Day 6

Today was a rest day in that I was not moving any further west along the wall.  I booked an extra night at the Twice-Brewed Inn so I could spend part of a day at Vindolanda, a nearby Roman Fort and still active archeological site.   Thus, after an excellent breakfast of smoked salmon benedict (I am not sure I am going to lose any weight on this hike…..!) I set off on the one and a half mile walk to the site, walking once again on narrow country roads.  As I turned off on the road leading directly to the fort and museum I had to be careful- the road narrowed to a single lane and was quite busy (relatively speaking) with other visitors coming and going.  I noticed several buses in the parking lot as I arrived and once I entered the site realized there were several school groups on field trips roaming around.

I passed a real life thatched cottage on my way to Vindolanda. I hope there is an actual modern roof under the thatch!

The Vindolanda excavation is very well known and considered one of the most important in England, as well as for Roman history.  The fort and village, which sits adjacent to the fort immediately outside the walls, have been unearthed to the foundations, revealing the extent and layout of the site.  But more importantly, because of the soil conditions in this area (clay), everyday artifacts made of leather, wood and paper which normally decompose over time, have been preserved intact.  No where else has such a treasure trove of everyday items been found.  Incredibly, the archeologists unearthed 2500 or so “tablets”, paper thin post-card sized wooden writing sheets which were still legible documenting mundane topics such as birthday party invitations, pleas for more underwear, storage and supply lists and so on.  Experts are still studying these insights into life on the frontier of the Roman empire.  I spent several hours in the museum at the site where many of the artifacts are displayed (some are also in the British Museum).

Big picture view of the Vindolanda site. It was quite sprawling.

A view down the “Main Street” of the village leading to the fort.

Archeologists, many amateur, are still working to reveal part of the foundations and it is possible to watch them at work.  I was lucky enough to arrive just as a guided tour of the site was heading out and quickly joined.  The tour guide walked us through the foundations, explaining what purpose some of the buildings served (based on the artifacts that were found in them).  He also described the basic layout of Roman forts, which I was a bit familiar with after visiting Chester’s Fort earlier.  The Romans were very consistent in their fort design!  In addition to the ruins and museum, two reconstructions of Hadrian’s Wall, one in wood and the other in stone, provided an example of what the wall might have looked like when it was intact.  Overall I spent nearly three hours there, wandering around and exploring.

They found thousands of well-preserved leather shoes at the site- preserved because of the anaerobic soil conditions. Much of the footwear looks familiar.

The rest of the day was spent reading and relaxing as well as catching the early World Cup match.

The foundations for the garrison commander’s house. Note the green courtyard in the center.

The grain storehouse. Note the elevated floor to allow air to circulate so the grain did not spoil. The bathhouse also had elevated floors- for heating.

Day 7

The day was partly cloudy but no rain was forecast although I was going to be facing a headwind with gusts near 40mph.  So I layered up and headed back to the trail to head west for my 8ish mile walk to my evening’s stop.  The trail was going to be a lot of up and down for most of the day but the good news was I was going to pass over the highest point so successive days would be mainly descending.  I was not on the trail long when I noticed large pink signs with arrows pointing out the trail for those heading east.  Shortly after I saw the first sign, a gentleman in shorts and a T-shirt with a race tag ran (yes, ran) by.  I managed to ask him if there was a race today and he had enough energy to nod.  About half an hour later, another guy ran by and from him I learned that it was a 70 mile race with the destination being Newcastle.  From the next two guys, which were about two miles behind the first two, I learned that the starting point was Carlisle.  From then on, as I walked west, up and down steep inclines, through grassy fields, over stiles and through gates, a steady stream of people passed me hiking/running in the other direction.  I was starting to feel inadequate.   I was taking ten days to walk 84 miles and all of these people (there were about 1200 entered, I found out) were going to complete the 70 mile leg in a day!  I stopped to chat with one of the volunteers stationed along the way and he told me that some people take over 24 hours to complete it.  I suspect the first guy I passed would finish between 10-12 hours (maybe faster).  It was an entertaining morning and I decided to cheer everyone on as they passed me, much to their surprise….

Another view illustrating the steep hills in the central part of the walk. Down was harder!

Now you see it, now you don’t. An example of how nature has worked to bury the wall.

So it went for three hours until I reached the Army Fort museum where I veered off the trail for a visit.  It turned out there was a major pit stop/lunch stop for the racers near the museum and I think I saw the bulk of them at that location.  (They apparently had timed starts every 30 minutes, between 6am-7am.). The Army museum was on the location of another old Roman fort, but unlike Vindolanda there was not much to see at the site, but I had stopped to check out the museum which had more information about Roman army life.  I only spent about an hour there but as I emerged and sat down for lunch at a picnic table, noticed that the racers were still pouring into their lunch spot.  This was the group that was going to be on the trail for 24 hours— I had no doubt.

Another example of a milecastle along the wall where soldiers were stationed to watch the north.

Back on the trail, I had only a few more hills to clamber down but at this point I was exposed to the main force force of the wind and felt like I was almost bent double to move forward!  Luckily the trail dipped down into the defensive vallum (ditch) the Romans had built on the south side of the wall, which was still present, and I was shielded somewhat from the main gusts.  As I emerged from the ditch, which followed the descent down the hill, the path wandered through the trees, again providing some shielding!

I veered off the trail one more time to take a look at Thirlwall Castle, a castle built over a 1000 years ago with stones taken from the wall.  About half the exterior structure was still intact and I tried to map the interior of the Newcastle castle keep into the ruin I saw before me.  After circling the ruin, I was back on the trail for a leisurely 30 minute hike to my evening’s accommodation in Gilsland.

An example of the stone wall (central and east coast)

A simulation of the wood wall (west coast construction where stone was not readily available).