Gilsland to Cawfields

As we had a whole day to play with today, we planned a good long walk.

Just taking one car, we parked at Cawfields and walked a little way up to the local pub called The Milecastle Inn.

This is where we caught the Hadrians Wall Bus back to Gilsland.

We started at the primary school, walking down the side of it and into the field at the back.

At the end of the field we had to cross a railway  line.  Just as we approached there was a toot and the tracks started to hum....then WHOOOSH.... a train when zooming past.  Lucky we had hold of Dotty Dog!!

A glorious view ahead, the large house on the opposite hill is The Gilsland Spa Hotel.

We trotted down a fenced path, along side some raspberry bushes where we stopped to have a little nibble.

Soon we arrived at Poltross Burn Milecastle.

This is the remainder of the ovens, can you imagine they were once lit and cooking food for Roman Soldiers?

Then it was down a steep staircase, over a river and back up again - good for the old leg muscles!!

We then walked through a field which was built up on one side, could this be the base of the wall perhaps?

We had loads of the stepping stiles to get over today, not the greatest thing for a dog to master.  This first ones was quite scarey as instead of running up the steps,

Dotty decided to try and jump the wall.  Andrew had to catch her mid jump and help her over the steps.  After that we had a routine, I would push her up one side and he would lift her down the other.  Not the nicest job once she has stomped through some cow pats   :)

Through some more fields we walked, and over more steps, then we came to a little stream where Dotty had a long refreshing drink, and a cold bath  :)

We passed some sheep  :)

Coming out of the field we walked up the road and crossed to walk down a lane passed a row of houses.

At the end of the lane we had to cross another rail-way line.  As soon as Lezley and Ian had crossed we heard the lines buzz, and sure enough.... WHOOOOSH.... a train zoomed past!!!  De-ja-vu!

We soon arrived at Thirlwall Castle, a fabulous ruin at the top of a small hill.

Here, we stopped and had lunch.  Dotty Dog went round everyone wanting nibbles, but she wasn't impressed with Ian's health energy bar, she spat it out onto the grass in disgust!!

Soon it was time to move again, we walked down from the castle, over a little stream, through a few fields, until we arrived at Walltown.  A touristy spot with a lake, toilet block and a little refreshment shop.

From here we then started the strenuous bit of the walk, up, up and more up!

Finally, after some puffing and panting we reached the top, and it was so worth it, the views were amazing.

We traced the wall across the top of the hills, dipping and climbing, passing Walltown Crags Turret.

Poor Dotty had to be on a lead on this part of the walk due to the steep drops.

At a point we walked past a field with some horses in it.  This showed up on the gadget that Ian had as Aesica Roman Fort, although apart from a carved stone set into a dry stone wall, there was nothing really left to see, apart from this plinth thing....  covered in modern coins that walkers had obviously left.

Now we were on the final leg to our destination, walking down this hill we could see The Milecastle Inn where we had planned  (you can spot it just above the trees in the photo below).

Another couple of fields and we arrived a Cawfields car park.  It's a lovely place with a sparkling lake in the edge of a quarry.

We picked up the car and drove to The Milecastle Inn where we had a lovely, refreshing drink and the rest of our packed lunch.

Poor Dotty Dog, she was so shattered, she slept all evening!

Total walked today- approx 6.75 miles.  Time spent - approx 4.00 hrs walking.

Grand Total - Miles 44.75 / Time 20.45 hours.

Weight Loss this week - 1.5lb  :)

Birdoswald to Gilsland

Due to some family stuff we couldn't get out for a long walk this weekend, so instead at 6.30pm on Sunday evening we decided to do a little circular walk from Birdoswald, though Gilsland, then back to Birdoswald.

We ended up walking 3 miles - just 1.5 miles into our Wall journey, but every little counts  :)

So, we parked at the main car park at Birdoswald and walked up the hill towards the gate that began our walk, and into a field full of cows.  Walking swiftly on...... we trailed the Wall through a couple of fields until we came to a Milecastle.

Walking swiftly on...... we trailed the Wall through a couple of fields until we came to a Milecastle.

We we quite high up at this point and we could see for miles.  The walk then started to descend down a quite steep path.

At the bottom of the path was Willowford Bridge. 

This was a really interesting place, I never even knew this bridge was here and what history it held.  It was great learning all about it.

Would have been fantastic to see the Chinook bringing in the replacement bridge.

In this photo you can see the end of the old Roman bridge, according to the information board the river ran right beside this piece of bridge, now it is a long way back, beyond those trees.

Walking away from the bridge, there was loads of beautiful butterflies basking in the sun on the wall.  I took loads of photos before getting one in focus!

Now, as we had walked down a steep path, we obviously had to walk back up and we were faced with a rather large set of steps, us ladies had to stop half way to pretend to admire the view ;)

At the top of the hill was Willowford Farm, with an inscription in the side of the building.

On we went, climbing and descending, chatting to sheep and enjoying the weather, until we came to Willlowford East Turret.

Just past here we arrived in the village of Gilsland. We spotted the car park where we would leave the car next time as this was the point in our trip that we would now begin to walk back.

So, for today, this is where the journey should end.....

Total walked today- approx 3.5 miles.  Time spent - approx 2.00 hrs walking.

Grand Total - Miles 38 / Time 16.45 hours.

But, I might as well share the rest of the walk with you.

We walked round the edge of Gilsland and back out onto the road towards Birdoswald.

Then up quite a steep hill, but it was stretched out so we didn't feel it too bad.  

We passed loads of hedgerow with pretty flowers and wild fruits.

At the top of the hill we stopped to admire the gorgeous views.  Couldn't you just sit here all day?

From here we could see Willowford Farm as mentioned earlier on in this blog post.

Past a sheep  (I do like sheep - such comical creatures)...

....and through a field where we had to balance on a board to stop the land getting boggy.

At the other end of the field we had to climb very steeply down into a wooded area, it was like a rainforest, very dense with trees and vegetation - and mud!  You can just about stop Andrew down there.

Of course if you go down, you then have to walk back up.  So over the little bridge we went that crossed the same river as the Willowford Bridge, and started to climb.

At last we were out in the open.

And back to the car  :)

Oh... weight lost this week 4lb  :)