Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail: August 2011

Friday, 19 August 2011

Walk of Section - 19th August 2011

Today was to be my first visit to my section of the trail in August. Starting at Heavenfield the ground beside the gate was very muddy and waterlogged. It was to be a familiar site along the route, due to the recent rain especially over last night.

The dips in the trail were waterlogged and it will need a long period of dry weather for them to dry up. Many of the fields that the trail passes through have been cut and collected for hay.

As usual, my tasks along the section were: litter picking, cutting back vegetation around the numerous gates and stiles, cutting back nettles/brambles/bracken which encroaches on the trail and monitoring path condition and archaeology.

At the mid point of my section of the trail, walkers come to an area laid with stone flags, this area was flooded and water was running from a drain along side the B6318 Military Road.

Flooded section of Trail

Not far from this point you enter Stanley Plantation,the path was very muddy underfoot and some areas waterlogged. At some points, you could not take a drier route, It is the first time this season that I have seen the trail in such a poor condition. The rains of July and August have really left their mark!

I try to complete all of my work on the outward leg of the section. Reaching The Errington Arms at about 11.30, with everything completed, I set off on the return leg and managed to take some of the folloiwng photographs. In total, I walk six and a half miles, and today I met 14 walkers completing the full 84 mile trail.

I will try to fit in another walk of my section before the end of August and monitor the problem waterlogged areas. We certainly could do with a dry spell of weather before the season finishes in October.