From Blue Mountains to Hadrian’s Wall – By Dick Edwards

Each June for five years between 2005 and 2010, I had the good fortune to lead an end-to-end hike on the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail in England. The trip was operated by Natural Outings, a Canadian Company, which was run by Bob and Gail Douglas from Erin, Ontario. This footpath follows the remains of a defensive stone wall ordered to be built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, completed in the year 122 A.D. Yes, that’s 122 A.D.! Not a recent event! For 400 years, Roman soldiers manned the wall to safeguard English citizens of the Roman Empire from the wild and woolly barbarians to the north, known more affectionately today as the Scots. The 130km trail extends from the east side of England at the original end of the wall, now a suburb of Newcastle-on-Tyne, appropriately named Wallsend, across northern England to the village of Bowness on Solway, on the west side. Over the centuries, most of the wall stones, carefully put in place by Roman soldiers, were plundered and converted into churches, fencerows, manor houses, and barns. The stones must have been a handy source of materials for Brits in the Middle Ages. The original 12-foot high structure did not survive; only the footings from some sections remain. Nevertheless, the scars of the wall are still visible on the landscape and, along with adjoining museums and Roman ruins, make for a most enjoyable hike.

During each of my first two “wall treks”, I was joined by a BMBTC friend in 2005, Rosemary Petrie! She was one of a group of twelve. I secretly dubbed the various levels of hikers as hares, hounds, and tortoises. BMBTC’ers who have ever hiked with Rosemary know which group she was in! Day two featured a 30km trek (after 15km on Day one). Rosemary and the other hares proceeded to our designated B and B, arriving at 3:00pm. I sheep-dogged between the groups for a while, then stayed with the hounds, arriving at 5:00. Where were the tortoises? After a worried hour, I chartered a taxi and backtracked, hoping to find them at a road crossing. Soon, 4 pace-challenged hikers were soon seen crossing a field, peering curiously at a black English taxi idling by the roadside. I  rolled down the window and asked, “Would you chicks like to get picked up?” After a resounding “Thank God, yes!” and “We love you!”, we drove back to our pub-lodging, arriving at 7:00pm. I’ll never forget the pint of  English ale thrust into my hand by Rosemary. For the rest of the trip, the fearless foursome traveled a portion of the day on the bus line that paralleled the trail.

In 2006, BMBTC’er Carl Wintermeyer joined the trip. He and I arrived a day early and took the train from Newcastle to Tynermouth, a resort town where the Tyne River flows into the North Sea. A very high pedestal with a statue atop overlooked the harbor. “Who was the dude on the pedestal?” To our astonishment, it was Admiral Lord Collingwood, the namesake of our fair Ontario town. He was Nelson’s second in command during the wars with Napoleon, thus highly celebrated in his day. On this side of the pond, he has no statue but does have a school named after him.

On Day Four, while trekking through the beautiful hills of Northumbria National Park, it began to rain….and rain. The rugged scenery was soon shrouded in mist. The deluge became extremely heavy, and our so-called waterproof gear leaked and seeped. Boots turned into sodden sponges. At one point, Carl asked how far we had to go. I pointed to a whitish dot on a far-off hillside and said, “Soughy Rigg Farm, our B and B.” After another hour of misery, a desolate grey stone building appeared in the mist. We entered cautiously and were greeted by a roaring fire in a cozy lounge and a nearby laundry room loaded with dryers waiting to attack our duds. Several drinks later, as our bones warmed and our brains revived, the day’s adventure began to transform into one of those epic tales hikers like to tell. When the conversation turns to memorable hikes, Carl says, “That day on Hadrian’s Wall was the wettest hike ever! And I add, “Bar none!”