Hadrian’s Wall
Copyright © Barry Smith 2012. All Rights Reserved.
Day 6 - Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway
14.7 miles
We again arise to a pleasant, and final, days walking and we set off discussing the antics of Carlisle youth from the
previous evening.
Soon our riverbank walk resumes, passing various bridges over the river, and
after an old power station, sewage works and dump we happily emerge on a
tree shaded lane on top of the bank. After a while, the walk turns away from
the river at Grinsdale and the Vallum is again evident and being followed.
Joining the river again we proceed towards Beaumont where we again turn
left away from the river and pass the church which appears to be elevated,
and which gave the village its name - beau mont.
This is also where the path joins the same route as the Cumbria Coastal Way. Continuing
on, we come to the village of Burgh by Sands, which has a 12th century church with an
extremely chequered history, and the Edward I monument which marks where he died. We
stopped alongside to lunch at the Greyhound Inn.
On leaving the village, we come to the long and very straight roadway over the marshes
with the Solway Firth to our right. This stretch of road is apparently prone to flooding, and
thus walkers can be caught out. Fortunately the tide was well away when we ventured
across. On reaching Drumburgh we veer off the coastal route and take an inland detour
through farmland lanes and tracks, which has to be the most untidy litter strewn unkempt
walkway that any of us had ever encountered. We presumed it was indicative of the local
farmers’ habits, and were relieved to get this section behind us eventually arriving at
Glasson. Here, we again joined the Vallum which took us back to a pretty coastal route through Port Carlisle and onto
journey’s end at Bowness on Solway.
The wall and the end of the walk finishes alongside the sea wall in a place
called The Banks, which seemed somewhat of an anticlimax. Having taken
the custmary photos, we adjourned to our accommodation for the night at the
King’s Arms which like our previous evening, proved to be an excellent
hostelry. Following breakfast the next morning, we headed across the road to
pick up our trusty bus – the AD122 – which would transport us back to our
vehicle parked at the Twice Brewed Inn.
********oo00oo********
During the journey back we reflected upon the walk, and concluded that for us it had been somewhat of a disappointment. The route didn’t seem to have the
atmosphere or the dramatic surroundings that our other walks had, and we felt that it had been fairly boring. Had we had a great interest in all things Roman,
then this may have been a different conclusion, but we didn’t.
In an obscure way, one of the signs that we came across along the way seemed somewhat relative – that the particular section of wall at that point had been
excavated and had been visible for some years in the past, ........................but had been reburied to preserve it!
Day 6 - Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway