Jane's adventures
This blog is about my travels. At home in New Zealand, in other parts of Oceania, North, Central and South America and in Europe.
From Amsterdam, I traveled across to Newcastle in the UK. I liked Newcastle. My time there was caught up by a bit of a dilemma, the tramping boots that I had sent to be repaired hadn't been fixed in time, so I spent a chunk of my first day trying to sort it out. In the end I had to go the walk in my running shoes. While I had used them a lot for running they were far from ideal in the boggy early winter weather, nevertheless, they had to do. Day 1 Delayed by the fruitless hunt for my tramping boots my walk that day started later than I'd like. I wandered from Haddon-on-the-Wall through to the Robin Hood Inn at the wall houses. It was rainy and dark when I arrived and the owner was a warm lady who showed me to my incredibly cozy and warm room and made a vegan burger and chips for my dinner. Day 2 The next day I wandered off following the little acorn symbols that indicated where to go, through the hedgerows and past fields. It was pretty cold and I was starting to look for a spot that wasn't too damp to sit and eat my sandwiches which were getting pretty soggy when I spotted a little coffee house. The prospect of being warm won me over and so I went to visit a lovely little coffee house and got warm soup and had the kindest customer service ever and heard the locals talking about the latest political scandal, giggling away with their geordie accents. In the afternoon I passed through Heavenfield, the site of an ancient battle between pagans and Christians. A tiny little church stood on the site, and there was a very informative series of historical panels inside about the history of the site. I finished that day in the dark as well. My accommodation for that night was a decent walk off the main path, which also meant extra walking time the next day. I was walking the path pretty fast and I had a big day ahead of me. I set my alarm for early the next day and fell asleep pretty fast! Day 3 The next morning I woke up to a gorgeous day! It was fine and clear and frosty. As I walked I started to gain a bit more altitude and see more of the original wall. At the start and the end of the Hadrian's wall path a lot of the original wall has been removed. Over the centuries it was repurposed for farm fencing or for use in houses. But in the middle section the wall is the same as it was built nearly two thousand years ago. Around lunchtime I stopped at an amazing site, it was a temple to Mithras, a god of soldiers. Exposed to the elements for the last two thousand years, I couldn't believe what good condition this little temple was in! I hurried on as I had a lot of ground to cover that day. I saw so much of the fantastic wall, it was truly an amazing feat of Roman engineering. It was intended to keep out the fierce Pictish warriors from the north. I finally finished that day in the dark. The stars on the way had been amazing and just before I got in, I'd met some local star gazers, gazing at the stars on this clear, fine night. I was sure glad to get in to my Inn at Greenhead. I'd been walking for 13 hours! My foot feet were pretty battered from the running shoes, but I strapped them up. Luckily the next day was a shorter one. Day 4 The next day was fine and very frosty as you can see from the photos! I got to my accommodation just as the sun was setting, for once I hadn't arrived in the black dark! My destination for the next day was Carlisle, and from there I would catch the train back to Newcastle. Day 5 The next day I set off to Carlisle. There weren't views of the wall anymore, but I followed the pretty hedgerows through the countryside. I kept walking until I got to Carlisle. I'd made it! The beautiful red bricks of Carlisle Castle were so impressive, and other buildings in the city are the same colour, built of the same bricks. From Carlisle I caught the train back to Newcastle. I'd walked across England! The next day I visited the museum in New Castle which contained relics collected from the Hadrian's wall path.
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I am a traveller from New Zealand. My blog is to inform friends and family about my adventures. I hope you enjoy it! Archives
August 2020
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