Monday loomed cooler, overcast and the areas around Newcastle were very quiet.  It’s school holidays and everyone seems to have left town.  It drizzled on and off all day so the final steps were without any firework celebrations.  I returned to the bridges in Newcastle central and walked 9 km to Wallsend where I met […]

If there is one thing I was reminded of today, it is that history comes in layers.  We used the Metro to get around Newcastle today, as it seemed easier than driving and looking for parking in and near the city.  We boarded at Heworth.  I farewelled Ian at Newcastle Central, where he began the […]

Sundays are always nice times to visit cities, especially on days like today when the weather is perfect.  Traffic is lighter, the pace is slower and there is an air of relaxation.  And so it proved in Durham.  After a late start and lunch at home, we drove to a Park & Ride, left the […]

Today was a transition day in three parts.  I started walking in the rural countryside, as I have don e for the last 5 days.  Dropping out of the farm districts down to the banks of the Tyne, my route went through a private golf course before the long final section along the north banks […]

Ian set off on his third consecutive walking day, determined to reach central Newcastle.  I set off to explore some different periods of post-Roman history – first of all some Victoriana, then the Anglo-Saxon Middle Ages, and finally the mid 20th century shipbuilding boom.  My first stop was Saltwell Towers, a remarkable Victorian era brick […]

Unlike a few walkers I have not been using earbuds to play music or whatever, so today was a bit noisy as most of the route was alongside roads.  A few patches of wooded areas and quiet backroads were the best bits of today’s route.  I also saw a long section of original wall that […]

As expected, today was difficult due to the climbs required, but also probably the “best” bit of the walk.  All off-road walking with 18 km covered in just under 6 hours (including a 1 km walk “off-route” to get my walk passport stamp at Housesteads). The Romans knew that defence was all about having the […]

Ian returned to his walk for day 4, from Cawfields Milecastle to Brocolitia. This section is well served by a series of off road car parks with plenty of things to see nearby each one, so I visited the new Sill Discovery Centre and bought myself a day pass.  Then I drove back west to […]