Hadrian's - Day 2 - Brampton

Carlisle to Brampton

A bit more elevation today, around 843'. I felt every foot of it going up and down.

I must start off with an update of the 6 divas. I ran into a couple from Australia who apparently stayed at the same inn as the divas last night. When he asked where I was from and I said Texas, he said oh they had 6 ladies from the states at their B&B. When I asked him how they did yesterday, he laughed and said some people just shouldn’t be doing this. When they got there and were asked to remove their muddy shoes, they got mad. Then they asked if they could wash their shoes in the shower. The hosts said absolutely not so they were really mad. Then they asked them to carry their bags up to the rooms because they were too heavy for them to carry. I’m not sure how that worked out. He said one of them could barely move and he didn’t think she would make it up the stairs at all. They asked for cards for taxi’s so I don’t think they even made it the first day. It was a long hard day for sure but flat, nothing like the next three days are going to be. 

I slept for about 4 hours last night. The hotel was really noisy until all hours, the bed was very uncomfortable and the pillows were as flat as the walk yesterday. If you’re ever in Carlisle, don’t stay at the Crown & Mitre. 

Breakfast was ok. Same thing as I had the day before except they brought me some gluten free toast that I couldn’t even cut with my knife. 

Walking to the trail this morning was the same path I took yesterday to get my passport stamped. If I had realized I was going right by there this morning I would have saved myself an extra mile yesterday. These stairs lead down to a walkway under the insanely busy road. 

Unfortunately, my lodging tonight is 3 miles off the path so I will need to determine the need for a taxi as I get closer to the last place to call for a pick-up. Do I want to add 3 miles onto the 14 already on tap for today or save my feet and legs for a harder day tomorrow? Remains to be seen. 

It was a beautiful walk this morning along a path lined with wildflowers “to keep Cumbria buzzing” (with bees).

I get to walk along the River Eden again for a bit today. 

This plant, butterbur, looks very invasive. It has almost taken over the gardens. 

I will walk along the other side of the tower in the background in just a bit 

Now walking on a cycle path. 

The beautiful river Eden. I am going to walk across that bridge next. 

Leaving  Carlisle  behind, I cross the Memorial Bridge over the river Eden, and land in Rickerby Park. The long walk down a nice trail with the park to the left leads me past the octagonal tower I mentioned earlier. Turns out it’s ornamental, built in the early 1800s for no other reason than that towers were fashionable at the time. 

Another tower in the middle of the field. It looks like it might have been a defensive tower with the slits for windows.

The Hadrian’s Wall Walk trail leads me to a main road. I follow it, as does an increasing amount of traffic.

Love these mail boxes. 

Arriving in the quiet village of Linstock, I'm 2.5-miles/4km into my day. I spot the first refreshment stand of the day at The Barn but don’t stop, still full from breakfast. Leaving Linstock behind I enter a beautiful field of wildflowers and the trail continues around the river Eden.

Too funny. 

The next couple of miles is long lanes used by the many tractors going from field to field. Puddles of water sit in deep grooves made by the farm vehicle tires. The narrow lanes open up to the hilly green field at Bleatarn.

There are people walking their dogs. The long grass is dotted with pretty flowers of various shades of purple, and bright red poppies struggling to stand in the breeze. And it’s here I start to see fellow hikers from the previous day. At the end of the river walk I pass through a narrow path and enter the village of Crosby-on-Eden.

A book anyone?

An old church and cemetery. 

The fence of the church had all these crocheted poppies commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day. 

Going over another busy road. I’m really glad they built bridges to get over the road but that means a steep uphill and then downhill .

I didn’t know what a Nordman Fir was so I had to look it up. Apparently the Nordman Fir is the king of the trees, its needles will stay attached throughout the holiday season.

Although you can’t see much evidence of the Romans here, it was once an important place. For one, this was a quarry where many of the stones for the wall were sourced. For the historical part of the Hadrian’s Wall Walk, this is the first glimpse of the Roman terrain. The bright open field at Bleatarn is really nice to walk through. I look at the houses lining the field and can only imagine living in such a culturally significant area where if you dig enough you’ll probably find Roman artifacts beneath the soil.

This herd of cows was all scattered out when all of a sudden they grouped up and headed right toward me. When I got in the middle of them, I said hello and they took off running. Scared them I guess.

This group of sheep is guarding the steps to the gate. They’re not very good guards though since they moved as soon as I got over there. 

A novel use for old tires. They’ll probably be there until the millennium. 

This is one of the first actual stiles I’ve seen. I’ve been through a hundred kissing gates though. 

As the wall was predominately dirt and turf in this section, there is very little evidence of the wall remaining, but this is still beautiful countryside with much time to reflect. To think that I walked along thick, grassy paths where Roman soldiers had walked. 

Bleatarn is the start of many long, wide open fields of the day. I walk through fields of every color grass, ranging from bright and almost nuclear green to a pale yellow. A subtle worn path at one side makes it easy to follow the Hadrian’s Wall Walk even without the distinctive acorn signs. The tall wheat-like grass to the right looks almost a dusky pink color.

There are more farms, more cows and more sheep, with a really nice area following alongside the River Eden, before arriving in Newtown, Milecastle 58 on Hadrian's Wall. 

Lunch of champions. 

At Newtown I pass through the quiet village, the main road lined with pretty houses with even prettier gardens. The village green has some benches and picnic tables, so if you make it here by lunchtime it’s a great place to stop. Still no public bathroom though. I pass a snack shed that claims to be the last one for 8-miles. It isn’t. But it’s handy to stop at if you’re peckish (a tad hungry). I am so decide to stop here and take advantage of their shed to sit and rest. I’ve gone just over halfway so it’s time.  

I was given the option of walking from Newtown to my inn for tonight instead of following the path in the big loop above. The orange arrow is where I am and the yellow bed is my lodging. I felt like that would be cheating and didn’t even consider it. 

So off I go down this rather creepy path.

Leaving Newtown I traverse fields of farm animals, one after the other. Herds of cows of brown, black, tan and white. I eye up a couple of bulls cautiously and hustle along just in case. They don’t pay me attention which is good. I arrive in a field that marks the start of one of the best views I think I’ve seen all day. A rustic path made with stones of various shapes leads down a hill. A lone farmhouse sits in the distance and some animals I can’t quite make out yet.

Following the Hadrian’s Wall Walk is equivalent to the Yellow Brick Road from Oz, I am happy to have found a field with three beautiful horses. They graze silently as I pass, swishing their tails in an effort to keep the flies at bay on this nice June day. I can’t resist waiting to see if they will come closer and take a few photos of this pastoral scene.

More muddy (or as they say moody) path. 

They were having a gladiator competition here. Two really nice older men out for a walk told me all about it. 

This is a huge slide which was one of the obstacles.

Walking roadside for the next mile or so is a hair-raising experience. It’s narrow, and the cars lean into the bends a little too tightly for my liking. The trail takes off to the right past more horses and through a meadow. Relief. A long field and I arrive at an intersecting path pointing to the historic Lanercost Priory. It’s actually the only thing of real significance on the trail today. 

Lanercost Priory 1 1/4 mile. I can do this. That’s only one circle around the trail in Bowie.  

Lanercost Priory 3/4 mile. Almost there. 

One cannot walk Hadrian's Wall without a short detour to Lanercost Priory.

Lanercost Priory is one of the best preserved medieval monastic sites in England. Founded around 1169, it was the home of a community of Augustinian canons, a group of priests living in the service of God. For five months in 1306-07, the priory unexpectedly became the focus of national affairs during a prolonged visit by Edward I, who rested here for five months in 1306-1307, shortly before his death on his final campaign. 

It suffered frequent attacks during the long Anglo-Scottish wars, once by Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, who came with his army and made it his headquarters for three days, "committing infinite evils". Yet there is still much to see in this best-preserved of Cumbrian monasteries. The east end of the noble 13th-century church survives to its full height, housing within its dramatic triple tier of arches some fine monuments.

There is a tea room here where I can wait for a taxi or walk on to my lodging. Hmmmm, time to make the decision. I was too thrawn, good Doric word meaning stubborn to the point of stupidity, to give up.

Beef burger on gluten-free toast. 

Have you ever seen these tomatoes before? They were so tiny and had so much flavor. 

 It was still early and downhill (or so I thought) to Brampton, so off I go and look at what I would have missed if I had called for a pickup. Oh my. 

This was one of the most scenic, tranquil, awe-inspiring, muddy, midge infested walks I’ve ever been on. I wanted to take off my boots and soak my tired aching feet in that water so much, but I didn’t want the midges to carry me away. The comment about it being downhill all the way couldn’t have been further from the truth. There were many uphill climbs, some nose to the ground steep. But, it was simply incredible and I’m so glad I decided to walk to Brampton. 

In Brampton - more beautiful poppies. 

And more fern walls. 

I officially reached the end of today’s walk but I have another mile to get to the inn. 

It’s down a very tiny overgrown path and I’m hoping it goes all the way. 

These people mowed their section which was very helpful. 

And finally it opens up. Yay!😁 

I see the back of the inn but how do I get through that wall?

Aha! I spy a door in the fence but woe is me, it is locked. Then I hear dogs running and barking at the gate. I’m hoping someone else hears them too and instantly the gate opens to a young woman gardener standing there. The Lord’s timing is impeccable. I was trying to decide if I could scale that fence when He opened the door. 

Very unusual tree. 

It’s called a monkey puzzle tree. 

These are all views from my windows. I have a corner room with 4 huge windows. 

As mentioned, my lodging tonight is 3 miles off the Wall path in the countryside outside the village of Brampton. The Oakwood Park Hotel is a rather imposing Victorian house built in 1861. They have a very nice restaurant with reservations required 24 hours in advance. Since I hadn’t made reservations, I decided to eat at the Priory Tearoom.

 Room photos

The room is very large with a chair perfectly placed to look out at the horses. That’s where I’ve been sitting while I write this. 

When I came in I started to take off my boots and she said you don’t need to do that. I said are you sure? They’re very muddy. She said again, no need. Let’s just get you to your room so you can rest. It’s up these stairs and we’ve put your bag in the room already. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! All I could think about were those 6 divas wanting exactly what I was just blessed with. 

They have the best amenities. It’s black pepper and sandalwood with geranium essential oil body lotion and shower gel. It smells so good. There’s a shaving kit, vanity kit, dental kit

An apple and chocolates 

Sewing kit

Tea and coffee and hot chocolate kit 😁

Now this I brought. Would you believe I carried this in my backpack from the Priory tearoom??? It’s a gluten and dairy free meringue. I would have called it lemon meringue pie. Whatever you want to call it, it was the perfect treat to have with my tea sitting by the window and enjoying the solitude. What a day! 

Stats

I averaged a 23 minute mile, gained 843’ in elevation, burned 3,740 calories and it took just over 7 hours. 

Steps - 43,579

Miles - 19.2

Floors - 25

And did you notice the pillow spray among the amenities? It’s a special blend of essential oils to help you get a good nights sleep. I wonder if it has vetiver in it? I’m about to use it and call it a night. 

"Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you.'" 

Isaiah 42:5-6

Praise Him, praise Him!