It was a very cold, crisp day with not a cloud in the sky. With the church to our left we walked into the centre of the village, turning right onto the B6318, walking up an incline until turning left onto a footpath (662656).
We followed this path, branching right where footpaths diverged (665658), through to Carvoran, a small settlement adjacent to the still buried Roman fort of Magna. The Roman Army Museum is housed in an 18th century farmhouse and associated buildings at Carvoran.
At a minor road we turned left, with Walltown Visitor Centre on our right, before taking a left turn on to the Hadrian's Wall Path. Here there are many signs with the unusual request to "keep off the path" to prevent any more localised erosion.
Heading down towards Thirlwall Castle |
After passing Holmhead we continued down a wooded bank to a lane which passed close to Thirlwall Castle. Here we climbed up to the castle to have a coffee stop in the shelter of the castle walls.
Climbing down from the castle mound we turned right along the lane, taking a left fork where the lane branched off. Just before the lane crossed a railway line we took a right turn onto a footpath which took us across fields, with the railway line to our left, through to Barron House.
|
From here, after passing through the farmyard, we continued in a north-west direction, diagonally across fields, crossing a lane (641679) before reaching a stream which required care to cross safely.
This took us into a wooded area where we turned sharp left just after the stream, walking through Irthing Gorge Woodland, home of the famous popping stone.
The Popping Stone is a group of three rounded sandstone boulders located in the Irthing Gorge and lies within the extensive grounds of the Gilsland Spa Hotel. It is traditional to say that Sir Walter Scott "popped the question" at the then unnamed stone which was "for ever afterwards" known as the Popping Stone.
After crossing the footbridge over the River Irthing we stopped for lunch. Most of us kept away from the sulphur spring near the river's edge to avoid the strong smell of rotten eggs!
From here we continued on a track passing Gilsland Spa Hotel on our right, turning right after the hotel down a lane to a church where the lane met a main road. Almost immediately after turning left onto the main road there was a footpath to our left which we followed through a wooded area then again crossing the River Irthing using stepping stones. Cameras were at the ready but nobody obliged by falling in!
We then turned right, walking alongside the River Irthing, until we reached Gilsland. Shortly after turning left at the main road (B6318) in Gilsland we picked up a footpath to our right (footpath sign was missing) to pick up the Hadrian's Wall Path which we followed until again reaching the B6318.
Thirlwall Castle in the fading light. |
Shortly after turning right at the main road there was a footpath to our left which we followed, with Toddle Burn on our right, until again reaching Thirlwall Castle . From here we turn right, due south, into Greenhead.
The present castle is constructed of stones taken from Hadrian's Wall nearby, and accounts for the complete disappearance of the Roman wall in the immediate vicinity. Indeed, the name Thirlwall means "pierced wall" or "gap in the wall". Many of the local cottages are made of stones taken from the ruined castle.
|
|