Day 6: Heddon-on-the-Wall to Segedunum (0 miles to go)
An early start from the friendly guest house. We decided to set out earlier to make sure we could finish in time to handle travel arrangements back to the real world! We were on the road by 8:20am. My legs were well rested having fallen asleep by 9:30pm the previous night… tired doesn’t begin to describe it.
The walk was largely flat today, walking along the banks of the river Tyne. The path was not the most entertaining – a tarmac track with not much to see for the majority of the way. Occasionally a small climb or a break in the trees would open up a pretty view, but the most part we were on a route march.
Persistence and a good pace lead us into Newcastle. Under the Tyne bridge, and just in time to watch the Millennium bridge swing. This part of the waterfront is really great, and this was my highlight today. Once the Millennium bridge was back horizontal, we walked across to grab a sandwich at the Baltic centre. Feet were really aching by now from three hours of pavement pounding. But with about 4 miles left, onward!
The walk from Gateshead to Wallsend was also a bit of a route march, with only occasional views of industrial buildings on the river or bits of shipyard to break things up. The weather choose this point to play us around a little with the odd shower and one storming downpour.
And then… Finally! We arrived at Segedunum, the last fort on the wall and the end of the trail. It was a great sense of achievement, and of course the correct way to celebrate was a cup of tea in the cafe on the site!
84 miles of trail, plus we reckon another 7 or so in getting to and from B&Bs, pubs, etc. Certainly further than I’ve ever walked in a week before!
There was the small issue that the suitcases were being held at a hotel a mile up the road – but given the success somehow the feet didn’t feel so bad!
Day 5: Cholleford to Heddon-on-the-Wall (15 miles to go)
If the state of my poor aching legs is anything to go by today was the hardest overall walking day so far, and with only one day of walking left I think it will probably win that contest. No particularly steep climbs or tricky corners – just a mixed bag of climbs, roads, rain and miles!
We set out this morning in the rain, and our first task was to climb out of Cholleford and up onto the fells to the east. The climbs were steady, but the views from the top were dampened by the rain. After this it was a good few steady hours of up and down. We made good time, and arrived at our chosen lunch spot (Vallum Farm Tea Rooms) a good hour earlier than predicted. A passport stamp at the Robin Hood Pub means we have only one stamp to go!
The rain went away and left us with a pleasant sunny spells kind of afternoon, and after a significant effort all round we made it to Heddon. However, tonights B&B is actually in Wilam, a good hour further away (and not all of that on the trail). I think we all found his last push pretty exhausting – I know I was fit to drop when we finally arrived. The walk down from Heddon did offer one highlight though – our first view over Newcastle!
If the Mingarry Barn B&B wins the prize for ‘nicest place we stayed’, tonight’s will certainly win the ‘friendliest reception’ prize. Greeted warmly at the door, shaken by the hand, and told us that our table was already booked at the pub over the road! Magic.
Tomorrow, after a couple of hours of river walking it’s Newcastle all the way to Segedenum Fort and the end of the wall path. Very exciting!
Day 4: Once Brewed to Cholleford (30 miles to go)
A surprising amount of things had managed to dry out overnight after our late day soaking – so it was quite nice to walk out into a little sunshine this morning. The road we had waded through last night had drained away all the water, so we were able to get underway without much bother. The breezy opener for the day was another set of crag climbs and downhills, though none quite as sheer as the previous day. The last climb was spectacular, and the view from the top showed off all the windswept places we had visited over the last 24hrs – which came with a great sense of satisfaction.
Albert had a moment of premonition as we gently descended towards a milecastle, and urged us to stop and don full waterproofs – and within about ten minutes the heavens opened again! Not quite as bad as yesterday but still hard and heavy. Thankfully within quarter of an hour or so this eased up and apart from the odd shower the rain stayed away for the rest of the day.
After a terrible cup of tea at Housesteads Fort we made terrific progress along the now largely level track. The countryside is now more rolling hills than spiky peaks, and we got up a good head of steam and ended up being more than half way done by lunchtime. A quick roll upwards to Limestone Corner and the route then ran almost entirely downhill for the rest of the day. This was great whilst we walked over fields, but the very last section had us walking down a steep slope on the road towards Chester’s Fort. This was surprisingly hard work, and caused very sore feet all round.
Our B&B is a good half mile off the trail, and the pub opposite that we expected to provide us with dinner has just changed hands and hasn’t got their food service together yet. So for dinner we ended up walking half a mile back to the trail to visit The George Hotel. This was… an experience all of it’s own. I think it’s fair to say that perhaps we were not in their demographic, and the place had the feel of an old folks home crossed with Phoenix Nights. As we ate, the noise from the cabaret act next door (a local accordion player) drifted through to the dining room. Still, as we’d failed to find anywhere for lunch all day the food was welcome.
This evening’s B&B is lovely, modern, clean and with a great showers (surprisingly important after a day of walking!) and for me rates as the best place we’ve stayed so far. Tomorrow we have a few climbs and quite a lot of miles to cover, and I think it may be a bit of a slog.
Only two more stamps to get in the passport! We must be on the closing stretch…