Day 1 - Hadrians Wall Path

Bowness-on-Solway to Carlisle

Today the trip really starts. Yesterday was all in service of getting us to the start line. Today, the metaphorical gun sounded and we began our trip across England. 
Our accommodations came with an option for a traditional English breakfast (which I could not deny) and Gloria enjoyed some porridge, yogurt and fruit. One of us is your role model, the other you’re judging. 

You jelly? Or you judging?


Getting there is half the battle

So this time it sort of was half the battle. I’d done some remarkably deep googling to determine if bus service ran on Sundays. Initial reports said nay, a random Facebook post said there’s a bus-taxi service and yet another trip advisor post suggested there was an actual honest to goodness bus service. The latter looked promising and some more googling indicated it was true and accurate information so we planned accordingly and ended up at the bus stop ready and waiting at 10am. Let me show you a picture of how we got there and you tell me if a bus showed up:

Does this look like the inside of a bus?


Yes dear reader, there was no bus. At least no bus that we could find. Was it somewhere else? I’ll never know. Fortunately we had struck up a conversation with some fellow travellers and we decided to share an Uber to Bowness-on-Solway. Big shout out to our new friends Bryan and David from Iowa. Good people, those Iowans. 

The start

With the travails of public transport behind us we began our hike. The start is well marked and we have the obligatory photo to prove it. 

Rome is that-a-way

The signpost is sort of at the edge of town but the official start has a little hut and an inscription.

Starting line

The trail 

From there the trail varied between protected, forested paths, farmers paddocks, grassy plains and for a good chunk we were on the road. The path in this section is pretty devoid of obvious signs of the Roman wall and it won’t be until tomorrow and thereafter that we really see the history front and centre. 

Lunch break


Lunch for the day was a lovely little pub called the “the Greyhound Inn”.  For me the bigger excitement was taking a rest and getting off my feet. My breakfast was holding strong and just a light snack and small beer was enough to rejuvenate me for the walk ahead. 

Lunch!



We continued our trek through quaint little towns as the path meandered along, sometimes coming close to the River Eden. Eventually the sounds of Carlisle became more pronounced and we could feel the distance starting to make itself known on the lower half of the body. 







The day ended at over 27k and despite the distance (perhaps because of?) we are on cloud nine. This trip has been on our minds for a while and the anticipation the last few months was building. As we sit and rest our tired legs over an English pint we couldn’t be more happy to be here, done our first leg, and ready to face the rest of our journey!

Tomorrow, we are off to Walton  

Stats

Distance today: 28.27k
Time today: 6h 2m
Total distance: 28.27k 
Time walking: 6h 2m






 






Comments

Tony said…
I’m not judging your breakfast. I’d be all in! What about tea ? Or is coffee a non negotiable?
1:37 PM
Rob said…
My goodness the coffee here is terrible. Sadly I’m all in on the need for coffee so I suffer. Will have to blog about it at some point.
12:18 AM
Derek said…
The joys of English transit! At least the breakfast runs on time, every time! Looks like pretty ideal conditions so far and are hopeful that continues. I’m expecting a pint tracker now to go along with your kms. Best of luck your second day on the trail!
6:37 AM

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