Today's walk was a last minute decision made just yesterday. Did research on it last night and this morning. Weather was pleasant for walking - cloudy, however the absence of sunlight and poor visibility caused the bad turnout of photographs.
I hopped on the bus which took me to Hexham. The walk out of the town, crossing Hexham Bridge over River Tyne, was a pleasant one. I took on the Hadrian's Wall Cycleway Path before finding my way to the actual Hadrian's Wall Path (for walkers). Although it was a cool day (12 degree celsius), I was perspiring due to the occasional jogs and ascents.
When I came upon the Path, I ran into a couple from Manchester who was doing the entire Hadrian's Wall walk. We found several common topics involving hill walking and we happily shared the experiences of our previous walks. It was only beyond Halton Shields where we spilted as they were stopping for their lunch break. I carried on eastwards.
This section of the Hadrian's Wall Path was one of the easiest and straightforward walks I'd ever done. In terms of gradients, it was almost flat except for some dips and ascents. I followed along the edges of arable farmland and beside the modern B6318 - a military road. The heavy traffic as well as aeroplanes above (preparing for landing at the nearby Newcastle Airport) had disrupted the peaceful countryside walk. As expected, Hadrian's Wall walk was BORING! That was why I never bothered doing the entire Path despite its convenient location (with respect to where I am living).
After a 5-hour brisk walk/ jog, I reached Heddon-on-the-Wall which was just on the outskirts of Newcastle. I waited for the bus to take me home, concluding my day's walk. Not much highlights, except for some reservoirs near Harlow Hill. I had completed 24km in a quick 5-hour period: Not bad. That was an achievement really...
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