Tymon Burghy

A Full English Breakfast is never a bad way to start the day, especially my second 20-mile day along the Wall. For those of you who don’t know, a Full English Breakfast consists of beans, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes, bacon, eggs, and black pudding. Now to the typical American beans on toast sounds nasty, and black pudding isn’t even a part of the vocabulary. To address those, beans on toast is amazing and I’m honestly surprised that it hasn’t picked up in the States. Black pudding isn’t pudding as it’s eaten in America, it’s not sweet, and it’s not gelatinous; black pudding is simply a type of sausage that is fried up. 

After breakfast, I set out my bag for collection by the luggage company hired to take the through-hikers’ bags to their next B&B. I left my accommodation and got back on the trail headed West. I passed through a golf course and up a hill to a road. While I was walking across the road, I happened to pass an older man walking his dog. I wished him good morning and he looked at me and asked if I was walking the wall. He explained that he lived around here and that he saw many wall walkers pass through. He was very conversational and we chatted for a few minutes. As I got ready to keep walking he said, “You’ve passed the worst of it; the rest is beautiful countryside.” I passed on through his village and continued on the path.

I walked on through a little village called Heddon-on-Wall and just off the trail was a sign that pointed away from the trail and read “Hadrian’s Wall”. I walked over to the sign and followed the arrow. I walked over a well-mowed hill and as I crested the hill a short stretch of grey stones came into view. The stretch of stones weren’t the most impressive things that I’ve ever seen, but they are an important part of the trek. These rectangular stones are the easternmost surviving parts of the mighty wall. Of course, I had to get a photo op with the first part of the wall before I continued on my way.

Around midday, I made my way along the trail to a small pub situated around the midpoint of the trail. This place is also the second place on my little stamp book that I picked up at the museum in the beginning. The Robinhood Inn, which contrary to what you might think by the name, has no connection to Robinhood of Nottingham. This little brick pub is a B&B for those who are exploring the Northumbrian countryside. I grabbed a table, a drink, and ate my lunch out of my backpack, taking a short rest before returning to the trail. 

Trekking through that “beautiful countryside” wasn’t far from the truth. The rolling green fields of Northern England are stunning. England gets a reputation of being grey and rainy all year long, which it is most of the time, but on the trail across the country, the weather was amazing. With a high of 24℃ (75℉) and the sun always shining, it wasn’t hard to get lost in thought walking along the mowed path through the countryside. 

Along the way to my final place, I passed through an area called Hexham. Walking along the trail I noticed an area on my map called Heavenfield Battlefield. As I passed through I saw the old battlefield where a Welsh army faced off against a Northumbrian army in the mid 600’s AD. On a hilltop near the battlefield sits an old church, St. Oswald’s Church which is named after King – and later Saint – Oswald who lead the Northumbrian army to defeat the Welsh forces. King Oswald then went on to spread Christianity throughout Northumbria which is what earned him his sainthood. St. Oswald’s Church stands where legend says that King Oswald erected a large cross before the battle and prayed over his army. 

As I trekked on, my day began to come to an end as I entered the town of Chollerford, where my destination sat: A B&B which stood just past a bridge over the Tyne. I wasn’t staying there though because it was at full occupancy. Instead, I was to call another B&B and they would send a driver to pick me up from the other B&B that was on the trail. I called and after a few minutes a driver pulled up in a white SUV which I jumped in and he took me to a little town nearby called Simonburn. Driving through the town, the man talked to me and told me all about the little bed and breakfast that he and his wife ran. – In writing about this whole trip, I will only mention one B&B that I stayed in, and that is this one: The Simonburn Tea Rooms near Chollerford. The couple who runs it was amazing and very friendly. If I return to the wall, I will make sure that when I reach Chollerford again, I will book a room with them. – The driver then mentioned that there was an old church in Simonburn and that it was really its only attraction other than their tea rooms. When we arrived at the tea rooms, after cleaning up, I made sure to check out that old church. When I checked in, the hostess looked at me and noted that I needed some sunscreen. It turns out that when heading in one direction all day long, the sun decides to sit on one side of your body. My whole right side was red, while my left was normal. I also regret to inform the reader that I had not thought to pack sunscreen for my adventure; it is England after all, and the sunny weather was not what I had expected – not that I didn’t appreciate it. The next morning before I left, the hostess presented me with a parting gift, a bottle of sunscreen. 40/102