The Kimbers Walk Hadrian’s Wall Path

East Wallhouses to Newburn Day 6 brought us into more populated areas. The path today mainly ran parallel to a major highway, so the remote feeling was gone. We’ve read and heard from hikers that the two days at the east end of the path (today and tomorrow for us) are by far the least interesting. There are almost no remaining wall ruins, and the setting is more urban. John and I agreed yesterday, however, that two days of “boring” sounds just fine to us after all we’ve seen these past five days. The town of Heddon-on-the-Wall was charming. I feel like I could live there very happily. Local people along the way were unfailingly gracious in giving us directions, although the quality of the directions and estimates of distance were all over the place. Accents are thick up here near the Scottish border, and we often have to ask people to repeat what they’ve said. One of my toenails fell off this morning, and I’m nursing a blister. Moleskin patches, bandaids, gauze, and a night of sleep do...

Brocolitia to East Wallhouses The Carraw B & B did not disappoint. We had a wonderful supper of creamed onion soup, sourdough baguettes, and the English version of a charcuterie board—the ploughman platter (half a small meat pie, half an apple, simple green salad, a large wedge of Stilton cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, a hard boiled egg, rhubarb chutney). In the morning we enjoyed a good breakfast and set off. The innkeeper was seeing her three children off to school as we left. It was a blustery day with 14 miles to cover. We’ve had at least a little bit of rain every day but one, and at this point it doesn’t phase us. Some Bostonians we met and chatted with who were coming from the opposite direction recommended we stop at The Riverside Kitchen in Chollerford. It was the first coffee and tea house we had seen for days, and the hot beverages, scones, and clotted cream were a treat! Today was much easier walking, with comparatively flat terrain. There was still quite a bit of the wall...

Today’s leg, from Once Brewed to Brocolitia, was really enjoyable. We had a good breakfast at the Twice Brewed Inn and set off. We had just eight miles to cover, which was a delightful break after yesterday’s 14 miles of hill climbing. There was climbing today, too, but nothing as tiring as yesterday. It was really smart of the company that organized our lodging to schedule a short leg in the middle of the week! We stopped at Sycamore Gap, probably the most iconic and photographed spot on the path. “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” was partially filmed there. We walked along the wall where there were some pretty steep drop offs, but nothing that seemed too dangerous. The views were huge, green, and peaceful. It’s fun to stop and chat with walkers coming from the opposite direction. Today, there were Germans, Norwegians, numerous British people, and several Americans. We again walked through a good many cattle and sheep pastures, which has become one of my favorite parts of the journey. T...

We’ve just finished dinner at the Twice Brewed Inn, which is where we’re staying tonight. It’s in a village called Once Brewed, and it’s right at the halfway mileage mark of the path. These inns have been very pleasant so far. The rooms are small and basic but clean and comfortable. The staff have been friendly and really helpful. We reached the highest elevation of Hadrian’s Wall today—only about 1100 feet, but we worked hard for it, going up and down a series of fairly steep slopes to get there. Today’s leg was billed as 14 miles, but our trackers say it was between 16 and 17.5, so who knows. I did clock 41,000+ steps, but many were small ones as I worked my way up and down hills. The problem with over performing on my step count is that next week, Fitbit will be scolding me because my step count has decreased so much. John is being a model of patience, as he could get through these segments much more quickly than I. The Roman wall was visible throughout today’s walk and is in amazin...

Days 1 and 2 of the walk are in the books.  Day 1, starting in Bowness-on-Solway on the western end of the path and running to Carlisle, took us through several very small and charming villages (charming, but nowhere to really stop). The Hadrian’s Wall Path is reportedly very well marked, but we didn’t find that to be the case right away and added to our mileage with a few wrong turns followed by backtracking. But we enjoyed a dry and partly sunny day. Whenever I travel to a new place, even the first time I visit a friend’s home, that first trip seems longer than the second time, just because I don’t know exactly where I’m going. The first leg of the path seemed that way—like it would never end! We were worn out when we reached our hotel, and I was wondering how I could walk another day. But a good night of sleep did wonders. We had forgotten how jet lag kicks in big time on the second day after changing time zones. So we had an extra challenge in fighting that while hiking more th...

This morning, we took the train from Euston station in London to Carlisle in northwestern England. The ride was sheer pleasure, with lush, green scenery the whole way. It’s  Pride and Prejudice  type of country and easy to imagine Mr. Darcy might come charging across the landscape on his horse at any moment. England, in spring at least, will put you in a good mood. It’s no wonder so many good things emerged from this small island – the English language, the rule of law, the decorum and order we associate with the British, Lord of the Rings , Narnia. The countryside struck me as both naturally beautiful and obviously managed. Surely when the Lord told the man and the woman to fill the earth and subdue it, England was what He meant.