WTWFD Stage 10: Gilsland to Walton

Although yesterday started off cloudy, the forecast was for clear skies over Cumbria, so we set off early in order to continue our Walking the Wall for Daina challenge. We have moved beyond the bounds of public transport. Luckily, the roads were fairly quiet, and there is ample free parking in the village of Gilsland. We parked in the car park next to the village school, conveniently located at the starting point of our walk, Willowford Farm, with a good section of Wall to accompany the start of the route.

Willowford and Birdoswald

The section of consolidated Wall which runs from Willowford to Birdoswald is one of the most impressive on the whole route. Along with the (by now familiar) milecastles and turrets, we also saw the impressive remains of the Willowford Bridge, which once took Roman soldiers across the River Irthing at this point. The course of the river has changed in the last 1900 years, however, and a new bridge was built in 1999 to carry Wall walkers across the same river. It is a quite delightful crossing, especially on a glorious spring day such as this! Once over the bridge, there is a steep uphill climb to Milecastle 49 where extensive fortifications can be seen. From here, it is a short walk along the wall to Birdoswald Fort. We did not have time to visit the site, except for a quick refreshment stop, but I did manage to snap some photographs from the perimeter.

Last views of the Wall

Passing through the welcome shade of Combe Crag woods, we crossed fields and meadows to emerge at Banks, where a good section of consolidated Wall heads west to the substantial remains of Banks Turret, with its sweeping views south to the Lake District fells, and north to the hills of the Border country. Many people had stopped here to take photos, as there is a large free car park just to the east of the site: popular with walkers, bikers and motorists alike!

The route continues through the pleasant hamlet of Banks, then on to Hare Hill: the highest example of Wall reconstruction along the trail, at some 10 ft. tall. Sadly, this would be our last glimpse of Wall on the walk. No sections of Hadrian’s Wall survive west of this point, having been ‘recycled’ to make buildings, such as the (admittedly stunning) Lanercost Priory, just south of here, and, of course, Carlisle’s Castle and city walls. The trail does, however, follow the line of the former wall as faithfully as possible, as evidenced by sections of Vallum which would accompany our route west from time to time.

Perhaps it was the lack of Wall to follow along this next section of trail, but the going seemed to get tougher as we toiled across field after field of rolling hills in the broiling midday sun. To make matters worse, the final section of the path had been diverted along the narrow road which leads to Walton village, where we had to take extra care as many cars drive way too fast along these country lanes. We were most relieved to reach Walton, an idyllic village with a beautiful sandstone church and pretty village green. We cooled down at the Old Vicarage Bar with chilled soft drinks and views of the Border hills. Thanks again to my dad for giving us a lift back to our car at Gilsland!

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

Stage 10: Gilsland to Walton
Distance: 8.5 miles
Elevation gain: 698 ft
Time: 3.5 hours
Total Distance: 73 miles

Thank you for supporting this journey!

As we walked through Banks, I met two ladies from Dorset who were walking the Wall to raise funds for the MND association as their friend had only recently been diagnosed. We talked about our respective fundraising efforts, hugged and snapped some photos. It was one of those moments which reminded me why I took up this challenge in the first place.

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 make a donation.

Ingrid