Day 5 – Eden Bridge to Bowness on Solway

After a very comfortable night and a cracking breakfast at Vallum Barn we set off, limping, on our final stage of the week. Just 14 more miles to go and it would be mission accomplished.

Starting from the same point on the river Eden that we ended on the day before, we continued to follow the riverside toward Beaumount. Upon getting to Beaumount we once again bumped into our friends in the landrover. The team of 4 had been taking it in turns to walk a stretch each while the others drove ahead and vice versa. We must have been making good time then since we were always ’25 minutes ahead’ of them according to the driver on duty at the time.

By around 12 o’clock we had arrived at Burgh by Sands which is the place where Edward I died. As a memorial to the king there is a statue monument of him which we passed en route next door to the Greyhound pub.

The next stretch took us along 4 miles of tarmac road from Burgh by Sands to Drumburgh. Running along side the salt marshes this stretch was in no way welcome as the hard surface underfoot took it’s toll on our weary feet. Realising that our current pace wasn’t going to get us over the finishing line in the time we had expected we rallied each other and pressed on, full steam ahead. Regrettably for Simon the challenge of going faster was like a red tunic to a bull for Legionnaire Taylor as he started running on the stumps at the end of his legs where his feet used to be! With every few metres he seemed to be making more and more ground on the other two Romans, first just a few yards but in no time a spec on the horizon! In a futile attempt to keep up we found we’d covered the 4 mile stretch in just 40 minutes! He still beat us to the car though and was sat grinning and checking his watch as we appeared around the corner.

We took a well earned drink and twix break at the car and whilst there the Landrover team caught us up and gave us a wave as they headed on. Just over 4 miles left and we’d be done. It turns out it would be the hardest 4 miles i think any of us had ever done. Just keeping going was a challenge in itself.

At the midway point of the final stretch we took another break in a pub and had a swift half. Well, it’d be rude not to, wouldn’t it! The regulars at the Highland Laddie Inn got quite a shock and some were checking their pints as if to say ‘what have I been drinking???’. After a bit of banter between us and a Scottish guy who we drew our swords at we carried on. Just two more miles to go ‘left, right, left, right’ we had to keep thinking as each step got harder than the last. Away from the open fields now and walking along a path with the sea to our right as we came to a clearing and could see the sign for the Hope and Anchor Inn just metres away. This was to be were we would spend our final night in Bowness on Solway but we couldn’t take a break yet, still 1.5 miles to go. It wasn’t easy knowing that we had to carry on going as our B&B usually signified the end of a tough day! Heads down and with gritted teeth we got going again along the road again heading for the end.

The road between Port Carlisle and Bowness on Solway was (unfortunately for Andrew) closed off at the time to traffic while works were underway. So as he headed off on the 5 mile detour to get around we (thankfully) could take the shorter but correct route to finish the Hadrian’s wall path. With the sea spray flicking up on us from the choppy seas, they did a good job of refreshing us for the final push. We paused briefly to get a shot of us all next to the Bowness on Solway street sign, Simon stepping back into the nettles and further adding to the irritation and discomfort he was already feeling after being at the wrong end of a frenzied swarm of midges on Wednesday.

Bites, nettle stings, blisters and all we headed on, passing a sign that told us the finish line was just 130 yards ahead! Uphill along the road, down a ginnel, and round a corner and we’d made it, done! The finish was marked by an archway with a plaque on one side that read “Welcome to Bowness on Solway, 84 miles to Wallsend, Good luck” and on the side that we approached said “Welcome, The end of Hadrian’s wall path”.

We posed for a few pictures, some for the blog but the majority for our fellow walkers that wanted a snap of the Roman Legionnaires that had just walked the wall. A lady their kindly passed us some sponsorship money, and after a little break, and of course making sure we’d collected our last stamp of the trail on our passport cards, we made our way up to Andrew’s car to finally take our armour off and head for the pub.

3 Centurions, 5 Days, 84 miles. Now how many beers?…