We started the day with a hearty breakfast at the bed and breakfast. We met a couple from Canada who were also hiking Hadrian’s Wall, they were walking in the opposite direction to us and seemed to have been walking at quite a pace!
We collected our packed lunches and set off for the second day of our hike. We walked back to The Sands Centre by the river to collect the first stamp in our Hadrian’s Wall passport.
We’re hoping to see some wall today, as we didn’t see any yesterday. The first point of interest was the Memorial Bridge, which took us over the River Eden. We walk through the fields and villages aiming for a straight road on the map and a place called Wall Head, which surely must have some wall!
After waiting on a sheep jam to clear, we arrived at Wall Head, to find it’s actually a farm and there is no wall in sight. The weather forecast suggests rain soon and it’s around lunchtime, so we find a grassy spot to sit and the kids and I eat our packed lunches, while my mum and Tom keep walking.
After lunch, we walk quickly to catch up with my mum and Tom, who were chatting to a chat who maintains the footpath signs. According to him, the first sighting of the wall is are Hare Hill, which is not until tomorrow.
We continue walking until we reach the Hadrian’s Wall Snack Shed, which is a honesty shed in someone’s front garden. It’s well stocked with snacks and drinks and the kids enjoy pot noodles in the rain! We also meet a group of girl guides who are also hiking the wall this week. There’s several groups of them, all from the Midlands, and walking the same direction as us.
We press on to Lanercost, where we stop of the day and while we wait for out taxi we drink tea and eat delicious lemon meringue pie at the Lanercost Tea Room.
The taxi driver is very friendly and takes us to the Howard Arms Hotel in Brampton, where we check in and get settled into our rooms. The hotel is lovely, and the staff are very welcoming.
Bella is excited that she has a double bed to herself, and Alex and I share a large twin room. After the usual G&T in our room, we shower and head down to the bar for dinner. The food is excellent, and we all enjoy a hearty meal after a long day of walking.