I climb into the taxi in Bowness on Solway. It’s such a strange feeling being in a vehicle, almost unnatural. The irony of being rushed by places in mere minutes compared to truly being in nature as I walked along was not lost on me. I arrive back to the train station in Carlisle in…
Tag: United Kingdom
Wallsend
I leave the end of the Hadrian’s Wall path and go to the tiny town of Bowness on Solway. I have about an hour before I can check into my final guesthouse, so I enter the only pub in town. “Just finished walking the wall mate?” There are a few other patrons inside, some locals,…
Day ten on the Wall – The final stretch….
Perceptions of Success : I see a spiders web as a success, but to the spider success comes from a fly caught in its web, not the web itself. A tree that is flexible enough to bend in the breeze instead of breaking because it’s too rigid. A flower’s stem that is pollinated by a…
time on the Highfield farm
As I approach the Highfield farmhouse a young girl playing with a ball and a dog excitedly runs up to me… “Are you staying with us tonight?” Apparently her inhibition of strangers is not a problem. Being so free out in the country would have that healthy effect, or so I would imagine. The smells…
Day nine on the Wall – arriving to Boustead Hill
Dark rainclouds skim across the morning sky as I get ready to head back onto the Hadrian’s Wall path. The weather fits my somber mood perfectly. I use the word “somber” to describe a serious nature to my thoughts, not a dark or depressing state of mind. The weight that I lifted off my proverbial…
The Carlisle Church
You are entering the grounds of Carlisle Cathedral. A cathedral church has been on this site since 1133. Enjoy the beauty of this ancient sacred place. To say that the atmosphere around me visibly changed as I approached the entrance to the Carlisle Cathedral is as close to the truth as I can describe. I…
time in Carlisle & Fern Lee
I cross the bridge that leads me out of Rickerby park and find myself on the edge of the town known as Carlisle. The sounds of a real city are deafening to my ears. I go no more than a couple of blocks before I find my guest house for the next couple of days,…
Day eight on the Wall – reaching Carlisle
As I’m finishing my breakfast at Vallum Barn, a plump old woman asks me if I would like to know a shortcut back to the Hadrian’s Wall Path. I politely decline, explaining I want to truly walk the entire length. She smiles and wishes me well as I saddle my backpack onto my shoulders and…
Vallum Barn
In the year 2000, the couple decided to convert the horse stable property into a B & B to accommodate walkers, cyclists, and North Umbria countryside travelers. The result is the lovely Vallum Barn. I read about the history of this place as I’m toweling off and nursing the first injury of my walking journey,…
Day seven on the Wall – Onward to Irthington
Gray skies cover Gilsland in the morning as I walk out the front door of the Hill on the Wall B & B. I catch my reflection in one of the large windows and see a face full of thoughts about my time in Kenya. This leg of my journey will be all about reconciling…
Gilsland & the Hill on the Wall
“I am accustomed to sleep and in my dreams to imagine the same things that lunatics imagine when awake.” – Rene Descartes The door slowly opens, and a short, plump and proper woman looks at me with wonder. “Quite a warm one out there today for walking, isn’t it?” I’m just grateful to have survived….
Day six on the Wall – heading to Gilsland…part two
The frogs croak loudly in the thrushes of the pond. The sun has silenced everything else under the oppressive heat. I take a small sip of water, lift my backpack up and strap it on. I’m covered in sweat. All wandering thoughts about the universe and my place in it are temporarily forgotten. I look…