Bowness-on-Solway to Carlisle

Today's walk was a very pleasant and relatively easy start to our adventure along the Hadrian's Way Path, and the weather was warm and sunny, but not too hot. However, getting to the start of the Path involved a couple of 'near misses' in our transport arrangements, both of which worked out well in the end. Yesterday we'd travelled to Carlisle from home in Norfolk, via Ely, Peterborough and Newcastle. We allowed ourselves plenty of time, so had more than an hour to wait at Peterborough. However, about 5 minutes before the train was due, they announced that the train coming up from London was very full and so only those with seat reservations should board. That wasn't a problem; we had seat reservations. However they then proceeded to announce that those with two particular seat reservations should contact a staff member - and one of the seat numbers was ours. To cut a long story short, some combination of a guard having accidentally ripped up two seat reservations (one ours), and the people sitting in the seats refusing to move, meant that we got a free upgrade to first class. I could get used to the comfy seats and regular offers of refreshments, though we couldn't take full advantage of the latter because we had eaten a large lunch at Peterborough. The rest of the journey was uneventful, though it was a bit of a culture shock transferring from first class on the East Coast main line train to the little chuggy train from Newcastle to Carlisle. We spent a pleasant night at the Ibis Hotel in Carlisle and had a lovely meal at Franco's Ristorante, situated in the medieval Guildhall.

The second adventure was with the number 93A bus which was due to take us to Bowness-on-Solway. We had booked at the Ibis rather than a B&B partly to ensure we could get away in time for the bus, and we were at Carlisle's Bus Station in plenty of time for a 9.10 departure; however the bus wasn't! We and several other people, mostly other walkers, got increasingly anxious, and eventually the inspector at the bus station was to be seen apparently calling another bus into service. However, once we we'd left Carlisle, the bus driver didn't hang about! The 93A goes a scenic route to Bowness via Kilbride and Anthorn, in both cases rattling through the village then turning around and coming back. This gave us the opportunity to see more of an area that we didn't know at all. We'd been at least 20 minutes late in leaving Carlisle, but we reached Bowness around 10.20, just 10 minutes late. The bus had to squeeze its way past a parked vehicle before dropping us and picking up walkers who had presumably just completed the Hadrian's Wall Path.

Bowness-on-Solway is the start (or end) of the Hadrian's Wall Path because the village overlays Maia Roman Fort, which was at the western extremity of Hadrian's Wall and the furthest fort from Rome withIn the Roman Empire. 'Bowness' is not a unique name (Bowness-on-Windermere is arguably rather better known) and it means 'curved promentory'; in this case the promentory is on the Solway Firth. There is a 'Path Pavilion' down on the banks of the Estuary, reached by way of an alleyway from the Main Street. The father and son walkers who had been on the bus went heading off without going down to the Pavilion, and the other group (who weren't from the UK, and may or may not have been serious walkers) wandered down towards the Pavilion, but didn't stay long. We meanwhile went right down onto the sands, only right and proper for the start of an almost coast to coast! The other side of the Solway Firth is Scotland of course, and there used to be a bridge just to the west of Bowness; this carried a train line and, the story goes, Scots who wanted a 'wee dram' on the Sabbath used to walk across.

From the Pavilion, the path came up another alleyway to the road and we walked on the grass verge by the road across Bowness Marsh, with signs warning us of occasional flooding, though it was VERY low tide when we were there so quite difficult to imagine water coming up to and covering the road.

As we approached Port Carlisle, we took a track which led us down to the old harbour, replete with a Lands End style mileage sign pointing to the beginning and end of the Hadrian's Wall Path, and with the man keen to photograph us, perhaps with a distance marker to our home. We refused politely. I suspect that this area was once a bustle of activity, but the port, canal and railway are no more. We walked along an attractive track (perhaps the former railway line) with occasional views of the estuary through the hedge. The Solway Firth is the estuary of the rivers Eden and Esk, and the map shows the confluence of the two somewhere to the north of Port Carlisle. However, from the land at low tide, all you really see is an expanse of sand with occasional glimmers of water.

We crossed the road at the entrance to a caravan park (Cottage and Glendale Holiday Park) and followed a green lane across fields to Glasson, now on the course of the Vallum. We fell into conversation with a man who was out walking his dog; he was a very pleasant man, but as we talked his dog was running into the gardens of the houses on the approach to Glasson, some of which had poultry; the man was deep in conversation with us and didn't appear to notice. We walked through the village then turned onto a footpath across fields. This brought us to a track with Drumburgh Moss National Nature Reserve to the right. We turned left and followed the track down to Drumburgh. "Drumburgh Castle" is actually a crenellated farmhouse, but it is nevertheless an imposing building.

We stopped for a snack at a bench near Drumburgh, with lovely views over Solway Firth. We were not looking forward to the next section of the walk, a three-mile stretch along the road across Burgh Marshes. However there was a clear route along a low embankment (possibly the route of Hadrian's Wall though this isn't clear from the map) to the south of the road and we followed that. It was pleasant walking, though the sheep who we disturbed from their grazing on the embankment might have thought differently!

We passed a couple of junctions with minor roads, with diversion signs reminding us of the damage caused by serious flooding in this area earlier in the year. I think these diversions are as a result of bridges that were destroyed in the floods. We crossed a cattle grid which the guidebook rightly identifies as marking a transition point: "We leave behind the free-roaming cattle and marshland horizons...[and] embark on the farmed landscape of the Solway Plain". And now we did have to walk along the road! This brought us to the long village of Burgh by Sands, with its statue of Edward I, who died nearby in 1307 whilst preparing for battle with Robert the Bruce; there is a monument to Edward at the place where he is reputed to have died, but this is some distance from the path so we didn't visit it.

We were hoping for a refreshment break, so were delighted to encounter Rosemount Cottage Tea Room, right on the path. The day was warm and sunny, so sitting outside eating salad was just the job, though note that they serve a range of lunches - and cake! We got the impression that they had only recently re-opened for the summer; finding mayonnaise was clearly something of a challenge and they had to turn away custom from someone wanting ice creams. However the food was good and they were friendly people; we'd definitely recommend this as a place to stop.

We'd also recommend stopping to visit St Michael's Church in Burgh by Sands, again right on the route of the Hadrian's Wall Path. The building of the Church started the 12th Century making extensive use of stones from Hadrian Wall; two fortified towers were added later as protection from the Border Reivers, and one of these remains. The final point of interest is that Edward I's body lay in state here for some time before being transported south to Westminster Abbey.

From Burgh by Sands we continued to the village of Beaumont whose St Mary's Church sits on a mound right on the route of Hadrian's Wall. We'd expected to follow a path alongside the River Eden from Beaumont, but the path has washed away, so we followed a diversion along a minor road to Kirkandrews-on-Eden. There was an interesting section which follows the route of Hadrian's Wall on the top of an embankment, and we crossed the curiously named Sourmilk Bridge over Doudle Beck, then on to Grinsdale and across a meadow down to the river - at last! I stopped to change my socks, as I do every couple of hours in warm weather in an attempt to avoid blisters; the reason I remember this particular occasion is that I sat on a rather warm drain cover to complete the exercise!

Near Knockupworth we passed under a modern road bridge and a row of power lines marching across the fields on their pylons. We passed a group of girls (Girl Guides?) with a couple of adults, heading in the opposite direction. The path alongside the river was surprisingly undulating, with some attractive wooded sections. Just as we came right down to the river, a rather permanent-looking diversion sign sent us back away from it. I was rather disappointed to leave the river, especially as there was a heron in the vicinity, but (surprisingly since, according to the map, we were passing between the Cumberland Infirmary and a Power Station) the first part of the diversion was very attractive. It appears that the wooded tracks we were walking along are part of "Engine Lonning", a nature reserve on a former railway yard. Indeed, further research into the history reveals a strong connection with the rest of today's walk: in 1823, the Carlisle Canal was opened, running from Carlisle to what is now Port Carlisle. Just 40 years later, the canal had been filled in and replaced by a railway, which was extended from Drumburgh to Silloth. We were walking over the site of the terminus of the Carlisle and Silloth line, the junction with the Carlisle and Edinburgh line, and associated works.

All good things come to an end, and the second part of the diversion was along busy roads into Carlisle. Having said that, it was interesting to pass the Carr's Water Biscuit factory and buildings with the red and white brickwork which is characteristic of the area. It was also useful that we walked past Sainsbury's: we stopped to buy provisions for an evening meal. Clutching our shopping, we walked on, past Carlisle Castle and the Tullie House Museum (which we visited when the children were small, and if that visit is anything to go by, which we would recommend) then around the Cathedral precincts, past the Citadel then back to our room at the Ibis.

Following leg