By
now we are in the swing of walking, the routine starts with a fairly early
breakfast, it is by the way remarkable the different combinations that we use
for the day’s fuel. As the start point was close by today it was an early
9.15am when we were at our start point by Thirlwell Castle. This was a typical
small keep the like of which are dotted around this region. They were
constructed by families as strongholds to defend their interests against the marauding
tribes from the north. According to the information board it performed this
function until the 17th century when it fell into disrepair.
Typically these keeps were made of stone liberated from Hadrian’s Wall; indeed
most of the older buildings in the region were constructed in the same way. It
is no wonder there is not much left of the wall now.
It
was a good job that we started early today, as it was much slower going today,
even though it was only ten miles there was substantial climbing. By the end of
the day we had climbed 1500 feet. The gains in height meant that the views were
excellent particularly showing how the wall followed the undulations of the
countryside over many miles, interspersed with guardhouses and mileposts. At
times however the low cloud and persistent drizzle did detract from the longer
views. You can see that it was not wonderful sunshine from the picture of our
group by the trig point as they commanded the highest point of the walk.
Today
we met the highest number of walkers that we have yet encountered. There were a
significant number of Americans on the trail. It was great to see that we are
attracting visitors to walk far from the traditional tourist centres. I am sure
that they will enjoy their visit all the more for seeing a more “typical” Britain;
indeed they saw it in typical weather.
We
ended at one of the largest Roman forts on the wall at Housesteads. Everybody
was tired but satisfied after a great days walking.
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