Day 6: Birdoswald - Sandysyke
Weather: Showers
Distance Covered: 12 miles
New Beers Sampled: 2
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| Birdoswald Farm on site of Roman fort |
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| Cheese of the highest caliber |
After a superb nights sleep, breakfast was to be looked forward to, as cooked by Dianne. Every bit of it fresh, local & delicious. Bread, whole earth beans, scrambled egg. We were dry; we were warm ; we were rested; we had been fed well; we had bought exceptional bread & cheese for lunch; now walk! We revisited Birdoswald Fort first, to get stamp 5 of our passport, but didn't loiter. The rain came and went throughout the day, as did the sun, creating some quite dramatic & creative cloud patterns in the sky. Almost made up for being wet! But we had our Birdoswald bread and cheese [which we stopped for at Hare Hill]
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| South towards Pennines & Lakes |
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| BATs on Hare Hill |
Along this section of the walk, the scenery was changing quite rapidly. Down we came from the upper moors of Northumbria National Park, off the Crags and we we had crossed the border into Cumbria. In this part of Cumbria, the hills are gentle, with lush rolling green pastures. Less stark. The Wall was also changing in appearance and becoming less visible. Much of the wall from here [and in other stretches] had been constructed mostly of turf banks with timber palisade. Some was later replaced with stone wall and there are only fragments of wall- but stretches kept surprising us, such as Sandy Sike Turret 51a and ,a third of a Roman Mile, 333 marching steps away, Lea Hill Turret 51. Not to mention Pike Hill Roman Signal Station. However, due to being rested and well fed the night before, and well fed by Birdoswald cheese at lunch time, we had stormed this section of this walk and had time to detour and visit Lanercost Priory. So glad we did, not just because of the historical & moody ruins, but we also wouldn't have met Angie, the highly entertaining, highly intelligent and highly energetic English Heritage member of staff.
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| Lanercost Priory |
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| Lanercost Priory |
Lanercost has it's place in English history as after being fraternised and almost bankrupted by Edward I in 1306, repeatedly sacked by the Border Rievers during the 15th / 16th Century before finally being dissolved [and dismantled ] by Henry VIII's policy of dissolution of the monastery's between 1536-1541. A bit unlucky you could say. The ruins were impressive and 'moody' in the alternating sunshine and showers.
Part of the ruins also now contain the parish church, which contains a William Morris Dossal, newly refurbished as well.
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| William Morris Dossal |
Filled full of even more English history , it was now off to the Centurion Inn in Walton for food & beer. Except when we got there, the Centurion was closed down. Don't panic. Breath Deeply. Relax. There will be a solution. Walton, thankfully , had a little cafe, where we sat and planned our next move. A big mug of tea and a sublime slice of meringue pie put things in perspective. We were staying at Sandysike Camping Barns and B&B, only a few miles away. The nearest settlement with food and beer was Brampton, 3 miles away from where we were staying. Fortified by tea and pie, we came together with a plan during our walk to the Bunkhouse. Let's get a taxi into town. Problem sorted. The plan got even better as a Belgium man and his son who were also staying there, shared the taxi. Brampton. A Cumbrian Market Town which has fallen on bad times. It reaked of faded glow, its glamour now a bit tatty. Shame. The first pub we entered didn't do anything to change our minds, The Nags Head. Rough, ready and smelly. We had a [bad] pint of -wait for it - Doom Bar. We didn't stay long, before heading back out on the thriving Saturday evening streets Brampton. Our next choice of pub was better with The Howard Arms being much more salubrious. An excellent choice of Thwaites Ale to be supped ; 'Little Bewdy' a little fruity & hoppy number, and a 'Lancaster Bomber' and a full bodied, chestnut coloured ale [the menu was OK as well]. Feeling refreshed and emboldened by ale, we did a little shop for the following days supplies, before deciding to walk back. Lovely evening for it. The rain has cleared and there are stars in the sky.
Further chess games were to be had over a beer, back at the bunkhouse; I think I may be getting better!
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