Hadrian's Wall Path Day 5: Once Brewed to Gilsland

Friday, 4th June 2021

Weather: 17⁰C, cloudy and windy
Distance: 17km
Time: 7h 43min (5h 35min walking time)

Average moving speed: 3.7km/h

Max elevation: 327m

Min elevation: 117m

Elevation gain: 374m

We slept like a rock whilst only silence could be heard from outside. We headed out after breakfast. I glanced at the tagged bags at Reception ready to be collected by the baggage transfer service and I gulped. Perhaps I should stop being stubborn and consider it? Nope, not today!

Joining the path where we left off yesterday, we walked up Winshield Crags. When you stand at the highest point of the Cragg, 345m above sea level, you stand at the halfway point and the highest point on Hadrian's Wall. The views are far reaching.

Originally the Wall may have stood 4.5-5m high. Short lengths of the wall survive at Winshields and they still remain pretty high.

North of the wall a deep V-shaped ditch formed an extra defence. When the Wall was built on top of crags, the ditch was left out as the crags provided enough protection.

South of the Wall a U-shaped ditch, known as the Vallum, provided another barrier.

This configuration of Vallum + Wall + Ditch can be seen over and over again throughout the walk.

A walker with a long walking stick and a huge and heavy looking backpack passes by us and stops for chatting. He is eating his last piece of fruit but tells us he still has some chocolates in his bag. He's walking on the opposite direction and wild camping. He's not worried how long it takes him but he has done half the walk in 2 days and would like to finish the other half in another 2 days. Four days with so much weight on his back is insane! We tell him that there's a lot of miles to cover and we don't think he has enough food. There are no shops until Chollerford which is almost 30km away! We strongly urge him to stop at the Twice Brewed Inn for a full meal as it will be the last food he'll be able to source for a while. We bid him goodbye and good luck!

Sitting on the Wall with a view to Milecastle 42 and Cawfield Crags.

Beyond Cawfield Crags sits a lake formed after a disused quarry, Cawfields Quarry. The quarry cut through the Wall so whilst originally the Wall would go through what today is the lake, we now walk around the north side of the lake. It is a pretty lake with car parking, picnic area and toilet facilities. 

At Turret 44B, the Wall makes a right angle to cope with the terrain. The builders saved on stone and effort by letting the Wall itself form two sides of the turret.

View of Walltown Crags from Turret 45A.

Roman Army Museum

We made a detour to visit the Roman Army Museum, where we had lunch. A soup and a drink times 2 persons was not cheap at £13.25.

At the museum I've learned that the soldier's uniforms were standardised and that the Roman Army was made up of Legionary troops and Auxiliary troops.

• Legionary soldiers were initially only citizens of Rome but eventually it was widened to allow any free men from within the Empire to enlist. They served in the army for 20 years.
• Auxiliary soldiers were non-citizen soldiers from territories which the Romans had conquered. To avoid any potential loyalties to the local enemy, auxiliaries were employed to fight in countries other than their own homeland. They were often chosen for their specific fighting skills, e.g. horseriders from Asturias (current Spain) and archers from Hamas (current Syria). They were paid less and offered citizenship when they retired, after 25 years of service.

Legionary soldier vs Auxiliary soldier (credits: janaruzena.blogspot.com)

The Legionary shield (scutum) was made of strips of overlapping wood, it was strong and light. The curved shape allowed to absorb heavy blows and the sloping sides deflected harrows. The metal boss in the centre was also used as a 'punching' weapon. 

The Auxiliary shield (parma) was heavier. Iron frame, oval shape, flat surface with a central metal boss, it was strong and very effective at blocking arrows. It was versatile enough to be used by Auxiliary troops and Cavalry. 

Scale armour, Plate armour & Chainmail armour.

Scale armour (lorica squamata): Legionaries sometimes used this armour. It was made up of hundreds of individual metal scales which would shine in the sun when new. It took longer to maintain and repair and was easier to damage than the other armours.

Plate armour (lorica segmentata): Legionaries wore armour of individual steel plates linked to a leather jacket with hooks, clips and buckles. This was much lighter than chainmail but less comfortable to wear. The shape made it difficult to take deep breaths, a problem in the middle of a battle.

Chainmail armour (lorica hamata): Auxiliaries wore a chainmail, which is a shirt made up of thousands of individual metal rings looped together. Very flexible, easier to maintain than the scale armour but much heavier.

Helmets were a key part of the Roman soldier uniform. It provided them protection and helped to identify a soldier's role and rank.

Legionary helmet, Centurion's helmet & Auxiliary helmet.

Legionary helmet provided excellent protection to the top, sides of the head and neck.

Centurion's helmet was the same as the Legionary helmet with an added crest which made them stand out from the crowd.

Auxiliary helmet was of a similar design of the Legionary, except for the Hamians who wore these conical helmets. Hamians were archers from the conquered city of Hama in Syria.

Roman typical sword (gladius) was light and short (no more than 50cm). The soldiers drew the enemy in close and then used the sword in a quick stabbing motion. The soldier wore the sword on the right side of his body which enabled easy withdraw without interfering with the shield which he carried in his left.

The Pugio was a small dagger used by soldiers as a sidearm and it was used on the left side.

Food wise, soldiers often only had two meals a day: breakfast (prandium) and dinner (cena). Soldiers received a daily ration of 1.5kg grain (usually wheat but sometimes barley) and also rations of meat, cheese, salt and sour wine. Resourceful soldiers would be able to get hold of olive oil, fish, vegetables and fruit. Resourcefulness could grant you a varied diet. Not being resourceful made for a very boring diet. Soldiers  were responsible for cooking and serving themselves. 

After spending 1 hour exploring the museum resting our backs from the backpacks, we carried on.

Crossing Tipalt Burn (a burn is a 'small river or stream').

After the stream we see Thirlwall Castle to our right, up on a motte (castle mount). The castle was built with recycled Roman stone in the early 14th century by John Thirlwall as a family stronghold. It has been abandoned since the 17th century and is now but a ruin.

We were the highlight of these young cows' day.

Wild boars on the path. They weren't too bothered with us and one of them came to check whether my feet were edible.

Curious sheep.

As we get to Gilsland, we find the local playground with a rather steep and long slide. The children here sure know how to have fun!

The Community Library is at a bus stop, which provides shelter for the books and a 24 hours self-service.

Back to back road signs inform us that Gilsland is a frontier village between Northumberland and Cumbria counties. We are now leaving Northumberland behind and entering Cumbria.

One last push with very achy feet we head to our accommodation for the night: Brookside Villa B&B. Not cheap at £100 for the night but we got an amazing room with an electric heater to dry our washing and the most organised host I have ever seen. Denise is a powerhouse!

Denise booked us a table at the local pub, The Samson Inn, pretty much the only place to eat in the village. It wasn't as busy as we thought, the food was better than expected and the price very reasonable at £39.85. 

The pub also saved us by giving cashback. We haven't seen an ATM since Heddon-on-the-Wall and I forgot to withdraw money there. At tomorrow's accommodation we need to pay for dinner in cash and I was getting worried I might not have the money...