The
final morning brings blue sky and bright sunshine as we check out of The
Wheatsheaf, shoulder our full packs and scour the co-op for the day’s supplies.
By the time we’ve circled the village for the last time it is clear, as we
await the AD122 bus, that despite the sun we will need our coats on in the
brisk wind.
The
bus deposits us, just before 11 o’clock, back in Wall outside the Hadrian Hotel
and soon we pick up the Path along the A road to Chollerford. Here we cross the
river by the old single carriageway bridge while viewing the site of the even
older roman crossing, upstream at Chesters.
Back
on the Military Road we head uphill, past Chesters Fort, and it’s only at the
hamlet of Walwick, after 2 miles of pavement, that we are finally routed first into
a country lane and then across some pleasant fields. Here a passing national
park warden pauses in his litter-picking to warn us of the changeable weather expected.
Sure
enough the blue sky is getting harder to find with clouds gathering and soon
the wind gets colder, icy rain begins to fall, followed by just falling ice in
the form of fine hail, before finishing off with a flurry of snow. Cold, damp
but undeterred we press onward and upward, once again parallel to the Military
Road, past Black Carts to our first (well ruined) bit of wall for the day.
After
a steady climb up to 250m we level off onto the moor gaining fantastic
panoramic views to the north over the North Tyne valley and the Northumberland
National Park. The sky is huge up here and we can see a lot of weather today –
large patches of sunlit valley, hordes of scudding clouds and darker masses
trailing curtains of rain showers here and there. One of those comes our way
and gives us another drenching.
The
planned lunch stop is at Brocolitia Fort, but this turns out to be just a car
park and a large fenced field offering no shelter. We join a few lambs
hunkering down out of the wind in one of the field’s undulations and quickly
devour our co-op supplies.
Any
disappointment with Brocolitia is soon forgotten as the Path crosses the moor
to the remains of a Mithraic temple, complete with altars and statuary (cast
from the originals now in the Newcastle Museum). The scene is enhanced by lambs
using it as a playground.
The
Path soon reverts to type, crossing fields punctuated by stiles (thankfully fewer
up here on the moor top than yesterday), hugging the edge of the military way,
until finally, after 7 miles today, and 21 miles since Heddon, we see it fork
off to the left and leave us to pursue the line of the wall on our own.
In
the absence of the road, the remains of the wall proliferate, including bits of
turrets and milecastles, as we climb up to Sewingshields Crags. With more fine
hail filtering through the pine woods it’s more like November than April, but
not unpleasant. Now the wall becomes a continuous companion as we rise to the crag
top trig point at 325m. From here it should be a short step to complete the two
miles to Housesteads, but although the wall can be seen snaking away over the
hills to the west, of our destination there is no sign.
A
brief sunny interlude enables us to stroll shirt-sleeved downhill, both a
refreshing change, but then we are misdirected through the ‘Kings Wicket’ to
the north of the wall, down below crags amid the ankle-breaking debris of
centuries. Painstakingly we pick our way forward and eventually regain the wall
and see Housesteads just 100 yards ahead.
Feeling
triumphant, if a little sad, at the imminent completion of the final stage, we
stop to absorb the achievement. But only for 30 seconds as the sunshine is now
long gone and a hailstorm is heading our way. The petit-pois sized stones are
quite amusing at first, but when full size frozen peas begin pelting us it is
time to beat a hasty decline to the visitor centre half a mile down the hill.
The green grass rapidly turns white under the carpet of hail and the
bombardment becomes physically painful, then scary when forked lightning and
simultaneous deafening thunder hit, creating a dramatic climax to the Ancient
Roam.
The
visitor centre should provide refreshment (the first available all day) and
shelter for the one hour wait for the bus. However disaster strikes – the
centre is closed for renovations and is nothing more than a fenced off building
site with just 3 portaloos for emergencies. Fortunately the workmen have left
for the day so we can scramble geriatically over a wall and huddle in a covered
archway. Here, watching the pounding hail, we consume what food can be found
remaining in our rucksacks – crisps, biscuits, even fruit – and speculate
whether we could survive here overnight if the bus lets us down.
No
need to worry. The good old AD122 turns up on time and whisks us back to
Newcastle, back along the Military Road enabling us to relive the walk in
reverse – 3 days compressed into 1½ hours. The familiar landmarks and watering
holes unravel – the Military Road, Brocolitia, the Hadrian Hotel, Hexham
Station, Corbridge, The Errington Arms at the Portgate, more Military Road, the
Robin Hood Inn, the field of naughty lambs, Vindobala, the Wall that Heddon is
on; and eventually, Newcastle Station.
Here,
at 7pm, we get warm in WH Smith’s and have our first hot drink since 9am before
boarding a comfortable train back to Darlington. We use the half hour journey to
reflect on the job well done, to anticipate the return to home comforts, and to
speculate on the next challenge.
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