DAY 8 - CROSBY-ON-EDEN TO BURGH BY SANDS - 26/07/06
There were 13 walkers for this 11 mile penultimate section of our Hadrian's Wall Path walk.
From Crosby the Hadrian's Wall Path is mainly on level country much of the route taking us alongside the River Eden; it was easy walking taking us through some pretty villages and country lanes. As we walked along the banks of the river it was hard to imagine how the water could have reached such high levels during the floods of 2005.
As we neared Carlisle, at Rickerby, we passed by Tower Farm complete with towers in the farm yard and a folly in the field to the right. These were built by Mr George Head Head (yes that was his name!).
We then passed through Rickerby Park, across a girder bridge, to have our passports stamped at The Sands Sports Centre.
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Folly at Rickerby |
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As we were leaving Carlisle in the tree lined Bitts Park we could see, although we didn't realise at the time, Roman blocks dredged from the river and believed to come from the Roman Bridge at Stanwix.
As we approached Burgh by Sands we came across signs promising refreshments at a tea shop in the village. In the village some of us made a bee line for the 'tea shop', where an enterprising couple had opened up the front of the house and front garden, to buy ice creams and cold drinks.
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The remains of 'Aballava' a Roman fort lies beneath the village but now the best view of the stones can be seen in the Church of St. Michael which is largely built from stones taken from the wall and fort. The village name Burgh comes from the Old English word 'burh' meaning fortification or stronghold.
The Hadrian's Wall bus arrived, only a little late, to take us back to our cars at Crosby. It seemed strange that the bus fare had got more expensive the further west we travelled - this time over £4. Back at Crosby we stopped for refreshments and arranged our celebration meal which we plan to have at the end of the next section of our walk. |