Day Six: Heddon-on-the-Wall to Wallsend (24 kilometres/15 miles)

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Day Six – Heddon-on-the-Wall to Wallsend

My final day on the trail!

I woke up feeling a lot better than I expected after the state I was in yesterday. It is wonders what a hot bath and a night in your own bed will do. I was dropped off back at the Three Tuns pub, where I had ended the day before. I crossed the road and had a quick look at the war memorial before following the trail acorns. I walked through the village to a point where the trail indicated I could go either right or left. I took the path to the left for a few hundred metres through the village and came across a section of the Wall. I think this is the last section of the Wall I will see, so I took some photos before re-tracing my steps through the village. I also bumped into some people I had seen previously on the trail. The path took me down out of the village, past some nice looking houses. The views of the surrounding countryside were gorgeous. I bet those houses cost a pretty penny. I continued on along and down the path. At the bottom of the hill, I came to the grounds of Close House. Close House used to be a fancy hotel/wedding venue, and I have even stayed there. Very nice, it was, too. However, some very rich bloke bought it and turned it into their own home. Lucky bugger! There is a golf course that is open to the public and I walked through part of that praying not to get hit by a golf ball. Then I walked along the edge of a big field, that was property of Close House, which had a big sign warning us plebs to stay off it.

At the end of the field I joined the Wylam Waggonway. The wagonway was built in the mid-18^th century to transport from Wylam to Lemington before it was shipped off down the River Tyne. The coal wagons were originally pulled by horses. Later, William Hedley was asked to build a locomotive to improve how the coal was transported. The steam engines he came up with could pull eight wagons of coals compared to the horse who could only pull one. ‘Puffing Billy’ and ‘Wylam Dilly’ were the two most famous locomotives he created. This path is very popular with joggers and bikers, I hadn't seen so many people on the trail in one small space before. The Waggonway is a lovely shaded stretch and I enjoyed being out of the sun. The trail took a right turn and I headed down to near the River Tyne. There was a stone here indicating that I was now on the Hadrian's Way Path, not that I knew what that was, or even if it was different to the Hadrian's Wall Path. There were some nice views of the River Tyne, I never knew that it was so rural looking around here, being so close to the city I had expected it to be more built up, so it was a pleasant surprise. I passed a couple of pubs and the rowing club, that was really busy, I didn't know rowing was such a popular sport here. I crossed the road and headed past the Newburn Bridge and walked along a tarmac trail surrounded by greenery. I could see that the area was getting more and more industrial as the trail veered away from the river. I kept walking and I reached Lemington, which is a suburb of Newcastle. I popped into the Lemington Community Centre café for a sit down and a cup of coffee. The woman working there was really nice and friendly. She thought I must have just started the trail as I looked too perky to be on my last day. The cakes there looked good and I wished I had been hungry enough to have something.

Back on the trail, it felt weird. The path was being used by normal people going about their daily business, it was strange not to be alone or with other hikers. The trail continued alongside Lemmington, before it turned left and I was in parkland, crossing a bridge over the A1 motorway. The path through the parkland was tarmacked, which was a bit of a bugger on the feet. I often found myself walking on the grass to soften the impact on my feet. I continued on, walking past some industrial buildings and then crossing the road when I could see the river again. The trail then lead back down to near the water. By this point I was getting hungry, so I took a break on one of the many benches near Newcastle Business Park. I ate my sandwich and instantly wished I had more food with me. I was still hungry, I wish I’d got something at the café before, hindsight is a beautiful thing. The problem with sitting down is having to get back up. My legs were buggered, I must have looked like a right old granny staggering along, trying to get my rhythm back and joints loose. I watched some speed boats bombing down the river and admired the new houses and apartments on the opposite side of the river.

Soon, I began to see the bridges over the Tyne. I was now on the Quayside and as it was a Saturday afternoon, and a nice one at that. It was rammed with people. I took some photos of the bridges over the Tyne and reached the base of the Tyne Bridge around midday. The Quayside is really nice, but after all the solitude I have had on the hike, being surrounded by so many people was a bit unnerving. I hurried along the Quayside, only really stopping to photograph its iconic sights, the Sage, the Millennium Bridge and the Baltic. I saw the boats that offer cruises along the river, maybe one day, but I am a big culprit of not seeing and doing things in your own backyard. In fact, I have never even ventured this far along the Quayside before. I reached the end of the Quayside and was a bit lost on which way I should go, I followed what seemed to be the only route and it looked a bit dodgy. There were lots of buildings, maybe factories, but no people or cars on the road, only a police car. The trail headed away from the river, before arriving at St. Peter Basin. This is a fancy area with a small marina filled with boats. I don’t know why but I just think it’s strange. It just doesn’t fit with the mental image for Newcastle that I have in my head. It just seems a bit out of place. I headed through Chandler Quay and came back to walking along by the river. I was now in the Walker/St. Anthony’s area. There were a few people fishing and chilling by the river. After following a bend in the river, the trail turned away from the water. The signage here was a bit off, but I found my way. I was walking through a park. I only had about three miles left to go. When I realised I was so close to the finish, I picked up my flagging pace a bit. I even managed to walk one of those miles in 15 minutes. I must have reserved some energy just for that. The last of the walk wasn’t very scenic. It went through a park and then behind the old Swan Hunter shipyards. I saw a signpost up ahead and saw that it was pointing to a couple of different things. It took me a while to twig that it was the finish point! Idiot.

That was it! I had made it to the end. It was a bit anti-climactic, but I was still proud of myself for having managed to complete the whole walk. A nice group of people were taking their dog for a walk along the trail and when they found out I had just completed the route, took some pictures for me, of me with the signpost. There is stuff to see and do at Segedunum, but I had a lift waiting for me and to be honest I just wanted to relax. I would like to make it back to the museum one day when I feel more refreshed and also do the last stage to the coast at South Shields. The wall might have ended at Segedunum, but there is always a bit further to walk.

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Comments

[Home and Away]

Thanks for finishing the blogs for this trip...
I hope to walk the Wall someday soon, but will probably only walk the sections where the wall remains...about 50 of the 80 miles...and do about 10 miles per day.

[Zephyr]

You're welcome!
It has been on my to-do list forever. Glad I got it written up. I am looking forward to reading your experiences when you do it. Thanks for the blog about the St. Olav Way. I'd never heard of it, but you've inspired me to what to walk it.