Herd of Turtles

 

Thursday, May 26th 2011
Day 3: Humshaugh to Grindon (7 miles + some back-tracking)

We shared our tasty full English breakfasts at a large communal table with a father and son who were also walking the Wall E-W. They had started on Monday and taken three days to cover the distance we did in two, which made us feel like some kind of serious walkers! The father had been given the walk as a gift as he had always had an interest in the Wall since he was a child and he told us how the discovery of the remains of a Roman villa when they were tearing down his barn excited his interest in all things Roman. With all the talking, breakfast was a leisurely and social affair. We also spent some time chatting with Val and her husband who were pleased to show off the work they did converting the barn into their lovely home.

It was another grey morning, but we were excited as we were now firmly in Wall country. We had missed out on some Wall remains yesterday due to our short-cut along the Military Road, so Jess was keen to go back and check them out. We figured this would be OK, as the mileage today was short.
So we crossed back over the river and went to see the remains of Brunton Turret. This is the first of many square protrusions from the Wall that we came across. Originally, all along its length, the Wall had small forts with gates to allow passage through the Wall – these were situated every mile and are known as milecastles. In between each milecastle were two watchtowers, called turrets. These were often built before the Wall, and where the Wall joins them you can often find two different thickness of wall, so that the remains of the turret looks like a badly fitting piece in a Tetris game.

Walking back towards the river, we also opted to take the 1km detour to check out the Chester’s bridge abutment. The permissive path is a nice walk along the river and the site of the bridge abutment is quite picturesque. The remains of stone columns amid other blocks of stone makes you think of better-known classical ruins and maybe on a fine day you could picture yourself somewhere other than the north of England! Maybe it worked for the Roman soldiers too.

Chesters bridge abutment

We retraced our steps, crossed the river again and then continued on the path until we came to Chesters Roman Fort, one of the major fort sites on the Wall. We remembered to stamp our passports in the shop and we took our time visiting this pretty site along the river. The highlights here include the archaeological remains of some parts of the fort (the only fort garrisoned entirely by cavalry) and bath house along with a Victorian museum which houses Roman finds from the area. We easily spent a couple of hours here, including lunch at the small cafe, which does sandwiches, cakes, drinks and ice cream.

Inside Chester’s Fort museum

Susan, Jess and Jacquie checking out the remains of Chesters Fort

The first real climb since the hike up to Heddon-on-the-Wall is just past Chesters heading to Walwick, but you are rewarded for your effort with some great views to the south as you walk up. As we continued climbing, we passed another good chunk of Wall remains at Black Carts, including another turret.

Blackcarts turret

We took a break near the highest point on the path so far, ate chocolate bars and rested our feet for a few minutes along with a number of W-Eers.

Just a bit further on we reached Limestone Corner, the most northerly point of the Roman Empire! There are boulders everywhere left over from the Roman Legions attempts to create the defensive ditch north of the Wall in this rocky terrain.

Limestone Corner

We continued walking along the ditch and the road until Brocolitia Fort. The remains of the fort are turf covered, so there is nothing much to see of the fort. However, behind the fort are the remains of the Mithraeum (or Temple of Mithras), which is excavated and open for walkers to explore. The temple remains include copies of three altars, one of which had a recess for a candle to illuminate the crown on the head of Mithras.

Temple of Mithras

Detail of altar

The sky had started to get very dark and threatening and the wind was picking up. We knew that they were calling for heavy showers late in the day, so we picked up our feet and sped on our way, only slightly slowed down by some mud behind Carraw farm (there are paving slabs to protect you from the worst of it, but they were slick and slippery).

Walking along the Wall ditch, with storm clouds heading our way

We left the path at a gate that gives access to the Military Road, and we walked about a kilometre to The Old Repeater Station where we were staying for the next two nights. Les welcomed us to his home, which is a mixture of B&B and hostel, with big mugs of tea. He’s a bit of a character, but that’s what makes for a memorable host! We were sharing a four-bed bunk room, which I have to warn you is tiny! There isn’t room for four to stand in the room at the same time let alone four people’s luggage, so some bags had to stay in the boiler room down the hall.

As there are no options for dinner within walking distance, Les offers evening meals and is licensed. We shared our meals both nights sitting around the large communal dining table with an older couple who were exploring the area by car, and the first night with a young lady and her dog. Conversation was easy and the meals were tasty. Les offered three options for the main dish with bread and veggies on the side. I recommend his lamb. Some of us had it both nights it was so good!

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