Hadrian's Wall Path: There & Back

16+ miles in two days may not seem a lot to some folk but to us it was a major achievement.  We seemed to have been guided by angels on the walk; angels wearing hi vis who showed us the way and the Angel of the North watching over us although we didn't spot it until near the end. Most of this section of Hadrian's Wall Path was a means to an end but elements of it made the whole worth while. We met a helpful postie who wasn't wearing shorts (I thought shorts were uniform now), two golfers in a car looking for a golf course on a bridle path, two women checking they were on the right path (I'm sure these ladies were the better halves of the lost golfers), very pleasant cyclists (with bells), chatty walkers and friendly locals, many of whom served us food and drinks.   Newcastle is an amazing city whether you undertake the walk or not.  To see such familiar sights first hand was wonderful.  One of the best views of the city was from  The Redhouse whilst eating handmade pie

The buses served us well today.  The Q3 took us to the bus station and the 685 to Heddon on the Wall.   This section started with a delightful walk through the town and downhill past beautiful houses and through a golf course, continuing onto a disused railway line.  Apart from nearly getting run over by a very apologetic greensman on a golf buggy, we appreciated our surroundings and had a taste of the countryside. The river stayed close by but out of sight for much of the way.  If doing this walk again, which is highly unlikely, I would follow the River Tyne Trail for this short section and re-join HWP after a mile or so.  A sheltered, tarmacadamed path is perfect for cyclists, yes they were there again, but less so for walkers.  Although we were using a trusty guide book, another joy of following a designated walk is what you find on the way.  In this instance, we found Tyne Amateur Rowing Club which was open to the public. Not only did it have good coffee, homemade cake & beer

Our starting point this morning was our hotel, next to the River Tyne near the Millennium Bridge & the Baltic.  We had intended to catch the bus and walk from Wallsend but it was Sunday and we were unsure of how long we would need to wait for the next so we set off walking east. As we were leaving the centre of the city we approached The Cycle Hub.  An obvious place for those on bicycles to use the facilities, cafe and outdoor seating.  It was busy - maybe a sign of things to come.... Moving on we found our refreshments in St Peters Basin at an award winning coffee & snack van, La Verne Vintage.  We continued to followed the river east and passed interesting industrial sites on the way including the skeleton of an old wooden vessel.  The remains resembled a dinosaur grave which maybe closer to the truth than we thought.   Leaving the Wrecksshipasaurus, we followed the path inland.  Fortunately a hi vis cyclist showed us the way otherwise I think we might have missed the turning