Hadrian's Wall

  

July 19th

My first night in Newcastle. I arrived late was very tired from my day in York and starting to freak out because I couldn't find the hostel but after a long hike up a hill I found it, got checked in by a guy wearing superman pjs and I crashed. I was a bit surprised when I woke up to find not just the two girls but three guys also in the room. I took my shower and was out by 8 am making my way to the train station where the bus to Hadrian's wall is hoping to find breakfast along the way. I ended up just getting tea and a sandwich (being practically vegan has its limitations) The bus arrived and I was off to Hadrian's wall.

I arrived at Housesteads Roman fort - took a tour of their sparse museum (although it fit my needs) and then made my way up to the fort. It was beautiful and amazing. Before heading out on my three mile hike along the wall I went back to the museum to pick up another sandwich and some crisps and set off towards Steel Rig. The views were breathtaking. I was able to walk on some of the wall but I enjoyed walking alongside it just as much. i felt very archeologist-like climbing on rocks. I stopped a few times to enjoy mu lunch and the view. The flys were a problem and so was slipping int he mud. Of course to make that worse was a little kid pointing and alughing plus I only brought two pairs of jeans for the entire trip luckily they didn't get too dirty. 

The hike was very tiring with lots of up and down hills and rocks and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. One of the best parts was seeing the sycamore tree that's featured in Robin Hood. The French family ruined the tranquility of the moment a bit with their loudness but it was still an amazing site to see. I found a road a little further on and although I wasn't sure where it led I knew I couldn't go up any more hills. Luckily the road led directly to where I was trying to go. I wasn't sure if I had reached Steel Rig as there were no signs.

I missed the first bus picking up water and postcards so I had to wait an hour for the next but the visitor center has a nice video I watched all about the wall an the surrounding area. The bus though only went as far as Hexham so I had to take another bus and was at the wrong stop for the bus I needed but there was another bus that I ended up taking that got me back to Newcastle. An hour on the bus and I finally made it back. I strolled around eden Square shopping area, walked down the street that was named the most beautiful street in Europe in 2002. I didn't find it overly pretty.

I had dinner at Nando's which I have been hearing about and it was really good. Everyone there was super nice and the cook kept talking to me. The guy at the register knew that I was American which I'm not exactly sure I like, but really everyone in the North can tell I'm American where in the South not so much. I walked along the city walls on my way home only getting slightly lost that time. I had a nice talk with the people in my room at the hostel and went to bed early so I was ready for the conference in the morning. I don't know how but I managed to get a sunburn during my hike. The weather for the whole trip was amazing and it only rained once.