Hadrians Wall – Day 6 Grinsdale to Bowness-on-Solway (10 miles)

ukmase says…..

The last day was for me all about reaching the Kings Arms to sink the celebration drinks. The scenery though coming across the flood plains of the estuary though was quite special, plenty of birdlife etc to keep you interested. You could also see your final destination for most parts of the days and this is always nice.

I raced off ahead to pitch the tent in Port Carlisle,  the idea being we could stay in the pub till closing time and have no worries.  And the last 30 mins to Bowness were a pleasure, we were soon stood under the arch in the herb garden which signals the official end or start of your walk. Only one thing left to do….

So off we popped ot the Kings Arms to get our last stamp and sink a few cold ones, but what was that sign on the door……no debit/credit cards accepted. NoooOOOOOooo we were on our last pennies and the closet bank was in Carslile, luckily the owner said we could send a cheque in the post, top man !!! We spent most of the evening with a dutch couple and a lady who walked the wall with her son, (sorry names i always forget), plenty of good craic and we even met a begging pig who looks like its on its last legs.

Job done we headed back to the campsite- It is a great national trail this one, varied scenery and views, plenty of history and very popular.

Keso says…….

After another lovely hot shower I was ready for the finale of Hadrian’s Wall.

The river was the main feature of the initial part of the trail. . After what seemed like a few minutes (actually 2 mile) we arrived ay Burgh by Sands. Not much here to be honest, no shops. After passing through Drumburgh (where there was yet another substantial snack hut) we continued along the shore line before reaching Port Carlisle. We took a good opportunity to take a slight detour to the Chapel side campsite. To pitch the tent ready for our final night. A very basic site with wait for it ….NO HOT SHOWERS…….

We gathered put last bit of energy for the last push onto the finishing line at Bowness. After what seemed like forever, we finally arrived at the passport stamping point,

“hurrraaaayyy we’ve done it “. After numerous photos and videos we had a final fun sprint to the Kings Arms.

We enjoyed chatting to many friend wed met during out adventure, including a lovely Dutch couple, Laura and some Italians.

The prawn cocktails, lamb chops and mixed grill went down well as did the gin n tonics, pints and wine.

By 10pm I was shattered and tipsy and was ready for bed. So we caught the local bus down to the campsite. After a final rant about the cold showers we were off to bed feeling, VERY TIRED, SWOLEN, MIDGY BITTEN, HAPPY AND MOST OF ALL PROUD, yet a bit relieved the Hadrian’s Wall adventure was finally over .

Campsite – Chapelside campsite (£5 per person)

Location okay, facilities crap, dont bother, catch a bus back to West View campsite and walk the last day without a pack/

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