Walking Hadrians Wall 2004

So what did we get out of it? What were the benefits?
Well first and foremost a terrific sense of achievement!

Here we were a mixed group of retired people who completed a quite demanding walk of approximately 80 miles along Hadrian's Wall, from Wallsend in the East, to Bowness on Solway in the West. 

It gave us all a great feeling of confidence in our ability and a determination to see this challenge through to completion.  At the planning stage it all seemed a bit daunting, yet we all finished at the same time, without too many blisters, bruises, or aching joints.  

If anyone missed walking a particular section of the wall because of holidays or other commitments they had the courage and a desire to go back at a later date and cover that bit of ground - thus enabling the WHOLE GROUP to say "WE HAVE ALL DONE IT". 

We learned patience and consideration for each other and people appreciated assistance over stiles and rough ground on many occasions. This was a TEAM effort of folk in their 60's 70's and 80's with mixed physical abilities so awareness of how each of us was coping was vital.                

We were a group drawn together from 3 different areas around Newcastle, therefore not everyone knew each other so it was very interesting to walk along with new acquaintances exchanging various life stories and learning about their interests and hobbies.  It's amazing how quickly the miles were covered with good company to pass the time with!              

In the beginning many of us felt we couldn't possibly walk more than 6 miles in a day - but were overjoyed when we managed to do between 6 and 10 miles and even covering 30 something miles on the last 4 consecutive days. We all felt much fitter and healthier from being outdoors in the fresh air and more relaxed after taking in the wonderful scenery around us.        

From a historical point of view the walk was very educational.  It helped us understand what life must have been like for the soldiers living and working on the wall all those years ago.  We also benefitted from the guided tours of the forts and came across temples in Benwell that we didn't know existed.. Publicity of this event from the NATIONAL TRUST and THE INNER CITY PROJECT was most encouraging and I know several members received telephone calls from friends saying that they had seen our photographs and write up in the magazine, and how impressed they had been with our achievement.  Even our grandchildren thought we weren't just "old dodderers after all.  I believe this is what is known as STREET CRED!  

There was a very happy and cheerful atmosphere throughout the whole journey even on the last day when the weather was a little nasty and we walked for the most part in pouring rain there were still plenty of smiling faces and a sense of pride in what we had achieved, especially when we received our certificates in the pub at the end.                                         

FINALLY We couldn’t have achieved this without the help of the NATIONAL TRUST the HADRIAN'S WALL TOURISM PARTNERSHIP (who enabled us to keep costs down to  an affordable minimum) and the INNER CITY PROJECT.  So many thanks to all concerned and special thanks to Pete and Wendy for their support and driving of the two mini-buses.   

We must have enjoyed this challenge as already we are looking at suggested walks to see if we can repeat the experience next year.        

Pam and Len 2004             

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