Now, the ‘Walking in
Hadrian’s Wall Country’ mentioned something about a “barbarian” view of the
Wall, with the highlights of this section of Walk 7 being ‘landscape panoramas’
and ‘the barbarian view of the Wall from the north,’ complete with a pretty
(albeit cloudy) picture of Sycamore Gap. I still needed my perfect Instagram
shot, and much to my annoyance, apart from being a good reference with maps,
the guide I had had all the routes and walks mixed up, with Walk 7 – 9 practically
being identical, which makes you wonder if you’re going in circles if you didn’t
read the entire thing beforehand.
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| Crag Lough and the jagged edges of Highshields Crag |
Regardless of the
format, under ‘Walk 8’ which is basically a rehash of ‘Walk 7’ (and gave me a
headache going back and forth, especially when walking out in the rolling
countryside with your tablet scrolling up and down the PDF), there was an
interesting statement about ‘Hadrian’s Wall – spectacular section.’ There was
no accompanying photograph unlike the other articles, so I was curious.
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| Looking towards Crag Lough, Hadrian's Wall and Highshield Crags |
Walking westwards down
from Crag Lough in the direction of Carlisle, at first I saw more hills to go
up and down. “Yay,” I thought, “put all
those squats to good use.” Then I saw it: the famed Sycamore Gap, curiously
also called Robin Hood’s Tree.
[Note: which is curious, I thought Robin Hood and his quests happened in
Sherwood Forest and Nottingham, down in the Midlands, not up North by the
Borderlands? Then I discovered, there are two Robin Hood’s Tree[s]: one here
and one in Sherwood Forest. This one gained popularity thanks to it being
immortalized in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.]
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| Sycamore Gap or Robin Hood's Tree, Hadrian's Wall |
So, this massive tree
was at the bottom of a gap between two very steep hills, a good military
chokepoint, though curiously not used as an easily defensible fort. So, down a
steep slope I went, with the Wall naturally following the contour, despite the
steepness. But this tree was worth it: this was a large tree, which grew out
over the Wall, so I suspect it grew long after the Wall came and went in importance.
Still, a sight to behold.
Reviewing my map, I
noticed I wasn’t too far away from a place called ‘Once Brewed’: sounds good
for a place for a meal. I also noticed another Milecastle along the way. It was
along this stretch when the ‘Spectacular Section’ came into its own. Of course,
there were a few more ascents and descents, which made me question my sanity
for doing this hike after leg day at the gym.
But like the Sycamore
Gap, right after the saddle of the hill, the view spoke for itself. Right
before me was Milecastle 39, or Castle Nick. I was curious to why this castle
wasn’t at Sycamore Gap: that site is perfect as a military chokepoint and
control gateway, but alas, I suppose Roman discipline with exact measurements
dictated that the castles be exactly a mile apart. It was still a defensible
spot, don’t get me wrong, still along a tight pass, but where Sycamore Gap had
a narrow point, Milecaste 39 had a good view.
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| Castle Nick/Milecastle 39, Hadrian's Wall |
Now, the picture I
initially took didn’t quite capture the image before me. Now I understood why
they did not bother with a descriptive picture for this section: no picture
could ever possibly capture the majesty, the imposing sight of the Wall. Yes,
the Romans were authoritarian, they were a little sadistic at times, but dear
God, when they had ingenious military engineers and determination, they could
still make monuments to last, well, the passing of empires.
[Note: literally,
empires. For almost 2 millennia, the Wall has seen the Romans, the Danes, the
Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons, the Northumbrians, the Angevins, the Scots, the
English, the British. Well, the latter three may be argued as a singular unit
but let’s not nitpick too much here.]
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| To scale the size, insert people: Castle Nick/Milecastle 39 and Hadrian's Wall |
As I was on the other
hill, the business-types I bumped in to at Crag Lough caught up, and they were
by Milecastle 39. The picture I took needed a scale of the size, so this group
provided one. It may not be the largest of the milecastles, but it does its job
in billeting the troops.
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| Peel Crags, with Hadrian's Wall as an accessory |
From here onwards, it
was quite a hike along the Peel Crags, with random sections of Wall. The raw
granite beauty of the Crags provided a good filler in between the Wall: a
marriage of nature’s defenses with those of the Romans, and it was here that,
for once, I could imagine how a ‘barbarian’ could easily be deterred, if not
awed at the sheer scale of the Wall. Sharp crags, juxtaposed against the
cliffs, with a Wall hugging close along it, barely breaking in stride. If this
was a ruin, the finished product after it was completed must have made quite
the statement.
Past Peel Crags, there
was a car park by Steel Rigg and an open field. At first, I ignored the site.
If I headed straight, I’ll be heading straight on to Caw Gap, Cawfields and the
town of Haltwhistle. If I turned left at the junction, I’ll be heading to Once Brewed,
and potentially, a brew. Giving it a moment, I thought I would hike along the
open field back towards the Wall, just to gaze on it again and decide what my
next plan of action would be. That walk back was well worth it.
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| Crag Lough, Highshield Crag and Peel Crags viewed from Steel Rigg: the view of Hadrian's Wall |
Adjectives used to describe
the Wall: spectacular. Beautiful. Magnificent. With this view, I think I’ll use
something a little more, erm….imperious.
That view, that Wall, Hadrian’s Wall, is essentially a statement. If you want
to find the ‘barbarian’s view’ of the Wall to make them think twice, this view
from the car park at Steel Rigg would be perfect. The Roman Senator within
whispered veni, vidi, vici, and meant
it. It also made me think of Brandon's Wall. Might even look like it when it's winter and snow is on it.
So, instead of stopping
by Once Brewed, I thought I’d soldier on towards Cawfields. My GPS map showed
another lake and more crags. My guide basically had a gap between Caw Gap and
Steel Rigg. Walking for god knows how long, I understood why: there wasn’t much
to report on.
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| Cawfield Quarry and Cawfield Crag |
However, once I passed
Caw Gap and went up along the ridge on to Cawfields Crags and Thorny Doors, it
was once again an endless march of Wall from point A to point B. Then, as
abruptly as it starts, it ends, at Cawfield Quarry. The mighty march of
Hadrian’s Wall, that majestic barrier built from Wallsend on the River Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway
on the Solway Firth, that statement of ruins, now ends on a cliff facing a pond
and a carpark. Sadly, I couldn’t get to the very end of the ruins: it was fenced
off for security reasons.
And a sudden end it
was. Right at the cliff, on a hill which found itself cut in half, Hadrian’s
Wall, or the ruins of it, came to an end. The quarry and its pond, now disused,
provided a somewhat bleak end to this story. The Wall was partly demolished during
construction of this quarry, together with the hill that it used to be on. Now,
it’s a somewhat pretty picnic site with a relatively picturesque site.
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| Cawfield Crag and Cawfield Quarry |
It was here that I
decided to end my hike along the Wall. From Cawfields Quarry, I walked along
Haltwhistle Burn towards Haltwhistle, in the general direction of a pub for a
meal, and the train back to Pons Aelius, whoops, Newcastle. It may seem like an endless, somewhat featureless walk after Hadrian's Wall, but Haltwhistle Burn will surprise you, as it did in my little adventure. Overall, it was a fun hike,
with lots of contemplation and daydreaming. Maybe a little too much.
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| It is a walk, a rather long-ish walk, from Housesteads to Cawfield |
We have a habit of
constant retrospection, even stating that we are better than our forbearers. I
do not dispute that, in a technological sense, but we are more alike than
different. A resident of Iberia transplanted to the edge of Britannia to guard
a Wall could easily connect with a Scot ordered to India to govern a mercantile
empire as much as a Canadian sent to Western Australia to manage an oil rig. The
time reference may differ, but the culture shock and individual commentary may
have resonance: the desire for food from home, the peculiarities of expat life
and trying to get with the locals.
Yes, the Wall may be
in ruins, but the stories are alive. We may be awed by the remains, but we can
easily connect with the human stories of the Wall, as we fill in the gaps and
wonder what life would have been back then. Now, I hope that Greek academic clerk
of mine got all these musings in writing. I bet Cicero didn’t make his walk up
and down hills all day.
Oh, and what other souvenir did I get from this trip? A sunburn. Yes, I got a sunburn, in England, along my neck and arms. That's a first.
