Wall, eh

My friend, Wallace Finlayson Esq., and I have just finished an Easter tour of Hadrian's Wall, taking in a night at Skiddaw House in the Lake District, England's highest youth hostel. The ascent left us enfeebled and spattered with mud and slobber. I was on the verge of sending out a search party for Finlayson, who finally crawled up the last incline as night was falling, wild-eyed with fatigue.

We were both riding the Long Haul Trucker, which performed admirably in the tough conditions. Finlayson's is a 54cm number with the 26in wheels (see below for pictorial evidence). I'm quite envious of his dynamo hub.

The Wall itself, once we'd looped back up north, was a sight to behold -- suddenly rearing out of the landscape and ploughing indefatigably onwards.

We took the train from London to Carlisle and camped for two nights in addition to the night at Skiddaw House. My tent, the two-man Spitfire Eureka!, really wasn't warm enough but I managed to survive by bundling up in multiple layers. I should add that I was also quite envious of Finlayson's four-season sleeping bag and cocoon-like lodgings. He is nothing if not prepared.

Here are some photos. I was going to insert these individually with cheery captions ('And I thought London's roads were rough!', etc) but thought better of it.



The whisky is Lagavulin from the Isle of Islay -- essential for this sort of torrid undertaking, and the rock-strewn tracks are from the Skiddaw detour. The regimented line of hotties was a welcome sight after a long day. That shot of the sea is in Siloth, not far from the Wall's westerly starting point in Bowes-on-Solway. From there we rode east towards Newcastle, stopping at the Roman forts Vindolanda and Housesteads, before rumbling back to London on the train late on Monday night.

Jelly babies consumed: 717
Number of times bike knocked over by Finlayson Esq.: 2
Average number of superfluous items carried in panniers: 11
Most used phrase: 'Now, I don't want to sound like an idiot, but...'
Pub meals consumed in lieu of cooking own food, despite carrying gear to do so: 18
Miles travelled: 171.3