WTWFD Stage 8: Housesteads to Cawfields

Yesterday marked the start of the Easter holidays, and a fine weather day it was too, so my sons and I once again hit the trail to continue Walking the Wall for Daina. Having learned the downsides of driving to our destination last week, we caught the train as far as Hexham, then the trusty A.D.122 Bus to our starting point of Housesteads.

The Tourist Trail

When we began our walk, in early January, there was nary a tourist in sight, as we crunched our walking boots over frozen fields, and watched our breath peal out as mist. Mid-April at the start of the school holidays is a different proposition altogether. Yesterday’s bus was crammed with day-trippers to Housesteads, and there were also many people walking the trail, or sections of it. This particular section might be regarded as the ‘exhibition section’ of wall, with the trail following large portions of surviving wall, and passing such landmarks as the former Sycamore Gap (more on this below). The trail also rises to its highest point in this section (Green Slack on Winshields Crags, 1131ft) and undulates relentlessly. The path passes to the north of Housesteads fort, then continues west along a section of ‘Clayton Wall’ (reconstructed and preserved by the Victorian antiquarian John Clayton, excavator of Cilurnum fort at Chesters).

The High Point of our Journey

After passing through a delightful woodland of Douglas Fir above Crag Lough, the trail dipped down to Sycamore Gap. Made famous in the film Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, the sycamore tree which stood in this scenic dip in the wall was probably the most photographed tree in England until, one treacherous night in 2023, two vandals laid waste to it with a chainsaw. No-one knows why. The accused are still awaiting trial at the time of writing. The stump where the mighty sycamore used to stand was a sobering sight.

Beyond this point, our route passed many steep sections of ascent and descent, which were aided by stepping stones and rock staircases. I asked my youngest son if he needed my help, and he duly pointed out that he had already climbed England’s third-highest mountain. In other words, ‘no.’ I was seriously struggling at some points in the heat and strong sunlight. My sunhat kept blowing off in the prevailing westerly wind. However, once we reached the Green Slack trig point, I knew the hardest climbs were behind us, and this gave me the boost I needed to carry on to the day’s destination, Cawfields quarry, on the edge of my native Cumbria: a section of the wall I know well. From the Milecastle Inn just up the road, the AD122 bus took us to Haltwhistle and our train home.

You can find more images from the walk on the official EIF Instagram.

Stage 8: Housesteads to Cawfields
Distance: 6.85 miles
Elevation gain: 1,389 ft
Time: 3 hours
Total Distance: 57 miles

Thank you for supporting this journey!

As those of you who have been following this series will know, I am walking the Wall in memory of my Aunt Daina, who died from MND last April. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. Your money will go straight to the North and West Cumbria branch of the MND Association, to help those living with MND, just as they helped Daina when she was most in need. You can visit my fundraising page at Justiving.com to find out more.

Ingrid