Most of the section of the Wall walk at this section does not follow the line of Hadrian's Wall, which is mostly hidden under the streets of Newcastle. Instead, it roughly follows the bank of the Tyne for 15 miles. The visitor centre has an observation tower that allows the visitor to get a birds eye view of the fort and the layout of the buildings.

As the name implies, this lies at the very end of the wall, on the banks of the River Tyne. The fort was lost to housing in the 19th century but following excavations the whole fort has been laid out, a full size bath house and piece of wall reconstructed, and a new museum and visitor centre opened. The wall in this picture is a full size reconstruction of how the wall may have looked but the foundations in front of it is the base of the actual wall.

Cilurnum is considered to be he best preserved Roman cavalry fort along Hadrian's Wall. There is a museum on the site, housing finds from the fort and elsewhere along the Wall. The site guarded a bridge across the River North Tyne whose east bank can still be seen. The west bank abutment is underwater as the river has drifted west about 20m since Roman times. Chesters was a cavalry fort at its foundation, for retaliatory raids into areas north of the wall, then over time used to house infantry. The east, west and north gates opened north of the wall, with the east and west gates opening directly alongide the wall. Closer to the river an be seen the well preserved remains of the baths.

The north gate is set centrally in the fort's north rampart. The north gate originally had double portals separated by a spine wall and protected by guard turrets. North is to the right of the photo. An aqueduct also enters the fort at this point, its channel covered with stone slabs.

Gate thresholds, central stop-blocks and sockets for the gates can still be seen. The west entrance passage was blocked soon after construction and was removed on excavation in the 19th century, leaving the earliest levels little worn.

Portions of three barrack buildings which occupied the north eastern quadrant of the fort can be seen. A pair of barrack blocks, each with NCO's quarters at the east end (top of the photo), and a series of rooms for the men fronted by a columned verandah face each other across a street with a central drain. The barrack does not have the normal ten rooms for infantry and must have been intended for an eight man cavalry squadron.

A view across the barracks looking north west, across the street between the two barrack blocks.

Chesters was first occupied by a cavalry regiment called, 'Augusta for valour', according to an inscription, but throughout most of its life it was the base for the Second Cavalry Regiment of Asturians, auxiliary soldiers from what is now northern Spain.

Like the main west gate and north gate, this gate opened out north of Hadrian's Wall and the wall can just be seen joining the southern gate tower (top left). It was discovered that both entrance passages had been blocked soon after the fort's construction since both gates are relatively unworn. This picture is taken from outside of the fort and traffic leaving the fort traversed from right to left in the photo.

The house represents a maze of rooms and is the result of additions and rebuilding over many years

The Pincipia is situated in the middle of the fort and consisted of a courtyard surrounded by a portico. Bordering this was a large hall with a series of rooms off it. The courtyard had a paved floor and contained a well, both of which are visible. The square bases for the portio columns can also be clearly seen.

Beyond the portico, the Headquarters building contained the unit's administrative offices. A central room held a regimental chapel where statues of the emperor and unit's standards were kept. This underground room was added in the 3rd century. When it was excavated an iron bound oak door was found at the foot of the steps but they did not long survive exposure.

This photo is taken from behind the wall, looking north. The wall connects to the gate house, the gate giving access beyond the wall in the north. Like the east gate, the west gate's passages were also blocked up.

This is the guard chamber in northern gate of the West Gate. It contains a stone platform at the north east corner for a water tank fed by an aqueduct that approached the fort from the west. The stone conduit for this can be seen leading to the platform.

This tower is located at the south east corner of the fort.

This single portalled gate was a minor exit from the fort towards the bath house near the banks of the river. The river can be seen at the top of the photo.

The small bath house lies outside the fort though this is safely behind the wall as it is south of the Main East Gate, one of the openings north of the wall. The fort bath house at Chesters is one of the best preserved Roman military bath houses. The grassed area to the left is the communal changing room. A doorway from here led to a lobby, within which the bather could choose between three treatments. A cold room, a hot dry room or the warm steam heat rooms.

In this photo we are in the communal changing room. The doorway to the left leads to the lobby from where the different treatment rooms are accessible. The purpose of the niches in the wall are uncertain. In Pompeii similar structures were for storage.

This latrine is of the same design as the well preserved latrine at Housesteads Fort. Wooden seats along the side, set over a channels would have allowed users to go about their business. Channels lead out and presumably down to the close by river.

600m to 800m west as the crow flies, but probably about double that due to the Wall bridge no longer existing and the more northern Chollerford Bridge being the modern crossing location, Brunton turret stands nearly 2.4m and is the tallest turret on the Wall. From its western side (left of the turret) runs the Wall built to the original thick (2.9m) specication. On the east side a narrow wall (2m) rides up over the turret's wing wall.

10 minutes or half a mile to the east of Brunton turret a short length of wall can be seen at Planetrees. This is another point where the wall was reduced from the original planned thickness (from 2.9m to about 2m). It is clear that the soldiers laying the Wall's foundations had progressed quicker that the builders of the superstructure as the foundations continue on past the point of reduction. The foundation builders also laid down the drain, most of which is incorporated into the narrow wall.

10 minutes west from Planetrees we are reminded that there is more history along the Wall than that from the Roman era. The early years of the 7th century were a time when both pagans and Christians lived in Britain. The Northumbrian King, Oswald, won a famous victory here in the shadow of the wall. A cross (visible) now marks the location of the battle. Oswald placed his army so that it was facing east, with its flanks protected by Brady’s Crag to the north and the Wall to the south. It would have made a spectacular scene with a mainly intact and ghostly wall overlooking the battle. That said, another account places the battle some way off.

13 miles west from Plantrees, and 15.5 miles in all, we ended at Heddon-on-the-Wall. A drive back to the campsite for more pasta and sauce was the treat for the evening. Here at Heddon you can see the 'broad' Wall, over 100 meters long. Some of the massive foundation stones weigh over a tonne each. At the west end of the wall a medieval circular kiln has been built into the wall.

The gap between turrets 39a and 39b is over 200m longer than the usual spacing along Hadrian's Wall and this tower would appear to have been built to fill this gap. It was built after the Wall was built and it was possibly noticed that this dip in the land made the position vulnerable to infiltration, hence the building of a turret here with such limited views. This is looking east back towards where we rejoined the path this morning.

On another drizzly day, coming down from Peel Crag, brings you to Milecastle 39 with Crag Lough in the background against the Highshields Crag escarpment.

Highshields Crag takes the walker through some woods which stand atop the crag overlooking a sheer drop to the water of Crag Lough. From here the path follows another descent and before another climb up to the remains of Milecastle 38. Milecastle 38 overlooks Crag Lough. The walls have been robbed but the site is still recognisable by the mounds under the earth.

Past Crag Lough this turf topped wall is known as the Clayton Wall. In the 1830s, John Clayton began buying sections of the wall to prevent local farmers helping themselves to the stone as building material. He rebuilt what we see today, essentially a dry stone wall in filled with rubble and capped with turf and is liable to collapse if walked upon.

Milecastle 37 is one of the best preserved of the milecastles and some of the north gate has been re-erected. The east half was occupied by a stone built barrack. The building was large enough to have housed 8 men. Compared with Milecastle 35, the puzzle is why there was a north gate since it stands above a very steep drop yet Milecastle 35 did not have one.

The post holes and sockets for the double doors can still be seen, with the doorstop in the centre.

Looking into the milecastle from the south. It has been estimated that the walls must have been above 5m high.

6 minutes on from Milescastle 37 is the great fort of Housesteads. Part of this the only place where walking on top of the wall is accepted. For non walkers, Housesteads Fort can also be accessed from the B6318 which runs parallel with, if some distance from, the wall. This is popular fort with well defined ramparts plus it is on the wall itself and commands great views.

Housesteads Fort has a small visitor centre and museum which I didn't enter on my last visit. This model brings the ruins to life. The previous photo showing the approach to Housesteads was taken from the point on the model where the wall from the west (top left) joins with the northwest tower of the fort. The wall can be seen continuing east from the northeast tower. Housesteads is covered in last years blog so I won't cover it here.

This is a rare example of a gateway through the Wall other than at a fort or milecastle. It was inserted in the 4th century AD to allow easier access to the north for the inhabitants around Housesteads. When the wall was first built, the only way to cross the frontier was through the gates of the milecastles and forts. Housesteads Fort can be seen at the top of the ridge with the wall leading from the north east corner to the Gateway. It's clear how much of an effort it would be to pass the wall through the fort especially if you pulling wagons.

Hadrian's Wall obviously caused inconvenience to local traders, and particularly people who relied on feeding their livestock between lowland grounds in winter and the uplands in summer. The gate was a simple, but effective control post that avoided the steep climb to the gates in the fort. The passageway was flanked by a pair of guard rooms. The passage had gates at both ends enabling traffic to be stopped before passing through. There may have been a toll imposed as well.

The turret at Sewing Sheilds stood on a steep escarpment on the north side of Hadrian's Wall. By the mid 2nd century AD the turret had gone out of use. In the early 3rd century AD, the turret was deliberately dismantled and this section of Hadrian's Wall was rebuilt filling the recess of the turret interior.

The outline of this is clear, and the individual rooms are well delineated. One notable absence is any sign of a gate entrance to the north. There was a gate originally but was blocked up, presumably because it would have been of little use at this site on top of the crags.

Grindon Turret also had a short life and was dismantled by the end of the 2nd century AD. Where location Turret 34B should be is overlaid by a farmhouse at Sewingshields Farm so no remains can be found.

We are well and truly off the highlands now. The journey from here is easy going and through farmland. The turret entrance is at the east end of the south wall, with a platform in the south-west corner, and a hearth at the centre.

The fort was added to the Wall after it was constructed and built over the vallum. It is now in private ownership and is used as a pasture though the earthworks mark out the site. The area around it contains the temple to the god Mithras, an Eastern sun-god, supposedly born from heaven. According to legend, he had captured and killed a bull in a cave, the first creature to be created on earth, and from the blood that flowed all creatures gained new life. This doctrine of new life from sacrifice brought Mithraism into conflict with Christianity.

These temples were small to represent the cave in which the bull was slayed. A large painting or sculpture of Mithras slaying the bull stood in front of the three altars. The statues, altars and wooden posts are all casts of finds made during excavations in 1949. Though they look drab, Roman buildings and sculptures were once brightly painted. It lies to the south of the fort.

The ditch in front of the Wall comes to a halt at an area of tumbled stone blocks. As the ditch encountered solid rock, blocks of stone were cut out and lifted. Some of these huge stones were left where they can be seen today.

Black Carts Turret was built for the 3m 'broad' wall as the foundations for this can be seen. However, like many other parts of the wall the plan was changed to be a 'narrow' 2m. Although most of the stone on the south side has been robbed, the Wall stands eleven courses high on the north side. ('Carts' is derived from the old English ceart, which means rocky and rough)

At the entrance to this turret you can see grooves where huge stone slabs were positioned to form the sides of the doorway. The curved groove was made to allow the door to be pushed into position. The hole is where a pin, located at the bottom of the door enabled the door to swing open.

Okay, this isn't a new sight but it is still a wall highlight. From Birdoswald there is about 5 minutes of impressive wall to follow until you get to Milecastle 49. If you have time, try and find the phallic inscriptions and symbols that are concentrated in this area of wall.

Thirlwall Castle was built in the early 14th century as an impressive family stronghold. Its thick high walls, built from Hadrian's Wall helped repel attacks from unwelcome visitors during the Anglo-Scottish border raids in the 15th and 16th centuries. Abandoned in the 17th century, the castle was gradually plundered for its stone and wood. It is now a protected monument.

Leaving Thirlwall Castle behind us, the trail begins to climb quite steeply leading to some of the most attractive and scenic parts of the trail where crags giving great views over the landscape and dips all form part of the walk. For a short part the path is north of the defensive ditch that was in front of the wall and at this point you leave the Roman Empire behind - unless you are in the Antonine period.

Now walking on the northern side of the Wall, you get a good view of the defensive ditch which is still impressive after all these years. The wall that stands here is a modern creation to mark the line.

A short tab from Thirlwall takes you to Walltown quarry and a rest point if one is needed before a climb back up on to the crags. The wall here is very impressive and stands in places above head height.

This turret was a free standing watchtower before Hadrian's Wall was built and with the commanding views on offer it is no great surprise. The turret was later incorporated into the Wall even though it is less than the planned one-third of a Roman mile from milecastle 45.

Aesica (with the modern name of Great Chesters) had the purpose of guarding the Caw Gap further east. This is a comparatively small fort and little remains to be seen apart from the outline of the walls. There is a pillar on the eastern side of the south gate with a carving of a jug. This is an original alter rather than a replica and is the only one of its kind still surviving in situ on the wall. The fort had only three main gates; south, east and west, with double portals with towers. At some time the west gate was completely blocked up. There were towers at each corner of the fort. A branch road from the Stanegate entered by the south gate.

The trail is pasture again before reaching Cawfield quarry to the right and just out of the photo. The long length of the wall can be seen snaking off over the hills and escarpments known as Cawfield Crag. Cawfield quarry is where I rejoined the wall last year on my final day. Past Cawfiield quarry and Milecastle 42, we continued to Steel Rigg, our final destination for the day.

Back on the highest point of Hadrian's Wall at 345m above sea level except this time the rain clouds have replaced the sun from last year. Next stop Steel Rigg and a bus back to our tent and a pub dinner.

Refreshed and cheerful after a night in a sodden field.

I remember reaching this point last year and the feeling of achievement which went with it. Even the second time round, I'm still impressed by the structures and earth works.

I didn't take a photo of this last year - perhaps because its almost identical to nearby Piper Sike 51a. Note the defensive north ditch in front of the turret.

After walking for hours and miles, I realise now how far I travelled last year in such a short time. No wonder my feet were torn to pieces. In this photo the big ditch is the southern vallum. Notice the cows. These big beasts were scattered along many parts of the path and we had a few unavoidable and scary episodes passing through them. They are more scared of people but you never know which way they are going to run. If they have calves, give them a very wide berth.

Burgh by Sands stands on the site of the Roman fort of Aballava. Very little trace of this or wall remains. We took refuge in the pub at this location and waited for the weather to clear. After about an hour the weather had cleared sufficiently for us to resume the walk. Last year I carried between 25-28kg but this year I managed to cut it down to about 22kg which is still too much to carry. Unlike last year, the weather switched between showers and torrential rain that turned the roads into rivers. The sheet rain did not make an appearance until we entered Burgh by Sands.

The church lies within the boundary of the Roman fort of Aballava. Even when the church was completed in the 12th century there was still plenty of Roman stone left in the area for Roman stones to be incorporated into the tower. The tower was built in the 14th century. When Edward I died nearby on 7th July 1307 whilst leading a campaign against Robert the Bruce he was laid in St Michael's Church.

This milecastle is built on an awkward slope with a steep escarpment to the north making it very difficult to cross the frontier. An easier crossing point lies further west. Perhaps the military planners considered this to be a good vantage point for signalling and observation. Or maybe it was positioned here simply because it is an exact Roman mile from the previous milecastle.

A vallum (defensive ditch) also existed behind the wall and this, with its mounds, can be seen in this shot. Interestingly, a square outline can also be seen on the ground which may indicate further Roman or later remains which are currently unexcavated.

Looking north from the Wall, we can see the commanding views from this section near Caw Gap - although I'm looking towards the east and the south.

Sitting along the crest of this section known as Cawfields Crags, with Caw Gap in the east and Caw Burn in the west, this turret was excavated in 1912 and found to have a doorway on the east side of the south wall. The turret was dismantled and the Wall built across it in the Severan Period (193AD to 235AD).

This spectacular view shows the wall snaking westwards over the crags towards the start of the crags known as Caws Gap. In places with a steep drop there is no need for the northern defensive ditch but if you look, some parts of the wall which are more approachable show evidence of this.

This section sits on the Winshields, hence the name. On the highest part of the wall with the 345m high trig point at my back, I am looking east towards the lake Crag Lough, at the foot of Whin Sill or Great Whin Sill. The Wall continues to run on top of this spectacular feature. The Wall can be seen curving to the right where it descends to Steel Rigg car park. From here there is the option to climb back up with the Wall or head south, away from the Wall. At this point I chose to leave the Wall and head to Vindolanda.

The trig point marking the highest point of the Wall.

After leaving the reception complex, immediately in front of you are the remains of a small Romano-Celtic temple - a simple structure surrounded by a boundary wall. Excavated in 2001, it proved to have been demolished by the Romans and the site was given over cremation burials. To the right can be seen demonstration sections of the Wall which were constructed in 1972/1973.

Civilian settlements would be attracted to forts and outside of the fort these bath houses served as the recreation areas for the troops. From material found in the sewers and drains it is clear that civilians also used the facility.

This section represents the wall in turf and wood with a timber milecastle gateway. It must be remembered that the purpose of the wall was not to prevent a large scale invasion but to prevent unwanted immigration from the north. Of course, the structure would have been a formidable barrier but an enemy making a concerted attack would be able to breach the Wall.

This section represents the wall in stone, with an interval turret. This gives an indication of the size of the wall - what it actually looked like can only be speculated.

Housesteads occupies a commanding position on the cliffs and is on the most complete forts at the wall. Amongst the remains are four gates, a headquarters, commandant's house, barracks, granaries, the only visible Roman hospital in Britain and latrines with a flush system. It was built to garrison an infantry cohort of 800 men and was further reinforced in the 3rd century.

The Wall leads from the left behind the woods and follows the cliffs past Crag Lough. The Wall actually forms the north wall of the fort and at the north west corner of the fort continues on a more northerly route. The fort must have been an imposing sight back in its glorious heyday both from Roman southern side and the lands beyond Roman control.

This was a large courtyard house for the commanding officer. These are the main residential quarters. This room was converted into a heated room and the stone pillars allowed heated air to pass under the paved floor and up through channels into the walls.

Goods came into the fort through the west gate and there was an open area here at the western facing entrance for carts to unload. The granaries were floored with timber joists supported above the ground on rows of pillars. This was to ensure good ventilation for the stored food and to deter vermin.

This small rectangular foundation is the base of Turret 36b. Hadrian's Wall was first planned without forts, and the nearest fighting units remained in forts on the Stanegate, a mile to the south such as at Vindolanda. During the construction of the wall, the forts were moved up to the wall and as a result some were built over milecastles and turrets such as this.

The North Gate (porta prinicipalis sinistra) was originally planned to have a double entrance but the right hand passage appears to have been rarely used. The left hand passage displays considerable wear. Eventually, the approach to the gate within the fort was narrowed greatly, presumably when the Knag Burn gateway was constructed. This is just about visible in the photo where the Wall continues away from the fort at its north-east corner.

This follows the normal pattern for a barrack, being a long building divided into ten rooms for the soldiers, eight to a room, with a room for the centurion at the far end. Unusually, this barrack does not face Barrack XIV across the street but instead faces the north rampart of the fort.

The latrine was at the south east corner (so water could drain out) of the fort and were entered from the eastern end of the building. Wooden seats were along the side, set over a channel. A smaller channel in the centre of the building was used for washing sponges. Some the forts along the Wall had long aqueducts bringing fresh water to them but none is known at Housesteads. Instead, a series of tanks supplied water to this building.

From Housesteads I got a bus back to Bowness-On-Solway. My feet were blistered and and the most painful were the ones on the top of my toes as they couldn't straighten fully in my boot.

Some way past Brampton and through rolling countryside I began to see more signs of Roman occupation. I had come across some structures and ruins but there was nothing around to say that they were Roman. However, by now this ditch made it evident that I was entering 'wall country'. I didn't know it at the time but I was just a few minutes away from the sign posted Hare Hill. This photo is of the view roughly east, taken from the northern side of where the wall would have been in 'barbarian lands'.

The Hadrian's Wall Path gives the visitor a lot of information along the way, detailing many of the monuments. The museums and other exhibits will give the visitor, big or small, plenty to do and learn.

Finally, my first view of Hadrian's Wall. This was once thought to be the highest surviving section but it fact was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. A building stone on the north face bears the inscription PP, recording that this stretch of wall was build by Roman legionaries under the Primus Pilus (literally 'first spear') - the first centurion of a legion.

The western part Hadrian's Wall was first built of turf, with stone turrets. The section stretched from Bowness-On-Solway, on the west coast, to the River Irthing, near Harrow's Scar, Milecastle 49. Within about ten years, the wall was rebuilt in stone. Turrets were often incorporated into the stone wall at regular intervals. The overlaid map shows what is left in this section and the positions of the milecastles and turrets.

Before Hadrian's Wall was built, there were a number of Roman forts along the Stanegate, the Roman road between Corbridge and Carlisle. Watchtowers were built on high ground and used for signalling to the forts and other towers. Here at Pike Hill was one of those early signal towers. Because of its important position, it was incorporated into the Wall and used until the later 4th century AD. Deep foundations suggest it was higher than usual. Now, only a small section of it and the adjoining wall remains. In the distance looking west, Turret 52a can be seen.

It is noticeable that the low level remains of the turrets are very similar. Typically there was a doorway, a hearth for warmth and cooking, and a stone platform where soldiers placed a ladder to gain access to the upper level and wall walk. The rest is a matter for speculation. Here at Piper Sike, the remains of the stone platform for a ladder to the upper floor can be seen against the north wall. In the centre of the floor was a sunken hearth.

Hadrian's Wall was part of a military zone extending from a deep ditch on the north side of the Wall to a ditch flanked by earth mounds, the Vallum, along the southern side of wall.

The original Roman name is open to intense debate and may be called 'Banna' or 'Camboglanna'. Excavations between 1987 and 1992 showed an unbroken sequence of occupation on the site of the fort granaries, running from the late Roman period until possibly 500AD and as of 2008, was the only site on Hadrian's Wall at which significant occupation in the post-Roman period has been proven.

This photo is taken from the Military Way, the main road which connected all the forts along Hadrian's Wall and passed through the west and east gateways. It is looking into the West Gateway (Porta Principalis Sinistra). The gate originally had two high portals flanked by towers but around 230AD the south portal was blocked up. Note the exceptionally fine masonry at the base of the south tower of the gateway. The stone was used to repair the fort in the early third century.

This view also from the gate shows the west wall of the fort and the extra room made by the blocked the southern part of the West Gateway.

Like all the main gates in all the forts, guard chambers flanked the entrances. During the 3rd century the guard chambers to this gate were converted into cookhouses. This, the east guard chamber, has two excellent examples of Roman ovens. Each oven would have been covered by a clay dome. Wood was set alight in the ovens to heat the structure, the embers scraped out, and then bread put in to bake.

This photo shows the signature shape of a Roman fort; the rounded corners of a rectangle, forming the shape of a playing card.

This gateway is one of the best preserved of the forts on Hadrian's Wall. This is looking into the fort from the military way just outside, and shows the double doorway with arch support. Guard chambers exist on both sides.

Going west from Birdoswald Fort comes milecastle 49. It's fairly hard to photograph as all that remains is the basic rectangular shape and there is no raised ground from which to get a good overview. Immediately east is a sheer drop to the River Irthing and to the south is a very steep slope which is the route of the Hadrian's Wall Path. The path takes you down to a small bridge that crosses the river.

In this view the edge of Birdoswald can be seen and isn't far to the west of Milecastle 49. Immediately beyond the milecastle is a sheer drop cut into the land by the River Irthing. In Roman times the wall would have extended further as the river was further east than its present course. The yellow line shows where the Wall and the bridge would have stood, with it connecting with the remains of the Wall on the other bank of the river. The path takes you down to a crossing and back along the course of the Wall.

The river has drifted west since Roman times and the remains of the original Roman bridge are now high and dry. The remains of the bridge are part of the abutment which supported the east end of the bridge and protected the river bank from erosion. The inlaid image shows how the bridge may have looked.

From the close up view of the abutment, the Wall can be seen ascending to the modern Willowford farm.

From this turret can be seen an excellent example of the north defensive ditch which is well preserved thanks to the road which runs at the bottom of it.

Turrets were simple watchtowers providing access to the wall walk and built when the foundations of Hadrian's Wall were laid out, if they weren't already built from an earlier time. They were built to a standard plan with a short spur wall on either side, ready to be linked to the Wall. However, not all of the wall was built to the same width, perhaps to save time and resources. At this turret, a narrow 2m wall can be seen standing on 3m wide foundations.

This is one of the best milecastles and was built by the 6th Legion. This was occupied until the 4th century. At some point both gateways were partially blocked to restrict access. Remains of ovens can be seen as are stairways and barrack blocks. Originally there were two barrack blocks containing four rooms with a verandah each facing onto a central through fare.

Inebriated and unable to put up a shelter, I spent the night in the tent with Adam which could be said to have been a bit of a squeeze. With The Solway Firth behind me to the North and 84 miles of path to the East, this was a glorious morning to begin the trek. The western end of Hadrian's Wall was originally occupied by the eightieth milecastle and was built of turf and timber. When the Wall was replaced in stone, the milecastle was demolished and replaced by a timber-built fort, which was itself then rebuilt in stone. Much of it has now crumbled into the sea. The fort was the second largest on the Wall, with the largest of the forts being Uxelodunum, now covered by modern day Stanwix in Carlisle, which was the military administrative centre of the Wall.

King Edward I, Edward 'Longshanks', died in nearby Burgh By Sands on 7th July 1307 whilst leading a campaign against Robert the Bruce. He was laid in St Michael's Church in the village until its eventual removal to Westminster Abbey. On 7th July 2007, this statue was installed to mark the 700th Anniversary of Kind Edward's death.

Time for a rest, sock change and a refreshing cuppa. No time to eat but that was put right in Carlisle with a MacDonalds. Judging by the last time I saw him, it seems that Adam has been eating nothing but. Definitely not the streamlined Adam from Patagonia 2001.

It was lovely sitting in the sun on the banks of the River Eden but we had to move on and followed the course of the river towards Carlisle, which was only a mile or two away. My feet were beginning to hurt and it wasn't just the normal pain from walking a long distance. It was at this point that I realised I had the wrong boots and without inner soles to cushion each step a big mistake became obvious.

22 miles of tabbing and now it was time to rest those weary feet and shoulders. Underneath the shelter is my sleeping bag inside a gortex bivvi on top of a roll mat. The poncho keeps most of the rain off whilst the bivvi bag ensures that rain doesn't get into the sleeping bag.

Pasta for breakfast, handfuls of snacks on the go, a dirty MacDonalds meal in Carlisle, and now more pasta from the comfort of my 'bed'. An energy draining day, I usually only spend days and nights out like this on army exercises. It rained during the night but with my tired limbs resting in my bivvi bag, warm and dry, with the soothing sound of rain drops on my poncho, better comfort can rarely be found. Even better, there was no one to wake me to do stag (guard duty) at stupid o'clock.

This was one of the most painful blisters that I had developed and required immediate relief. I sterilised the knife in the flame of my lighter and then popped the blister at the base on the side going away from the direction of movement and friction. This prevents the now weakened skin from tearing and takes away the pressure of the blister which causes the pain.