HADRIAN’S WALL WALK AUGUST 2009

SPONSORED EVENT FROM: AD 122.- AD 2009.
PAUL HOCKWART & JEANNIE SEAGER
DAY ONE: WALLSEND TO HEDDON ON THE WALL. (15 MILES)
After boarding the train at Manchester Piccadilly, we set off on a journey into British history, arriving in Newcastle at 10.25 am on Sunday 2nd August, we flagged a local taxi down to take us to Segedunum, the Roman Fort at Wallsend.
Having got the passport stamped there, we then set off on the 85-mile journey to retrace the steps of the Wall. As you go through the Centre of Newcastle you can see evidence of ruins of the wall, some parts of the wall are hidden on housing estates.
After soldiering (not Roman) through the centre we finally got to the outskirts of Newcastle and on the road to Heddon, picking up the Military road, we headed towards Heddon on the Wall, this is a small village with a short section of the wall preserved, taking light refreshment at the local watering hole ( THREE TUNS PUB) we continued on regardless to our first nights accommodation at a local farmhouse.
Fed and watered we mapped out day two of the trek, according to the map and book; it was a relatively easy stroll (whoever writes these guides must be on another planet).

DAY TWO: HEDDON TO CHOLLERFORD. (14 MILES)
Rucksacks packed, legs and feet soaked in tiger balm we set off on the next leg, after ½ mile on the trail Paul fell and twisted his ankle (OUCH or words to that effect), Jeannie’s reaction, are you ok, well carry on because the kids at the gym expect us to finish. The walk to Chollerford at times was quite pleasant with local wildlife scurrying about in the hedgerows, the second passport stamp was at the Robin Hood pub (shut), but we got the passport stamped as there is a box at the entrance for walkers. Continuing through little villages, we came to Chollerford and got the passport stamped for the third time at Chester’s Roman Fort (easy this Hadrian’s Wall), booking in at the George Hotel for B/B&E we again planned out day three.

DAY THREE: CHOLLERFORD TO CAWFIELD QUARRY. (18 MILES)
Setting off at 8.30am the weather forecast was heavy showers, but fortunately for us we only had light rain for 20 mins, this section off the wall was Himalayan to say the least, in the guide book it says: (it is a bit hilly, did Sir Edmund Hilary write this we wondered), this was a hard walk, stopping off at Roman Forts along the way for rest periods, we kept wondering when was it going to end and why did we want to do it in the first place. After finally getting to Cawfield Quarry, we then walked to towards Halthwistle, again fed and watered, we planned day four, this put us in a dilemma, should we go to Brampton or carry on to Carlisle, which according to Andy Waite’s dad (we’ll never believe a word he says again) was only a few more miles further.

DAY FOUR: MILECASTLE INN TO CARLISLE. (24 MILES)
Having made up our minds to go to Carlisle, we set off in good spirits, the weather great, feeling good, we set off, first stop was Birdoswald the Roman Fort and museum having a short break we then set off towards Gilsland, this section of the wall is still intact, on wards towards Carlisle we went, having taken a break at the Centurion Pub, we then carried on to reach Carlisle, having set off at 8.30 am that morning we hoped to arrive in Carlisle by evening, with only 4 miles to go, our legs started to ache and the pace we set slowed to a crawl, then we got lost so this added another 2 miles to the journey and another 45 minutes, having reached Linstock we were only 2 to 3 miles away from Carlisle, following the River Eden we eventually arrived in Carlisle at 8.30pm, totally exhausted or words similar, we then tried to find accommodation, after asking at three hotels (yes no room at the inn) we finally got to rest.

DAY FIVE: CARLISLE TO BOWNESS ON SOLWAY. (14 MILES)
Final day we just wanted to finish now, having got the passport stamped at the local leisure centre, we set off at 8.45am, first stop to take on liquid was Burgh by the Sands, there is a statue of Edward I here, we then followed the marsh road that takes you to Bowness, this seemed like the longest road ever!, during the tides the road floods up to a metre in places.
Finally we arrived at the Kings Arms at 3.15pm, rather tired and in need of refreshment but the pub was shut and didn’t open till 4.00pm. so pub open passport stamped and certificate presented, the walk was complete.
During the five days we met some interesting people on the walk from all over the world, Dutch, Danes, Americans, and French, hard work but satisfied that we had done it.
Next one maybe the Coast to Coast.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored us for the walk, at the last count we had raised £900 for the club.

Paul Hockwart & Jeannie Seager.

If you have any sponsor money you have collected on your forms, please bring it into the gym as soon as you can. Thankyou.

You can see a small selection of pictures here

Universal Gymnastics Club Competition.
Both Competition 2 & 3 competed at Siddal Moor Sports College on the 4th/5th July in the Floor & Vault Competition, and with so many girls making their debut, there were bound to be a few nerves. It was left to the veterans to bring home the medals with Hannah Newbury finishing third on vault, Ellie Hudson second on vault and second overall and Emma Perrett finishing second on floor. It was an enjoyable weekend and is set to become an annual fixture. Well done to everyone who took part.If you have any photos of the day please email them to me and I will add them to the Gallery.
Mike.
Full Scores

Sunday 19th April: North West Team selection competition: National Finals.
The final team selection competition took place at Bury Gymnastics Club, gymnasts from Bury G.C. who were selected to compete for the North West in the National Finals were:
Club Development Level 2 : Adam Phillips
Club Development Level 5: Daniel Law, Jack Knights
Club Development Level 6: Joshua Donohoe.
Regional Performance Level 1: Niall Edgehill, Sam Bowden, Alex Lomax.
Regional Performance Level 2: Joe Spellacy, Rhys Hickman.
Regional Performance Level 6: Mason Whealing.
Congratulations to the Bury gymnasts who will compete in Newcastle on the weekend of 3rd/4th May.