HWP Day 3: Heddon to Chollerford / Humshaugh

Posted byPeter IrelandPosted inHadrian's WallTags:, , , ,

Today reminded us why we come back to England to go walking – the countryside. We loved the friendly sheep and the very friendly horse. We gave space to the cows and the bulls let us know we weren’t welcome. The blackberries are great for eating in September, but there’s always a stinging nettle that gets you. The weather was fine and I dare not say it was too hot, but I do have a new tan line. The variety of stiles kept us on our toes, especially after the day’s 10 mile mark when the legs were less cooperative. The day started with a fine breakfast at the Wormauld B&B and ended with a very tasty dinner. We counted 83 hikers coming the other way and about 10 going our way, but we felt “on our own” for the majority of the day, except for the sheep!

Friendly
Not so friendly
A bit TOO friendly
Watch out
Don’t fall in these
Eat!!

For those unfamiliar with walking in Britain, it’s quite normal to go through a farmer’s field. If there is a Public Footpath sign and a stile or similar to assist with negotiating the fence, off you go! But you need to stay on the footpath, unless navigating around a stubborn cow.

Assumes sheep are fatter than human legs!
Pavers sticking out of a drystone wall
Over you go
A simple gate at the entrance to the field where there used to be a milecastle

So what about the wall? The guidebooks warn of the lack of wall today and the long hike along a road. Instead of HWP, you might be tempted to call this section the BSTOEP (B6318 path) but it was not nearly as bad as expected.

Hiking the BSTOEP
I’m glad we don’t hike along the A69 to Carlisle.

While some short sections are on the road’s shoulder, which feels a bit hairy when trucks zoom by, the vast majority are on paths away from the road, some quite a distance. There was a surprising variety in the paths, and some of it followed “the ditch” (a.k.a the vallum).

Watch out for that stinging nettle.
Lots of undulations today. The trail is not flat!
I imagined the rocks were from the wall. And that is a mole hill, to be distinguished from a cow patty!
A quick bit of bird watching as we passed Whittle Dene Reservoir
Spot the sheep!
The trail through the Stanley Plantation was like a tree graveyard! It looks they they have replanted but it will take a while for the saplings to grow large.
When the path gets onto the ridge, the view opens up.
The ditch is between the path and the road. As we won’t see Sycamore Gap’s tree, I enjoyed this one!

What was memorable about the wall today? It was nice to return to Heddon’s wall when it wasn’t raining. By the time we got to Planetrees, we were pretty tired, and we too tired to consider looking at Chester’s – even the bridge abutment! We look forward to lots more wall tomorrow and the day after.

The Heddon wall
Planetrees
I was impressed how square all the rocks were in Planetrees.

The other highlights of the day are best described with pictures, not least because that is how I remember them!

There is the Vindobala fort, which is different from Vindolanda. While this one is on the trail, it is not excavated so is just grass-covered earth. What made this a bit surreal was the line of airplanes flying overhead on their approach to Newcastle Airport.
This was the muddiest patch so far. Janet wears boots and I wear trail runners and we are both happy. While I was happy to use my poles all day, Janet stopped using them and won’t bring them tomorrow, but I will have mine if needed.
The Northumberland flag in Harlow Hill
Chilling out on the reservoir
Happy to arrive at the Robin Hood Inn, shortly after the reservoir.
The fields are not just for sheep and cows!
I did not know that ewes had pre-natal vitamins!
Horsey got a bit TOO friendly and wanted my lunch. I expect other hikers have given him a treat. Don’t do it!!
Cool view from the middle of the road, but there are only a few seconds to take the picture…
I love shadow pictures. It proves the sun was shining today!!
Ok. So this is good news and bad news. More things to see, but more people to see such things with. We shall find out how it is tomorrow.
A pretty bridge over the River North Tyne at Chollerford
The grand bath in our room at Linden House B&B in Humshaugh.
The view from our window, with a robotic lawn mower to watch as a bonus!
The long day was rounded off with a very fine dinner at The Crown Inn. We had missed lamb shank! With a good night’s sleep, we’ll be ready for tomorrow! This is the front of our B&B

This blog post is linked to from my Hadrian’s Wall Path page, where you can find the accounts of the other days in this adventure.

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Published by Peter Ireland

"Cajunlimeys" combines Lousiana (Janet) and England (Peter). For "limeys," check out scurvy in the English navy. We love adventures and use blogging to write a photo diary to preserve our memories. Some crazy friends enjoy following us and my notes might help others plan.

8 thoughts on “HWP Day 3: Heddon to Chollerford / Humshaugh”

  1. Love the pictures! I even have a new appreciation to not make a “mountain out of a molehill!” What beautiful countrysides. Janet will need to make some preserves out of those blackberries!!

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    1. Mel, we booked this trip through Mac’s Adventures so that doesn’t give a good room cost. We have planned future trips ourselves and have realized they charge a large mark up, if they earn it as it takes a lot of time to plan. I’ve been looking at costs where we stay and B&Bs have been about 100 GBP whereas the current hotel is 143 GBP. Prices in the Cotswolds were about 120 and London more like 200, but there might be cheaper options. These prices are for two people in a double. Then there is the luggage transport, if you choose to use them, and that varies quite a lot depending on area and number of bags. Hadrian’s Haul does this route but I have not checked their prices. Hopes that helps!

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      2. One option that is a compromise would be to camp and use a luggage transfer service. I think that they pick up from campgrounds. Guidebooks talk about wild camping and it’s easier in some places than others.

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      4. Indeed. Every camper I pass, I am glad I am not in a tent! I camp with my son, but we strive to get away from everything. With research, there will be cheaper options. We passed a YHA at Twice Brewed and the Greenhead hostel. There are also cheaper hotels (Premier Inn, Travelodge) in the big cities. Guidebooks help with this. When booking a package, such places are not options but you can find them. Without a tent and with only essentials, the pack weight should not be too bad. We are thinking of carrying our own stuff in the future so we don’t have to follow well-established routes.

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