June 7

Mountains here we come. We left Carlisle on the 9:30 am bus to Keswick. The terrain was flat almost all the way and only when we got close to Keswick did we some mountains. The bus station was on the west side of town and our accommodation was on the east side. On the way through the center of town we encountered their market inthe pedestrian only square. Our unit was a 10-min walk away. It was really nice to get into something spacious and clean. We have a nice kitchen and even a clothes washer, which Susie used later for our dirty hiking wear. After a hot drink and a short rest we walked to the center of town to the information centre and got some tips about the hiking trails. With that information and maps from the unit, we were able to take a hike up to the stone circle and then down to the lake and end at supermarket by the bus station. The stone circle was a mini-Stone Henge. We loaded up a backpack with groceries for supper and the next day. It was so nice being able to make a home cooked meal and have some vegetables. Tomorrow we will take a full day hike.

June 6

The end of Hadrian's Wall path. After scouting out our options with regard to getting a bus either to or from Bowness on Solway we opted for riding out and walking back into Carlisle. The bus got us to Bowness around 10:30 am after a nice circuitous ride through the countryside. Even from the high seats we saw a lot of the hedges that grow beside the road. For someone in a car, it must seem like driving through a tunnel. Most of the walk today was an easy stroll along the estuary or through fields and woods. The boring part was a 3 mile straight stretch along a road. Along here we saw our first deer; a doe bounced away as we walked along the berm beside the road. When she was noticed by some cows, one them started chasing her and the doe sped up. Now we have completed our second English trek and managed to have pretty good weather throughout. Tomorrow we will go Keswick for some hiking in the mountainous Lake District.

June 5

Anticlimactic.  After the last few days, today was anticlimactic. The walk was mostly flat and was very pleasant but didn't give us the vistas of the previous two days. It was also somewhat shorter than we expected as we arrived in Carlisle at noon and the check in time at the B&B was 3 pm. There were no sections of the wall to see altho we could see where the wall had been and could see the Roman ditches. Carlisle was much nicer and larger than the guidebook suggested making it a pleasant surprise. There is one oddity that I can't understand and it is the early closing time restaurant; some closed as early as 4 pm. We have been to an ATM to top up our cash and have bus schedules for Bowness on Solway and Keswick.

June 4

An easy day and a history lesson.  We knew that the distance to be covered today was modest so we had breakfast later around 8 am. Then we mosied ourselves up to Hadrian's Wall path and headed west. All along the way the historical descriptions were the best that we have seen along the path; the content was good and the signs were in good repair. Overall the quantity of wall that was available to see was better than we had been led to believe. One of the highlights of the day was watching a farmer shear a sheep.  We also got some video of lambs nursing and wagging their tails a mile a minute.

June 3

Hadrian's wall at its best. Last night we stayed in a really nice B&B in Humshaugh- probable the nicest yet. Our room was nice and we also had a sitting room adjacent to ourselves. They served us a nice English breakfast with eggs from their chickens. The weather today was the wettest that we have had but still not bad. We had a mist coming down most of the day so we made good use of our umbrellas. The best part of today's walk was the amount of wall that was available to see. It wasn't continuous wall but there was much more than we expected. We also got to walk across the Penines today as the Pennine Way and Hadrian's Wall path overlap for about 8 miles. Because of our difficulty in getting accommodation, we had to go further than we wanted today.  I think that it was a bit over 20 miles. Although we were up and down a fair bit, it was not really tiring.  At dinner tonight we learned that we should try get a place in Ambleside and hike from there.

June 2

Today was a much more interesting day.  After a nice breakfast at the Ironsign, we walked almost all the way on grass or dirt foot paths. While views of the wall per se were infrequent we saw lots of the vallum which is the ditch dug north of the wall to discourage invaders. We also saw a small private castle and got our Wall passports stamped at the Robin Hood Inn and Chester's. Tonight we are staying just off the path in Humshaugh.

June 1

Today we carried all of our belongings because the transportation company cannot help us until tomorrow. We spent a good amount of time walking through Newcastle and its suburbs. A lot of Hadrian's path goes along the River Tyne and is tidal for a significant distance. Eventually we arrived at our B&B but well before the check in time so sat in the shade. I used the time to make an adjustment to my left orthotic by cutting about 2-3 mm from the left bottom part.