August 24, 2024: It rained a bit during the night and the clouds were ugly in the morning, but I had about 16 miles to finish the trail and with only a few buses the whole day between the end of the trail and Carlisle, I was determined to finish in time to catch--at the very latest--the 5:00pm bus back. I was slackpacking so it was absolutely essential that I didn't get stuck at the end with no way back!
Consequently, despite the ugly clouds, I put on my daypack and hit the road at about 7:00am. I left my full pack with the clerks manning the front desk since I knew I wouldn't make it back before checkout time. I just had too many miles to do to make it back before checkout time, so I checked out and asked them to store my bag for me while I was gone.
I took a slightly different route out of town than the one I followed into town to see other landmarks and artwork. It did sprinkle a bit, but only briefly and very lightly, but later in the afternoon it actually cleared up nicely. It was fortunate that the rain wasn't heavier since I still had not had a chance to replace the thrashed umbrella from the storm a few days ago. I had looked for one at a couple of stores in town but came up empty. Why are they hiding them from me?!
Anyhow, although the rain during the night was relatively light and all but non-existent in the morning, the trails were still severely wet and muddy from the biblical floods yesterday morning, and it was at the edge of town where I came to my biggest water obstacle so far. The trail headed through an underpass of a large highway, and it was completely and utterly flooded. The water was murky enough that I couldn't even tell how deep it was, so I started wading into it. First up to my ankles, then up to my knees. I soon found myself with my crown jewels in danger of being flooded and not knowing how much deeper the water would become, I veered off up a side road, climbed a hill to the highway surface, dashed across the highway (probably illegally), then down the other side around the flooded area.
Other than the water issues, the trail was relatively flat and easy the whole day, and I made good time along it. The trail passed by a couple of more honesty boxes, but I passed them by just to finish the trail quicker.
The last several miles were a road walk into Bowness-on-Solway with lovely views, but I was a little annoyed that it was on a road. Not an especially busy one, but still....
About a mile before the end of the trail, I passed a woman with her child. The child looked like it was just learning how to walk, and I just waved and kept walking.
At the end of the trail, I met a couple of people who were just starting the trail, and I joked that it was wet and muddy and horrible and they should quit while they still could! They knew I was joking, but they asked if I would take a photo of them at the start and they returned the favor by taking a photo of me at the end of the trail.
My photo at the structure that marks the official end of the trail. =) |
The couple started their hike, and I sat down to figure out what I was going to do for the next three hours. The next bus to Carlisle didn't arrive for another three hours. It was 2:00pm now, so I had time. A lot of time! Perhaps head to a local pub for a drink and lunch? Read a book and relax?
It wasn't a very satisfying thing for me to do, however, sitting around and waiting for three hours. I very much wanted to get into Carlisle in time to catch a train south to St. Bees where I could spend the night and immediately start hiking the Coast to Coast trail the next morning. But I still needed to buy some food for that, which I wanted to do in Carlisle where there were full-sized supermarkets. But the bus ride back would take an hour, so I wouldn't get back to Carlisle until about 6:00pm, and then if I missed the train that left at about then, I would have to wait a couple of hours for the next train to St. Bees and wouldn't end up arriving until 10:00 (or later!) in the evening. Ugh.
So I considered maybe trying to hitch a ride back to Carlisle. If I failed, I could still catch the bus in the three hours. Or maybe I should just try calling for a taxi. It would probably cost an arm and a leg, but certainly it would be a lot faster. None of my options seemed ideal, though, as I sat at the end of the trail wondering what to do.
The woman with her child that I passed early approached. I was a little surprised to see her. I thought she was a local just enjoying the afternoon with her child and definitely not hiking the trail. She asked if I had just finished the trail... Well, yes, I did, I said.
She asked if I needed a photo. No, I replied, the couple who just left had taken one for me already.
Then she asked if I needed a ride back to Carlisle. What?! Really?! I think my jaw dropped in shock. It never even occurred me to ask about that. She explained that her husband had just started hiking the trail that day and she had dropped him off, but now she needed to drive into Carlisle to meet up with him so she was heading that way already.
I was thrilled! My problems were solved! I felt like she was an angel dropped from heaven!
"I would love a ride back to Carlisle!" I replied, still stunned at the unexpected development.
She asked if I needed some time or if I was ready to go now, and I told her I could leave right then and there. There was nothing in town I really needed, so we headed off in the direction of her car.
I couldn't believe my luck--I had managed to get a ride back to Carlisle less than 5 minutes after finishing the trail, and less than one minute after meeting this woman. Wow! And it just plopped into my lap, completely unexpected.
Plus, driving to Carlisle in a car would take just a half hour while the bus would have required about an hour, so I'd actually get back into town a full 3.5 hours earlier than I originally expected. Yes! Yes! Yes! Plenty of time to do some grocery shopping, grab something for lunch and catch the earlier train to St. Bees.
The drive back to Carlisle retraced much of the route I walked--the same road I had walked down--and a half hour later, I was back in Carlisle.
I was ready for lunch, and stopped at the McDonalds mostly because it was fast. I had a few hours, but it was still going to take me some time to eat, shop for groceries, retrieve my pack from the hotel and get my ticket to St. Bees. I had chores to do, and not a minute to waste!
At the McDonalds, I pulled out my guidebook for the Coast to Coast trail and figured the next decent grocery store I'd likely come across was about four days down the trail, so planned to pick up four days worth of food.
I got sidetracked during the walk to Lidl when I passed by an outfitters. The inserts in my shoes were starting to feel flat and I could definitely use something that felt better. So I headed in and found some new inserts for my shoes.
The rest of the walk to Lidl took a bit longer than expected, but I headed there and did the necessary shopping. I also grabbed a wrap and a Coke for dinner later. I didn't know what would be available once I arrived in St. Bees, if anything at all.
Then I headed back to the hotel where I picked up my full pack--and combined my daypack with my full pack, plus the addition of all the groceries I had just purchased. I also replaced the inserts of my shoes and threw away the old ones.
And finally I headed to the train station where I bought a ticket to St. Bees. The train was 15 minutes late, but that wasn't a big deal. More annoying, I discovered that the previous train to St. Bees had been canceled entirely so now this train was twice as full as it normally would have been, crammed with all the bodies from two trains.
When the train did pull up, I noticed everyone seemingly piling into the cars at the front of the train, but almost nobody headed toward the cars in the back. Seeing no reason not to, I walked around the mass of people and boarded the train near the back which meant I was able to nab a seat to sit down.
This was my train to St. Bees. (I didn't have a chance to get a photo of it in Carlisle, however. I took this photo after exiting the trail in St. Bees.) |
Now normally, I'd be perfectly happy to stand up and let a pregnant woman or someone with their kid to take a seat in a crowded train, but I had already walked nearly 20 miles for the day and I did NOT want to stand on the train. I wanted a seat! My feet were tired and sore and damn it, if I wasn't officially handicapped, I certainly felt it in spirit. But I was kind of grateful that everyone piled into the front of the train because there were still a couple of open seats in the back by the time the train started moving so I felt no guilt about taking a seat from someone in more need than myself. If they were standing in the front of the train--and I had little doubt that there were a lot of people standing in the front cars--that was their problem. =)
The train ride was nice, and it lasted about 1.5 hours before arriving in the small hamlet of St. Bees, at which point I walked another mile or so to the campground on the shore and set up my tent at around sunset, just before a light rain started.
All-in-all, I was thrilled with how well the end of the Hadrian's Wall worked out. I was camped just a five minute walk away from the start of the Coast to Coast trail, which I'd take my first steps on tomorrow....
I saw this rainbow looking back at St. Bees while walking to the campground outside of St. Bees. |
The only evidence of the wall were a few boulders pulled out of the river where the wall crossed the River Eden on a bridge. |
Rivers still looked especially high and muddy! |
Very muddy trail today! |
A whole bunch of cattle were being herded down this road. |
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