Hadrian's - Day 4 - Once Brewed

Gilsland to Once Brewed
~1090' from lowest to highest but I get to do it more than once ~1391' total elevation gain

Today is one of the most strenuous sections of the Hadrian's Wall Path as I will walk to the highest point of the trail - Windshields Crags. Although a little tougher, this portion should have stunning views in every direction and some of the best 'intact' remains of the wall that are still around today.
Breakfast starters

Breakfast drinks
I guess I didn’t take a photo of my eggs, sausage and mushrooms. Oh well. Just look back at one of the other days. 🤣

The wind is picking up, I follow the road through the village and pass the sign that welcomes me to Northumberland. I’ve officially left Cumbria. Just as I leave the Inn, it starts to rain lightly and the clouds look like they could unload at any minute. I immediately stop and put on my gaiters, rain jacket and pack cover. Of course it stopped as soon as I got it all on.

This is a new stile for me and was the first of many like it today. I much prefer the kissing gates. Not so hard on the legs after all that climbing.

The poppies here are just beautiful!

She wanted her picture taken too.









I still can’t get over going through people’s gardens and farms. This chicken led me right through.

If you look in the distance you can see the crags I will be traversing today.

The cloud still looms but I’ve long since taken off my fleece and rain jacket. I don’t think I’ve mentioned the temps. The mornings start off in the low 40s and highs are in the 50s. Really perfect hiking weather. I never got another drop of rain all day. I prayed that it would wait until I got off the mountain and it did. It’s raining and windy now as I sit here writing this.

The path takes off across and up a grassy hill, as I leave Gilsland. Up and down lush green sheep-less fields I go until the trail spits me out at a busy road.

Uh oh. Guess I’m going to find out how waterproof these boots are after stepping in that burn. Turns out they are. Not a leak at all.

Hugging the verge I dash across the road, meander past a few houses and next have to cross a railway line. I have the green light so good to go.



At the top of the hill I see a ruined castle – it’s impossible to miss.
Thirlwall Castle is a momentary detour that deserves your time. It’s not even that far off the trail, only a few yards (straight uphill), so I go explore.







Thirlwall Castle was originally built in the 12th century, and later strengthened using stones from nearby Hadrian’s Wall. Thirlwall Castle began to fall into disrepair in the 17th century. The site is now protected and given Ancient Monument Status.

I really enjoyed reading this info board and thought you might enjoy it too.



Just as I was beginning the first, very steep climb of the day, this lady came around the corner dressed like nothing I’ve ever seen before. You can’t really tell from the photo, but she has on a skirt, her full backpack because she’s camping, a rain cape, and knee high gaiters. I wanted to tell her if she wore pants she wouldn’t need such tall gaiters. They are so hot! I passed her shortly after this picture was taken and saw her later walking on a lower trail, not up by the wall at all.



Once I had passed Thirlwall Castle, the grueling up-down-up-down pattern of the morning was established. A long grassy climb was followed by a slight drop towards the Walltown Quarry visitor center and a loo. Yay!

And I’ve made it to the top of the first peak. Only three more to go 🤣.





Hawthorn













And I’ve made it to the top of the second peak. Yay!

This is one of the finest places to see Hadrian's Wall, where it snakes and dives through dramatic countryside along the crags of the Whin Sill. Whin Sill Quarry opened in 1876 and closed 100 years later in 1976. Whinstone or dolerite is so hard that they had to use explosives to blast it off the rock face, making it perfect for roadstone chippings used in tarmac and later for cobbling streets.

The Romans never quarried whinstone – it was far too hard to extract in that era and it was only after the industrial revolution that the technology became available to extract it. However, just because they couldn’t quarry it didn’t mean that the Romans didn’t make use of it. The whinstone ridge was used to help make Hadrian’s Wall an even stronger barrier. But centuries later that also caused a problem. Hadrian’s Wall got in the way of quarrying.

And look at me. I’m on top of the third peak!!!
Every peak the scenery just gets more breathtaking.

It’s been a little over 2 1/2 hours and I’m halfway. But the worst is yet to come.

I’m heading towards that forest over there.
Getting closer.

And in it
These ferns are tick heaven

I told this little lamb she was so cute and here she came.

She was checking out my hiking pole. I wanted to reach down and rub her little head but she was very young and her momma was giving me the stink eye so I left her alone.

These ladder stiles get really old when your feet hurt and your legs are burning and weak from climbing.

When I see the water, I know I’ve reached the bottom of the final dip before the last climb up.

And there I am.

The demand of whinstone was such that there were several quarries in the area and I came across another closed site, two miles (sounds like just around the corner 😁) on from Walltown. Cawfields Quarry has again been opened up to the public, the only sign of its old life was a small hill that had essentially been half removed. It was a curious sight; like someone had just come down with a large knife and cut off half of it and taken it away. Which, in essence, I guess they had. I don’t know if you can see the red color in the photo or not but it is very distinct.

As I walk along the wall I get a sense of the terrain. Plenty of ups and downs, crags, views for miles and a taste of the history here. I can see how the Romans used the natural north facing crags to build the wall along to create even more height.

Every Roman mile (420' short of a modern mile), I see the remains of what is known as a milecastle. The Roman’s built these fortlets at each ‘Roman mile’ between the major forts along the wall, a little garrison guarding the gates through the wall. On this walk I have the pleasure of seeing 3 of them.

A turret was a small watch tower, incorporated into the curtain wall of Hadrian's Wall. The turrets were normally spaced at intervals of one third of a Roman mile or two between each milecastle.

Before the first plan was completed, a radical change led to the placing of forts on the wall line and down the Cumbrian coast, and the construction of an earthwork to the south.

The forts, each apparently built for a single unit of Roman soldiers and at a basic spacing of 7⅓ miles, were placed astride the Wall wherever possible.

There were:
17 forts
80 milecastles
160 turrets









It looks like I’m getting closer to the top but I’m really not.

Jo Anne, climbing up these rocks brought back memories of a not so pleasant day. I was so thankful that the wind and rain were not an issue today.



Tiny yellow buttercups sprinkled among the tiniest daisies I’ve ever seen.

And loads of them growing right on top of the stones.

I’ve reached the trig point.





Yes I have! I have reached the summit of Hadrians Wall Path!

And my little finger is almost wrapped tightly around my hiking pole! Thank you Morgan and the rest of the team at Rise Therapy Services for all you’ve done to help me get to this place.

There's a real sense of not only scale but also the logistic issues that must have been there in the creating of Hadrian’s Wall. Not only is the Wall itself especially well preserved here, but it also shows how the soldiers who built it coped with the presence of large outcrops of natural rock - sometimes incorporating it into the Wall, and sometimes almost butting up against it. At one end is Walltown turret, which unusually was first built as a free standing tower, suggesting that it predates the Wall, and was built as part of the Stanegate system of watchtowers linking Carlisle and Corbridge.

Considering the wall I see today is a ruin and that originally it would have stood 3.5 to a great 6 meters high in parts I can feel the undertaking and manpower that must have been involved. It's simply mind-boggling.

Almost from the moment that I first started ascending Windshields Crag from Caw Gap there were superb views, not only of Cawfield Crags behind me, but of the lands to the north and south of the wall. The climb to the highest point of 345m was a test of the lungs and legs. There were lots of clouds interspersed with patches of sunshine. It was the perfect weather to make the views even more dramatic.

"He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." 

Isaiah 40:29-31

I had eagles wings today. 

It is also here in this section of the wall that another great pathway crosses, a pathway running from way way south heading northwards, the Pennine Way. We crossed the Pennine Way while walking Wainwright’s Coast 2 Coast in 2022, but today I will walk about 8 miles of the Pennine Way as it follows along the ruins of the wall.

The summit of Windshields is a commanding viewpoint: South and West are Yorkshire Dales (the moors I remember so well from the C2C), the Northern Pennines and over to Cumbria (Cold Fell at over 600m is the most conspicuous from Hadrian’s Wall), Northwards beyond the ridge is the expanse of Northumberland towards the Scottish Lowlands (my first glimpse of the Cheviots). Absolutely breathtaking!

As I descend, heading toward my lodging for the night, I get a glimpse of what tomorrow holds. I know the views are going to be spectacular. There are a couple of steep climbs but nothing like today.

This is Steel Rig. Sycamore gap is on the agenda for tomorrow as well.

Vicki, this is what you need to do to the hole at the trail instead of a tree, and put a big yellow danger tape ⚠️ around it 🤣. Maybe that would get their attention.

It’s pouring down rain now with the sky completely socked in. What a blessing to be sitting here watching it from the comfort of my room and not up on that mountain with no visibility.

"Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain."
Psalm 48:1

The descent down to Steel Rigg was fairly quick and by the time I finally reached Vallum Lodge I was ready for dinner. The town of Once Brewed consists of a youth hostel, a pub and B&B called Twice Brewed and Vallum Lodge itself. All the buildings are on a small stretch of main road with no pavements (sidewalks). The only place to eat is the pub, which is what I did while waiting on time to check in to the lodge.

I had the club sandwich on gluten free bread. I removed the bread (it was dry) and cut up the chicken and bacon and tossed it with the salad. Of course, everything comes with chips.

Interestingly, if you enter the hamlet from the west the sign says Twice Brewed and if you enter from the east it says Once Brewed.
Vallum Lodge

Cute doorstop

And two beds Jo Anne. I really don’t know why they gave a single traveler the family room. 

Massaging my feet 🤣

This is Sam and Branson, her cocker spaniel.

Sam says she is the luckiest lady in the world. She bought Vallum Lodge in December 2018 and over the last 2 years completely renovated it and made it into the B&B she always dreamed of owning.

She says she is addicted to long distance walking and has shamelessly stolen all the best elements of walker friendly accommodation and incorporated it into the Vallum Lodge. She worked all over the world before settling in this piece of paradise. There are too many amenities to mention them all, but a few that you rarely find are: boot drying facility, laundry done (perfect timing), a foot spa and slippers, a USB charger as well as an international plug adapter. However, the renovating must have been on a really tight budget as it’s pretty shoddy. And the decor leaves much to be desired. It’s also not very clean, for which there’s no excuse. I did thoroughly enjoy the foot spa and the lemongrass and bergamot toiletries. As a matter of fact I was enjoying the foot spa and a perfect brew, watching it rain and blogging. What could be better than that?

Stats
Steps - 28,365
Miles - 11.8
Floors - 108 or 1391’
Time - just under 6 hours

I know I haven’t adequately put into words the emotions of the day. Yes, the wall was a masterpiece created by gifted men. But I continuously found myself looking beyond the wall at the majesty and grandeur of His creation. From the ever changing skies to the tiny little lambs and birdsongs, I was reminded of His glory and Holiness. The words that kept coming to mind are from someone more gifted than I.

Carl Boberg, a Swedish preacher, wrote these words after a unique experience on the southeast coast of Sweden. Boberg’s inspiration for “How Great Thou Art” came from a visit to a beautiful country estate, where he got caught in a midday thunderstorm with awe-inspiring moments of flashing violence, followed by a clear brilliant sun. Soon afterwards he heard the calm, sweet songs of the birds in nearby trees. The experience prompted Boberg to fall to his knees in humble adoration of his mighty God. 

“Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed. 

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. 

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, and then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art. 

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee. How great Thou art, how great Thou art!”