Without a doubt, Thursday was to be our most difficult day. The rain had stopped, but from the looks of the sky, it was probably only temporary.
Here is Max, our host and chef at our B&B--The Old Repeater Station (http://www.hadrians-wall-bedandbreakfast.co.uk/) This cozy place had given us a good night's rest and a tasty dinner. Simple room, but roomier than some, clean, and had good beds. One other family was spending the night there as well. They, too, were hiking Hadrian's Wall Path, and we would meet up with the Craddocks and their son Oscar several more times before we finished the trail. We enjoyed a pleasant breakfast together, donned our rain gear, and started out.
Looking back to our B&B. If you click on the picture, it really is there in the distance!
When we recrossed Sewingshield Farm (not raining this time!) we passed by a "netty." Can you guess what it was? My "guide" informed me it is "a privy with a seat in situ." Sorry, no pics!
We climbed back up the hill to rejoin the trail and then continued to climb!
The clouds were scudding along, but so far, no rain.
It wasn't long till we caught up with the Craddocks and exchanged pictures.
I have rain pants over regular pants because yesterday my jeans got soaked!
I wanted to see Wall . . . Well today we saw Wall. Miles and miles of it!
It was beinning to look like the rain was not going to happen, thank goodness, but we were facing a very strong head wind. These crags are continuous--up and down, up and down. The wind was better on the downs, but the ups were dreadful at times.
Sometimes the paths were very steep, and others not so bad. The miles today were going to pass a lot slower than they had up to this point.
Russ has already come out of his jacket, even in the wind, which was pretty cool. About 60 degrees.
We passed the King's Wicket, Kennel Crags, Clew Hill, and Broomlee Lough (lake).
The walking would have been easy on stretches like this, if it hadn't been for that pesky headwind!
We did not leave the trail to view the Roman fort at Housteads. I wanted NO extra hiking!
Here is Housteads Crag from Cuddy's Crag.
Occasionally we left the open country for a short wooded area--like this.
It was time to come out of that extra layer of clothes and try to figure out how far we'd come. More importantly, how far we had left to go!
Russ got a great picture at Milecastle 37. You have to click to see it well.
The Romans had milecastles from coast to coast, but they were not the exact equivalent of our mile. They were basically gateways through the wall where the Romans controlled passage. There were 81 of them altogether, and the ones that remain are in various states of preservation. The Wall also included turrets, garrisons, forts etc. It was more to control immigration than a fighting line to prevent invasion. Hmmm . . .
Crag Lough
Passing on by the lake . . .
and leaving it behind . . .
and way behind!
Sycamore Gap, where Kevin Costner in "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves," rode to rescue a boy up a tree. It's also called "Robin Hood's Gap." That's Rusty glowering under the tree!
Milecastle 42
Climbing up to Windshields Crag
Rusty at the top of Windshields Crag, the highest point of the hike. A whopping 1,131 feet high. But tell me this, if you go up and down 1,000 feet fifty times in one day, isn't that at least equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest???
Well, I made it TOO!
View from the top, and . . .
Judy contemplating the next 10 miles . . .
Rusty getting blown away with that gale-force wind facing us! Do I seem to complain about the wind a lot?
Here is a great picture of Mary and Peter Becket again, approaching Steel Rig. Can you see the wind blowing? It's a miracle the Wall is still there!
Beautiful Hadrian's Wall Path in the Northumber land National Park! Isn't it beautiful?
After several more miles of ups and downs, we are starting to descend to a lower elevation.
Past Caw Gap, Bogle Hole, Thorny Doors, and Cawfields Crags. Love those British names!
Here I am, marking the halfway point of Hadrian's Wall Path. We must be 42 miles from the start, and 42 miles to go! It's time to celebrate with a five minute rest!
And finally to Cawfields Quarry. A carpark, picnic area and yipee . . . public restrooms!
Now this is more like it. Back in civilization!
Russ and I parted ways here so I could take a shortcut down the hill, onto a road, then a bike path to . . .
the little village of Greenhead!
I limped past a dozen houses to . . .
our B&B, the Greenhead Hotel. Russ stayed on the trail and showed up an hour later!
I don't think anything ever looked this good!
The only thing that could have been better was a 6-foot jacuzzi bathtub!
