About a year ago, an old Army buddy, a fellow Warrant Officer Bob Gambert, was telling me about this walk across England. A walk that followed a Roman wall that stretched from the North Sea to the Irish Sea. At the time, I was limping around on a bad knee, and all I wanted was for it to heal and feel better. Walking was a struggle, but I decided I wanted to do this walk. 
Hey, I'm the Wandering Soldier, right? What better to walk 90-plus miles with than another retired warrant officer? So after many a discussion over a beverage or two, we set a date for the next summer. So that gave me a year in which to lose a few pounds and get my knee right. After a couple of cortisone injections and walking 60 miles a week for the last 3 months, I'm ready to go.
So we did it, we walked from Wallsend, Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway past Carlisle. It was an amazing experience, and even better with a fellow Warrant Officer. We took the Tube from Newcastle to start at Segedunum at Wallsend. Segedunum is just one of many Roman Forts and museums along the route. When we started as 2 old soldiers, we immediately felt a kinship with this route. We could feel the ghost of the Roman legions that were stationed on this wall. One much like the Iron Curtain we had been stationed behind in Germany.
There were many challenging days, totaling over 90 miles walked over 8 days. The first 4 days, we averaged over 12 miles a day. We stayed in Bed and Breakfasts along the route. Most were marvelous English country homes. Some of these homes were actually built with stones from Hadrian's Wall. At the beginning and end of the march, there is not much of the wall left; it was dismantled and used for other things.
One of the more memorable B&B stays felt like an episode of Downtown Abby. We all had drinks in the parlor, then we were told to pass through for dinner. Yes, he said it: "It's time to pass through." All the people at the table we had already met on the hike. It was very interesting. Also, Nelson Mandela stayed here in the 90s. At dinner, our host told us stories about fox hunting.
Then there was the Nutbush B&B and Malcolm, what a great guy, totally relaxed. He took us to town to a local pub instead of fixing dinner at the house. He was a joy to talk to, a person who always had a laugh. I can't express how much I love this place. Malcolm is the man. He made our stay so enjoyable. Very down to earth, who made us feel like his home was our home.
In the middle of the march, where the base of the wall still stands, you can see it for miles across the rolling hills; it's an incredible sight. You can imagine what it was like to be a soldier on the wall. Strangely, a soldier's life hasn't changed much over the centuries. There was guard duty, kitchen police, and the local town where soldiers went to blow off steam. The Romans built the wall to keep people out, but it became an economic hub for over 300 years.
One of the highlights of the march was our stop in Carlisle. Carlisle Castle was a focal point for the wars between Scotland and England. Mary Queen of Scots was executed here in 1587. It was originally a Roman fort. There was also a fantastic military museum there, the British Border Regiment, which was stationed here.
On our last day of walking, we found a small church that offered tea, coffee, and biscuits for a small donation. They had a small museum in the church. It was good to get out of the rain. It felt good to enjoy a hot cup of tea and warm up in this little sanctuary.
It was an incredible 8 days that overwhelmed the senses. A big shout-out to Baggage Transfer Plus and Ian Blythe. Who made our 90-mile walk across England worry-free? We had great accommodations and baggage transfers all across Hadrian's Wall Path. Would highly recommend this service. I would say this walk along the wall was one of the Top 10 things that I have done in my lifetime; a great experience.
