New Adventures

Roman Emperor Hadrian ruled from 117-138. One of the things he's remembered for is the wall* that he had the Roman army build across the top of England.  

*Classic "Build the Wall" strategy: the alleged purpose was to keep the barbarians out (didn't work btw) but in practice, very useful in keeping the Roman army busy and out of Hadrian's hair.

So the wall is around 1800 years old, and stretches 73 miles from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. The Roman fortifications included a steep ditch to the north of the wall, and, every mile, a milecastle where troops were on station, and between each milecastle, two watchtowers.

For some of those miles, of course, the structures no longer exist—Imagine having a neat stack of beautifully quarried blocks just SITTING there century after century. Of course the rock was repurposed by the locals.

Why, you might ask, is she telling us this? Because since I was a young reader, I have wanted to visit Hadrian's Wall. 

Using a big birthday as an excuse, I packed up my kit and betook myself to Corbridge, a little bitty village in the heart of  Northumberland in the north of England.

The bridge over the river Cor.

I went solo—a decision for which I was profoundly grateful on Day 2 of my walk, when the unending descents and ascents of slippery rock staircases were certainly NOT on the menu when I'd tried to lure my friends to come along.  
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John and Allison from York, trail friends, climbing a slippery slope.

There's a lot to unpack for me about the stretch of doing something quite new without companions. It was profoundly rewarding to—like any 2-year-old will say—accomplish this myself.  ​

I hiked around 28 miles across three days. ​

I lost count of the stiles, the stairways, the sheep, the suspicious cattle.

​It's a polite walking culture in the UK, and I was not the only solo woman on the trail. I slept soundly in very pleasant accommodations (Thanks Joe "Puma" Froehock for the recommendation of Mac's Adventures!).

Mac's Adventures comes with a neat-o phone ap. Yes, that orange blob is me, side-questing.

Conversations were struck up.
Vistas were admired.

Inspiration for book two was discovered.
Complaints and old-man noises were made.
​I checked my heart-rate kind of a lot. ​
Shelter was taken during the inevitable rain (ask me about my Tyvek rain skirt!). ​

Sandwiches involving watercress were eaten al fresco with sheep as audience.  KT tape became a trusted pal. 

And it was over all too soon.

Knock wood my physical plant and my pocketbook will allow a repeat.  Maybe the Cumbria Way walk. Or a bit of the 670-mile-long South West Coast Pathway? Jeepers. Wait, the Pilgrim way to Lindesfarne—ooooh.

This hike was sandwiched between a few days in London and Newcastle. Not enough armchair adventure? Find me @amysmithlinton on Instagram for more about the trip.