It wasn’t the best start to our adventure - day one Bowness-on-Solway to Carlisle we endured 2 hours of dry weather, 5 hours of rain drizzling at first but ending with an hour of harder rain at the end. 

 

The evening progressed with thundery downpours for about 4 hours but this was all eased by enjoying our Hotel Chocolate bars purchased in Carlisle the day before.

 

Day Two: Carlisle to Walton

What we didn’t realise as we walked to the start point of day 2 was that yesterday’s water flowed down to Carlisle overnight. When we went round a corner following the Hadrian's Wall finger post it went down a slope into the river which had spectacularly burst its banks. 

 

The local golf course, also under water helped by phoning for a taxi to the next village on higher ground. 

The friendliness of walkers on the same route added to the day - we helped a group of Americans and walked together until we reached our day 2 accommodation literally one minute from the route, a very welcoming stay at Walton.
 

Day Three: Walton to Once Brewed

Day three was a big one - Walton to Once Brewed. This was a very interesting part of the route packed with some Roman sites, a castle ruin, an amazing arched bridge as well as views for miles - enough to satisfy anyone who likes “big skies”. 

 

There was a very well-stocked snack shed in a small patch of woodland - flapjack, biscuits, drinks, porridge, pot noodles and even dry socks! Our pedometer said today was 22 miles of walking and it ended with a 2 3/4 mile massive climb to the Steel Rigg trig point. Amazing views included being able to see our pub accommodation for the night. 

 

The Twice Brewed pub is brilliant with thoughtfulness given to walkers - the bedroom has a cupboard in the corner with a small radiator, set up perfectly to hang damp clothes and a basket for your boots, very helpful as we had light drizzle for a couple of hours in the afternoon. 
 

Day Four: Once Brewed to Chollerford

Day four and early on we passed the sad site of the sycamore gap stump. 

 

Onward and upward again to the Sewingshields trig point and then downhill to fields and lots of stiles and some marshy bogs. A welcome new experience was a roadside van with coffee facilities and seats in a car park at Brocolitia Roman Fort that gave us a good boost for the rest of the walk. Today ended walking a long, straight Roman road to Chollerford.

 

Day Five: Chollerford to Wylam

Up bright and early for the penultimate day and an early start as the forecast featured a lot of wet stuff again. Stopped for a drink at Errington Coffee House and chats with other walkers. And then the rain came for hours. 

 

The walking was easy enough on grassy paths but the rain made it quite muddy. A good find was a bird hide at Great Northern Lake to have a short rest indoors. 

 

The last part of the walk was dry weather (hurray) and a well-deserved coffee stop at Heddon-on-the-Wall garage for coffee and chocolate. Unfortunately that was not the end of walking for us today - our accommodation was in Wylam 4 miles away. Perhaps we would have tried to arrange a taxi ride rather than walk if we had known we would get caught by 2 thundery downpours on the way. 

 

So we turned up at our B&B Laburnum House like two drowned rats. Our bedroom had a bath which was such a treat to lay back and soak the long walk of the day away. Then downstairs to the En Glaze Bistro for a beautiful meal. So nice to only have to go upstairs at the end of the evening.

 

Day Six: Wylam to Wallsend

The last day of our adventure. A tip would be, as the whole walk is on paved paths, to wear walking shoes rather than walking boots. 

 

The path to Wallsend winds its way right into Newcastle city centre and amazed the Geordie half of us with paths unknown to someone who thought they knew the area albeit decades ago. 

 
It’s taken a long time but we have found the type of holiday that suits us and enriches our lives - walking, landscapes, monuments, nature and big skies.

One adventure completed, plenty more to come.