Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: walltown crags

A day spent in Northumberland. First port of call was an old favourite, Gelt Wood which is just out of Brampton. I wasn't expecting too much colour as autumn was long gone but I did get some nice morning light.

It was then on to Hadrian's Wall , parking at Walltown Crags and walking up to the wall. I've done this section of The Wall many times but I never tire of it. The view up towards The Cheviots is one of the most far-reaching I know; a true wilderness. I sat there for a good while before going back to the visitor centre for a coffee.

Gelt Wood

River Gelt

Gelt Wood

River Gelt

Gelt Wood

River Gelt

Winter Leaves

Hadrian's Wall

We hadn't intended visiting the Wall but due to the closure of the tearoom at Lanercost Priory, we were left out on a bit of a limb. Stuck in the middle of nowhere without our morning caffeine fix is never a good thing. Before we both entered full meltdown mode, I remembered passing a little tearoom at Greenhead which was only a few miles down the road so we decided to give it a whirl and then go up the road to Walltown Crags and have a little wander along the wall. As it turned out, it was a little gem and certainly somewhere we would visit again.

The section of the wall at Walltown is posssibly its best preserved section, its a bit of a stiff pull up there but the views are well worth it. I have to admit that looking northwards towards the vast wilderness of Northumberland is one of my 'feel good' views and I always take the time just to have a sit down and take it all in. Its hard to believe that people would go to so much trouble building a structure like the wall in such an inhospitable place. Those Scots must have been a mighty fearsome breed to have warrented such attention and dread.

I find that the Wall is one of those places that transports you back in time, purely and simply by its grandeur, situation and length. You can almost relive what it must have been like to build it and then have to live there to protect it. I don't know who were the bravest, The Scots for attacking it or The Romans for defending it!

We finished the walk off with a vist to The Twice Brewed Inn. How times had changed since the last time we visited. We had to have our temperatures taken at the door, leave our contact details and have waitress service for ordering and paying. The only thing I could do unhindered was make a call to the gents. Somehow the whole fun of going for a pint has been taken away by this bloody virus.

The walk wasn't too long but we werent bothered about that as the holiday had taken quite a bit out of us both. I think we were both worn out by all the driving but it had been well worth it. It was good to finish the holiday at a place we both loved plus discovering a new cafe and having some grand weather.