WTWFD Stage 9: Cawfields to Gilsland

My kids and I hit the trail again yesterday, continuing our Walking the Wall for Daina challenge. As we walk further from home, the journey time to get to the start of the walk increases, so we had an early start, catching our train at 7:48 am. Still yawning, we arrived in the pleasant market town of Haltwhistle at 9:30 am, which gave us time to grab some supplies before catching the trusty AD122 Bus up to the Milecastle Inn. I can’t sing the praises of this bus highly enough. Without it, using public transport for most of the walk would have been impossible. This would be our last ride on this bus on this particular adventure, however, as we have reached the end of the bus route.

Spring in full bloom

Walking the short section of farm-road back to Cawfields, the cloud began to break to some pleasant sunshine with a cooling breeze: perfect hiking conditions. The first portion of our walk passed through several ups and downs, and the tantalising remains of Great Chesters Fort (Roman Aesica) peeking out of the ground just beyond Cawfields. Important finds from this site include the tombstone of a legionary soldier and the remnants of an aqueduct which once supplied the fort. The altar which stands at this site is the only Roman altar in situ along the wall. People have left offerings of coins upon its table. The farmer’s beer fund, perhaps?

A perfect picnic spot, and more!

From here, we traversed ‘The Nine Nicks of Thirlwall’ (undulating sections of the trail over the Whin Sill escarpment), glad to be heading east-west, so that the descents outnumbered the ascents. Every other trail walker we passed was headed in the other direction, struggling up the steep flagstoned paths to reach higher ground. We then descended Walltown Crags, with its wonderful surviving section of wall (up to 13 courses high) to arrive at Walltown Country Park with its cafe, toilet facilities and picnic benches by the pond. A great stopping point if you are planning to walk the Wall!

After a substantial picnic lunch, we carried on towards Gilsland, via a pleasant section of the trail passing the ruined Thirlwall Castle (built in the 14th Century AD from ‘recycled’ Wall stones), crossing the railway tracks and following a Roman ditch to arrive at our destination. The county line between Northumberland and my native Cumbria passes through the middle of Gilsland. I was now in familiar territory! Gilsland boasts a fantastic slide built into the hillside, the delightful House of Meg tearooms, and Poltross Burn Milecastle, which we visited after some much-needed refreshments. The trail has been diverted through the village, but the old route is perfectly passable (though it involves a rail crossing), and affords good views to a section of the Wall on private land.

My dad met us at Gilsland and kindly gave us a lift back to Haltwhistle station! From now on, we will have to rely on lifts from family, as the next section of the route is unfortunately not served by public transport. We are planning some longer hikes as the route flattens out, as we aim to be finished the whole walk by summer.

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

Stage 9: Cawfields to Gilsland
Distance: 7.5 miles
Elevation gain: 754 ft
Time: 3 hours
Total Distance: 65 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 in April 2024. 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

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