet through the crotch area. I prayed to the Roman Gods (there was so many of them, I'm sure they had one for split trousers) that nobody had noticed, and that it must have happened only moment before. But knowing my luck, I'm going to assume I had been walking around with my underwear showing through all day.

It was hardly surprising, I do have rather chunky thighs, so splitting trousers does happen rather frequently to me. It happened multiple times while I was away travelling, like in Sarajevo climbing into the bobsleigh track, or in Kutaisi trying to climb a fence into an abandoned hospital, and in Andorra, when I bent down to tie my shoelace. I guess it was only a matter of time before it happened to me now. Still, at least I had another pair to wear! I did have the thought to order another pair, and sent them for pickup in Newcastle, so I could at least have another spare pair with me.

Thoroughly mortified, my head hit the pillow at around 9pm, and I was out like a light. Roll on tomorrow and the Chester's Fort!