Following Hadrian’s footsteps – Day Two Monday, June 2

Heddon-on-the-Wall to Corbridge

A good start to the day as first, I could still walk and second, our continental breakfast turned out to include an egg which was a happy surprise. The landlady, who was not wearing her glasses, thought Simon brave for walking through Newcastle with a T-shirt displaying the word Conservative until he pointed out the word was actually Conservation.

Two groups of walkers strode out ahead of us, we kept passing and then they would overtake us and we would pass them again. Today we saw our second Roman Fort (after Segedunum), Rudchester Fort. It looks like a field but a sign explains it is an unexcavated Roman fort. Passing Whittle Dene Reservoir, a peaceful place with picnic benches, we then came across archaeologists digging in two sites.

We stamped our Wall passports at Robin Hood Inn, but as they weren’t serving food at that time we wandered over to the Vallum Tearooms opposite where we had a cup of tea. A couple at the next table told us they had walked the wall last year. The woman gained four blisters and the man (as well as being chased by a cow in a field) lost his toenails. At this point of the journey it seemed a tad far-fetched but as the adventure continued not so much…

If day one was a city and suburb river stroll, this was more of a ramble through farmland. In one field we saw the vallum (Roman man-made ditches preceding the wall) for the first time. Where was the wall itself? The stones were mostly in the buildings nearby.

It was at this time that I realised my feet were hurting. Surely I did not have a blister on my second day of walking? Several fields later and we finally took the detour from the wall to Corbridge. At a fairytale hamlet, complete with private castle and only a couple of large houses, we travelled onwards past another castle, this time English Heritage owned but sadly shut that day, through more fields, woods and under a road bridge, past two striking pottery kilns from the 1800s and into the little town of Corbridge. A wander round the picturesque town, much-needed blister-plaster purchase in Boots, a map and postcards obtained in the tourist information centre and joy, a big chocolate cake for £4 in a bakery. Well, you’ve got to replace lost calories haven’t you? Norgate B&B, on a residential street, was thankfully just a 10-minute walk away and we arrived just before 5pm. Just enough time to make the Corbridge Roman fort and museum, another 10 minutes away. Now I was glad we had made the detour, walking around the ancient town remains with its granaries and so on was like walking through a mini Pompeii and the museum was packed with finds including the Corbridge Lion. The only pity was that we didn’t have more time to wander round but we got a good insight into Corbridge. Taking the landlord’s advice, we ate in the Black Bull, a popular, traditional pub by the looks of it.

That evening I put on the first plasters.