The Dénouement!

Day 5 – Saturday 13th July 2024 – Walton to Bowness-on-Solway, 26.62 miles

The subtitle to the final day’s walking should be “What A Slog” and it was!

Had a great breakfast at the wonderful Old Vicarage Brewery and B&B (I guess by now you realise that it’s a kinda special place! :)) and then set off on the last walk of of the trail, which I’d originally plotted at 25.7 miles but which, no errors on my part, turned out to be about a mile further.  It was a long walk and my toes were still sore from the previous day’s tramp – but I’m sure the Legionnaires didn’t complain (or it was off to visit the lions for them!).

Set off relatively early at 8:45 starting, walking through the pretty village of Walton with an impressive church and a an even more impressive bus shelter which doubles as the village library. Shortly after, I left the road and starting ambling across pleasant fields with good going underfoot and gentle hills – far less rugged than the previous two days. At one point I was walking on the wall again – albeit being buried several feet below the path – but visible as a hump nonetheless.

I met a couple of young Scots walking in the other direction who were camping all the way and joked with them about the wall having been built to keep “their types” out. They took it in good humour which was just as well as they were a lot bigger, younger and fitter looking than me!

There was another long and well preserved (reconstructed?) section of the wall leading to a second modern and also quite elegant bridge over the River Irthing and then on to Blea Tarn (not the Lake District Blea Tarn!) at which there was a very good explanation of the structure of the wall and the ditches – Vallums (Vallae?) either side of it along which I’d spent what seemed like endless miles walking between Heddon-on-the Wall and Chollerford!

After Crosby-on-Eden I reached the River Eden which is rather lovely and which I was to follow for several miles on today’s walk. I crossed the M6 motorway at Linstock Bridge and met our great friends Tony and Natalie not long after.  They live in Carlisle and he and a friend (Natalie’s cousin Simon) were walking the wall in the opposite direction the following week – wisely taking 6 days over it. We walked together with their dog and had a great old “catch up natter” as we strolled through Rickerby Park, close to which they live, and to the Sands Leisure Centre where we met Noelene and got my passport stamped again.  We arranged to meet them the following day to look at their new house and have lunch (which turned out to be wonderful!).  I left the three of them chatting, Noelene later going for a swim, as I headed  off, still following the river, through Carlisle’s impressive parks. At this stage I’d done 11.5 miles and thought I therefore only had 14 to go. WRONG!

I continued along the river, past very busy playing fields and under the West Coast Main Line and A689 before reaching Grinsdale, then along roads to Beaumont and Burgh-by-Sands almost on the Solway Firth.  It was at Burgh-by-Sands that Edward I died doing battle with Robert The Bruce in 1307 and there is an impressive memorial to him, unveiled  700 years later on 07/07/07 – presumable at seven minutes past seven!

By now my feet were beginning to ache, I had a twinge in my knee and a bit of a pain in my lower back (oh the joys of being 75!) but there were still about seven miles to go so – on, on, on! The next five miles were on a very boring and straight tarmac road running parallel to but some distance away from the Solway Firth which I’d like to have been able to see.

Eventually, at Drumburgh, the trail went down a series of farm tracks to Glasson and then very close to the coast to Port Carlisle (not longer a port) which has quite an interesting history – though I barely glanced at the information board as “the end was in sight” – well, almost!

Soon I was back on the coast road but with only a mile to go. I was aching, footsore, thirsty (I’d run out of water!) but finally reached the arched finish at Rampart Head at around 6:45. Noelene joined me shortly after with glasses of bubbly and we celebrated the end of another walk, gave my passport its final stamp and hurried off to the Wallsend B&B as the proprietors were anxious to go on a “night out on the town” (in Bowness that means the pub!).

Wallsend B&B is lovely and we had a great room but we weren’t very impressed with the attitude of the hosts but hey ho.  I had a good long shower, changed into civvies and we headed to The King’s Arms for dinner from their very retro menu.  I had fish and chips  and a couple of pints of a very forgettable pale ale – the most disappointing of the walk. But then to bed for a very well earned night’s sleep 😊.

Day 5 And Overall Impressions

It was too bloody far, too much on tarmac and I should’ve been more conservative and taken six days over the walk! BUT – I was very proud of myself – at 75 having done it in five days when most, much younger, walkers take six.  As with the first leg on the Hadrian’s Wall Path the last had its highlights but was mostly a hell of a slog and I was glad when I finished and I did feel the joyful satisfaction at having completed the trail – though unlike other long distance walks I’ve completed – I hadn’t wanted it to not end.

My final words – the Hadrian’s Wall Path isn’t the best I’ve walked but it is mostly fascinating, there are placed of beautiful scenery with delightfully rugged countryside and there are great places to stay – we found a couple of them at least.  Do it – you won’t regret it.

Some Day 5 Photos