Day 4 !!!!

I cannot believe how lucky I was yesterday with the weather. Best day to view the wall and had nice weather. Woke this morning to a horrible grey rainy start which turned into a whole days rain. Oh well. I am a strong believer in yin & yang. Today is payback. Waterproofs at the ready.

Stayed in a nice but freaky B&B. It was like a cross between the house in Marchlands & the 1930s house. Freaked me out. Every time anyone opened or shut a door anywhere in the house my door handle rattled like someone was trying the key. !! All the decor could have been from the 1940's !

Meal last night was in the only cafe in the town of Gilsland called The House Of Meg which is apparently haunted and has some horrible tales about Meg. Google it if u like.

Met more Americans from Texas and Montana. They fly on a plane for 6-7 hours to see the wall and walk it. That makes me feel a bit blessed to be here.

As you can see from the pictures the wall went sort of "underground" for miles and miles.

Personally today can be described as my low point. Sorry but bear with me. I do not intend to get all emotional and depressive. Honest. ;). But I think there is always a point in any trip where you get that missing family/home stage and mine was today. I cannot believe that I am coming home tomorrow. To say i cannot wait is the understatement of the decade. Job done.

The rain has turned every Cumbrian field into a sort of mud held together with grass. As soon as your foot hits ground your foot disappears completely. I started to try and find hard ground by walking around but in the end I found this uses too much energy and boots can be cleaned at the end of the day.

There are honesty boxes and huts along the way. One in an open garden and another in a sheep pen !! Really nice touch. Apparently the Cumbrians are the only ones to do this and I haven't seen it until now. There is supposed to be loads on tomorrows trek. Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway. The famous end of the east to west walk. Should be a dead flat 15 miles but we will see !! My train is at 5 pm so I aim to set off about 7:30 am.

Walked so far 84 miles in 4 days. Climbed over 6000 feet and back down again. There is a good pic of my app that shows the climb up from sea level in Tynemouth to today where I ended up in Carlisle near sea level again. I burnt off 8500 calories. Walked for 25 hours. I still cannot believe the distance I clocked up. I was to be honest not prepared for this distance. I thought it might get to 90 for the 5 days but now it looks like it will be closer to 100. I am well chuffed with my pace of nearly 4 miles an hour. I admit that some painkillers have been consumed as well as half a large bag of jelly babies today !! And I have just demolished a KFC ! It was the only eating place open for a quick takeout and I am now lying in my bed waiting for sleep to come which will be any minute................ now. !!!

Night all and thank you for reading this blog. I assume there are some out there ? No one ever comments ! British manners be gone. Add some comments if you want. No worries. Thanks again and if you can please please do donate. Xxx

Day 3 !!!

After an early night in quite possibly the best "inexpensive" farmhouse B&B on the whole trail. I feel surprisingly good and ready for another day. Slept for 9 hours like a baby. Glad I remembered to wear a nappie ! Heeheehahhaha

The lovely lady washed and dried my jacket, fleece and hat for me. I only asked her to dry them. They were a bit 'ahem' sweaty. Sorry, disgusting I know. What a nice thing to do. I may end up partly respectable on Friday. Mind you I still aim to clearout the train carriage for the trip home !!

Went down for a full cooked English brekkie and it was fantastic. Met 3 old ladies on the next table and we had a right laugh. I honestly have no idea why but I love the company of older people, especially old ladies. They seemed to like me too. They were quite well to do and were hilarious. They came to this B&B for a walking holiday but have yet to do any walking ! The older they get the worse they get. I offered to race them to the first milestone. Just in case they took me up on it I dashed out to get a headstart. Hehe !! Only joking.

I insist every single person adds this days walk to their bucket list. From around Sewingshields Crags to Walltown !!!! Check it out please !! What I witnessed today was simply stunning. It has got to be one of the most amazing historical sites in the world and why it isn't recognised more is unbelievable. The wall is virtually complete, restored and climbs up & down following the highest peaks of crags and hills for mile after mile. Take a look at the pictures below.

The ditch is completely redundant now as the natural drop to the north Scottish side does the job perfectly.

Once again however the people you meet are the best part by far. Met a brilliant couple from Melbourne, Aus. Another pair from Gent, Belguim and a couple from Canada. There were some Americans & Brits too ofcourse. Also some saddos like me on their own. I am not alone in being alone !! Haha !

I also found the exact spot on the wall where a picture I downloaded off tinternet was. I have been looking at this picture for months as my desktop wallpaper. It is also the one on this blog and the justgiving site too.

Also a bit wierd that I spotted another national trail "The Pennine Way" crossing over Hadrians Wall Trail. Strange to think I could have turned left (south) and gone on a 290 mile trail to near Derby. Maybe another time !!

Here are the pictures. Hope you like them. If you want to donate please click the Donate button above. Thank you.