Day 6: Steel Rigg to Gilsland, both up and down!

Vallum Lodge provided a perfect breakfast after an excellent night’s sleep, so we thanked Claire and Michael and walked back along the Military Road to the Twice Brewed Inn and turned left, towards the Wall on the hills above us. The weather was more promising and the distance not great, and the guide book promised views and lot of bits of Roman masonry, so we though this was going to be easy.

In fact, arresting views notwithstanding, it was a pretty tough day. The climbs were not overly steep but the path beside the wall was quite uneven. I don’t know whether the stones underfoot were from the rubble core of the wall after stone-thieves had taken the dressed blocks, or just part of upland geology, but it was hard on ankles and knees. Paula had been complaining that her boots were sore or rubbing, and nothing that I could do with the lacing or with strapping seemed to help. A couple of hours of the terrain and the day turned into a bit of a trial, and it wasn’t until we got into Bush Nook that we realised that one of her tendons was swollen and inflamed. This wasn’t a problem on the Coast to Coast, so it’s an injury or overuse recently. Walking shoes tomorrow.

The hard going didn’t detract from the views, which were extraordinary for any walk, but with the wall on our right, the vallum at the bottom of the valley and the Stangate beyond it. The Romans were indefatigable but they knew a view!

We made good time once off the crags and walked steadily on to Gilsland. Even more that on the Coast to Coast, we notice the dramatic changes in the landscape, from the windswept crags where sheep seem the only beasts comfortable with the situation (as an aside, I noticed that up here the sheep all face into the wind even when lying down). Down in the valleys, its cattle; then, as we walked down towards Gilsland, it became more broadacre farming. It was like a whole series of microclimates, and the temperature variation was marked, especially with the windchill.

It really was beautiful countryside, and after the crags, lochs and tarns, we even had a glimpse of Thirlwall Castle, a 14th Century keep on top of a motte, and constructed almost entirely from stone pillaged from the wall.

Good weather and good conditions on the trail meant we could stop for a snack and make it to Gilsland in good time for a light lunch at the pub. I made a fortunate discovery that may give Paula another drink sensation: Lakes Gin and Victorian Lemonade make slightly less bitter mix than bitter lemon, and even the barmaid decided this was worth a try. My brew was called Muckle Chuckle!

We are comfortably ensconced in Bush Nook B and B: it’s a big one, but Malcolm the host seems all over it. We had trout for dinner and it was absolutely delicious and we’ve made some friends –rather older than us – and we’ll catch up again, I’m sure. The bird-feeder on the lawn is being visited by a stunning woodpecker, and the lambs in the fields outside are calling for their mothers and racing around the field – peaceful and bucolic.