Walk of Section - 11th July 2011

During the month of July I make two visits the Portgate to Heavenfield section to inspect the Trail and return a monitoring report. Today was to be the second visit and I started at Heavenfield at about 8.15 a.m. It was a beautifully sunny morning and the majority of my time on the outward journey east to Portgate was spent cutting back vegetation around the gates and stiles.

The path continues to be in good condition and as it was recently mown it stands out in the fields probably being left for hay making.

Trail at Heavenfield looking West.

No problems were noted on the Trail as I reached the mid point. It was about 10.00 a.m. when I reached Stanley Plantation. As I walked through the wood, I cut back nettles and brambles encroaching on the path. It was to be at about 10.30 a.m. when I met the first two walkers travelling West.

Reaching The Errington Arms at about 11.00 a.m. I set back on the return leg back to Heavenfield. The sun continued to shine, but there was a few spots of rain and gathering dark clouds in the west. There was very liitle litter to pick up along the Trail this visit. On my way back I met a further 12 walkers travelling east. They had experienced no problems whilst on the Trail and were very complimentary about the condition of the path.

The following photographs were taken throughout the morning:

Trail looking West

Trail looking West

Colour in the Gorse bushes beside Stanley Plantation

Trail through Stanley Plantation looking West

Trail beside the Wall ditch looking West

Well mown Path looking West

Walk of Section - 1st July 2011

As it was the first of July and a fine day, I took the opportunity of going out to do my third monitoring report of the 2011 season on Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail. It was quite early when I started at Heavenfield and it soon became clear that the recent rain and warm weather was the ideal conditions for the vegetation to grow in the fields and in and around the gates and stiles on the Trail. I had only walked about 100 metres before I had to cut back nettles and grass from around the gate into Heavenfield.

Heavenfield from gate looking West.

The Trail had been recently cut by the two lengthsmen who cover the entire length of the walk. I was to find that this was the case over the whole of the section from Heavenfield to Portgate. As well as marking out the Trail it also will help the tired walker.

As I reached each gate and stile I had to spend a small amount of time ensuring that they were in a state of good repair and clear away any nettles etc.

Near to St. Oswald's Tea Room, looking West.

On the Trail leading to the middle of the section, there were a few molehills, that needed to be spread out. It was only a fraction of the amount that was there during the months of January and February.

View of well maintained Trail, looking West.

I reached the centre point of my section by mid morning after working on every gate and stile. It was unusual that I had not met any walkers travelling west. Parts of the Trail had been repaired and new grass seed sown. I had been informed earlier in the week about a vehicle that had crashed through the wall and ended up on the Trail beside the Military Road plantation. The two lengthmen had removed all of the stone obstructing the Trail. The damaged wall and fence will be repaired by the necessary authorities in the future.

Looking West towards Stanley Plantation, near to site of Milecastle 23.

End of section, looking East towards The Errington Arms (Portgate).

I reached the The Errington Arms by about 11.00 a.m. and had a full bag of litter that I had picked up along the Trail. After a short rest and spot of refreshment, I set off on the return walk to Heavenfield. 

Trail beside the Vallum, looking West.

Trail beside the Vallum looking East.

 It was not until I was in Stanley Plantation and at about 11.30 a.m. when I met my first walker, he was only doing small parts of the Trail over a period of time. It was to be about another half an hour before I met two Canadian families doing the whole Trail. They were having a great time and they were all surprised at how well the path is maintained.

I finally reached Heavenfield about noon after only having to cut back some brambles encroaching onto the Trail. It definitely was unsual to met only 8 walkers at this time of year.

Packing everything away, I set off home in my car, and as I passed the middle of the section a very large group of walkers were making their way West!

Walk of Section: 6th June 2011

After the rain of yesterday, it was good to see some sunshine again for my second walk of the season, on my section of Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail. I was at the start of the section for about 8.00 a.m. and started by picking up some litter, cutting the grass around the first stile and tidying up around the information plaque.

Trail at Heavenfield.



On the way west to Heavenfield, I cut the grass under all of the stiles and cleared away nettles. The path through Stanley Plantation was relatively clear, but some troublesome brambles and nettles encroaching on the path needed to be removed.

It was not until after I had crossed the Military Road at the half way point of the section, that I met the first two walkers on the trail. 

View of Wall ditch looking west.

Reaching Heavenfield about 10.30 a.m. I had to cut back some branches of a tree that had fallen probably due to the strong winds at the end of May.

After cutting some nettles near to the gate in Heavenfield I set off on my return leg to The Errington Arms at Stagshaw roundabout. In total during the three and a half hours on the trail, I met 20 walkers who were doing the full walk.

Although it became very overcast, the rain kept off and the sun came out again as I reached the car park at The Errington Arms.

Speaking to the walkers today, they were all complimentary about the condition of the path and said how friendly all of the people were that they had met during their time on their walk.

Stanley Plantation.

View of trail looking west.

Trail looking west towards Heavenfield.

Walk of Section: 10th May 2011

With the new season being nine days old I decided to do my first official walk of my section of the Trail. Temperatures have fallen over the last few days, although we are still getting sunshine, there were some scattered showers to dodge.

I started at The Errington Arms car park, picking up some litter and cutting back grass around the stile before getting onto the trail.

During the walk to Heavenfield I continued to pick up litter, rake out molehills, fill in some rabbit holes, cut back brambles, cut back nettles and check all gates and stiles for any damage.

The Trail is looking in excellent condition and I enjoyed a leisurely walk back from Heavenfield.

On my walk of the section today I met 25 walkers. In this amount there were 2 Dutch, 4 Austrailians and 1 Spanish walkers, completing the whole Trail.

Gorse bushes in the Wall ditch near Heavenfield.

View of Trail looking West.

Trail looking West.

Trail in Stanley Plantation near site of Milecastle 23.

Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail - The New Season 2011

The new season started for Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail on the 1st May. It will bring an influx of walkers and tourists to our area.

During last season more than 10,000 walkers used the Trail. With this many feet on the Trail, maintenance and monitoring is an ongoing task to keep it in its best condition. The season ends in October but work and monitoring continues throughout the Winter months.

Sycamore Gap.

 

 

 

 

For the first time walker or visitor, they will experience some stunning scenery and come close up to the structures and archaeology on the World Heritage Site.

Milecastle 39 - Castle Nick.

With such a good spell of weather recently, and not being interested in the 'wedding', I decided to check on my section of the Trail before the first day of the season.

My main reason for visiting the Trail was to ensure all was well and to cut back any vegetation around the gates and stiles. After parking the car, I climbed over the first stile at The Errington Arms Stagshaw and set off for the three and a half mile walk to Heavenfield.

The first thing I noticed was that the Trail had recently been mown, and how green it was looking. The warm weather has certainly been good for weeds and nettles, short walks between stiles and gates led to some hard work clearing the vegetation at these points.

Earlier walks had led me to report on a large amount of waterlogged areas, these areas have now dried up and in some places the ground was actually cracking. As usual there was a small amount of litter to pick up from out of the Vallum and Wall ditch.

On my last walk in early April I met no walkers, this walk saw me talk to seven full trail walkers and six day walkers. For the one of the full trail walkers talked to travelling east, he was to tell me it was only his third day on the Trail. At the point I met him, he was about 25 miles from the finish. He did comment that "his knees were starting to feel it!" For most walkers I talk to at this point it is their fifth day, so he had really made good time.

I reached Heavenfield about lunch time and after a short rest set off back to Stagshaw. Having completed the work on the outward leg, it was a leisurely stroll back in the sunshine. It was a very clear day and the views to the North and South were magnificent and the lambs were lying down in the warm sunshine.

After the harsh winter and wet weather, the Trail on my section was looking excellent. I had no problem areas to report back to Hadrian's Wall Heritage Limited about. I am looking forward to another season as a Hadrian's Wall Volunteer Ranger and shall be out on the Trail in the not to distant future.

Day out – Walking Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail

As a National Trail Volunteer Ranger, I am normally found walking on my section of the Trail. This is a three and a half mile stretch from Port gate (The Errington Arms, Stagshaw roundabout, near Corbridge) to Heavenfield (near Chollerford).

With such a good spell of weather, I decided to travel a little further west and visit some of the iconic sites in the Central Section of the World Heritage site. The first decision of the day was, where to start my walk from?

For the day walker, there are a number of good places to park the car and set off on the Trail. For example:

• Walltown – near to the Roman Army Museum, a good place to park, picnic and join the Trail travelling east or west.

Walltown Quarry

• Cawfields – car park situated beside the quarry, again a good place to picnic and explore the Trail travelling east or west.

Cawfields Quarry

• Steel Rigg – car park is located adjacent to the monument and offers outstanding views of the Wall.

Steel Rigg

I decided to park at Steel Rigg and walk east towards Housteads. With ‘wall to wall sunshine’ other people had obviously had the same idea. The overflow car park was in use, but I managed to get a space in the main parking area.

I readied myself for the walk ahead and made sure that I had my camera. Normally used to take photographs of any problem areas on my stretch of the Trail, today it was to get some views of such an important historical site.

 If you are to follow the route of the Wall from Steel Rigg, walking boots or shoes are an essential piece of your equipment. Parts of the Trail follow the contours of the land and this means some climbs and descents on stone steps. One thing to remember is that you will be walking at a fairly slow pace, due to you following the contours of the land in this section.

 There is an alternative route which can be used; it follows The Roman Military Way. On a clear day you get some stunning views of the magnificent scenery, I was also able to get the following pictures of Milecastle 39 and Sycamore Gap.

Milecastle 39 - 'Castle Nick'

Sycamore Gap

Returning back to the car park at Steel Rigg ended an enjoyable but quite tiring day. For visitors not used to this type of terrain, I think there would be some aching leg muscles the day after!

New Season nearly here for Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail.

The 1^st May is rapidly approaching. On this date, the 2011 National Trail passport season will start. The season runs from the 1^st of May to the end of October each year.

View of Trail at Heavenfield, looking West towards Chollerford.

The award winning Hadrian's Wall Country Bus AD122 Service will also operate between Good Friday 22^nd April and Sunday 30^th October.

Approximately 10000 walkers will complete the Trail this season and they will come from a wide variety of places from around the World and this country. Not only will they get to see such a magnificent monument, they will get to see a wide variety of stunning scenery and countryside.

Walkers, who complete the whole Trail in one season, can get a badge and certificate. To prove that they have walked the whole Trail in one season, they have to collect a stamp in their passport from each of the seven stamping stations spaced out along the route.

Stamping Stations:

• Segedunum Roman Fort (Wallsend)
• Robin Hood Inn, (B6318 Military Road)
• Chesters Roman Fort (Chollerford)
• Housesteads Fort * NEW in 2010 *
• Birdoswald Roman Fort (Gilsland)
• Sands Centre or Tullie House Museum (Carlisle)
• The Banks Promenade or The Kings Arms Inn (Bowness-on-Solway)

Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail is promoted to walkers and visitors as a spring, summer and autumn destination. It is not promoted as a winter destination; as during these months the soil can become waterlogged and the important archaeology under the surface can be damaged.

View of trail looking West, towards Chollerford.

A great deal of maintenance and monitoring of the Trail takes place during the winter months. Work will have been carried out on the gates, stiles, signage, footbridges and eroded and waterlogged areas of the Trail.

Monitoring of the Trail’s condition is carried out by the Volunteer Rangers. They can be identified by their royal blue fleeces and waterproofs, which are customised with the National Trail Acorn and World Heritage Site logo.

As one of these Rangers, I have weather permitting, been out on my section of the Trail during the Winter months picking up litter, replacing signs, cleaning mud from stiles, clearing vegetation etc.  Probably the most important is being the person on the ground, seeing the problem areas on the Trail and with the archaeology. Any problems noted can be raised with the Volunteer Coordinator or Trail Manager at Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Limited.

The work carried out by Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Limited and all of the National Trail Volunteer Rangers along the route, ensures that the Trail is in its best condition to be enjoyed by all of the walkers and visitors to such an important World Heritage Site.

It is important for all users of the Trail to follow the Countryside Code:

1. Be safe, plan ahead and follow any signs.
2. Leave gates and property as you find them.
3. Protect plants and animals and take your litter home.
4. Keep dogs under close control.
5. Consider other people.

I am really looking forward to the new season, as the weather gets warmer there will be more routine maintenance to carry out and more walkers and visitors to welcome on the Trail and answer any questions that they might have. My particular section of the Trail is a stretch of just over three miles, starting at Portgate (Errington Arms, Stagshaw Roundabout) to Heavenfield (near Chollerford).

Looking East towards Portgate.