Page 61 - RADC 2017

LCpl White educating us all
by a minor navigational mistake that led to a closed bridge. Nothing to do with me at all! (Are you sure Dave?..Ed.) This led to Centurion Armer overtaking the first team. At least we got to enjoy more scenery. We stayed at RAF Spadeadam, in excellent accommodation. We had fish and chips, a cheeky pint, then collapsed.
Day 2
The plan today was to walk from Linstock to Greenhead. The official path was severely flooded, but Suraj was good enough to find a way through and prevent a detour. The weather continued to dampen our spirits, but eventually there was just enough sun
to worry the gingers. We were now starting to see more and more evidence of the wall. The Vallum and ditch could be made out, although I’m not sure many of the group were convinced, or particularly bothered! And then, there it was! The thing we had all come to see – a 20 foot section of wall. And boom! Morale was lifted!
We all powered on, and started to come
across some interesting remnants of wall, turret and milecastle. There’s no way Robin was going to let us miss a single one. By now, tired feet were starting to take their toll. People couldn’t wait to get back to Spadeadam. We eventually got to Greenhead, and a very accommodating chef at a local pub managed to fit us in. By accommodating, I mean she had a right strop, offered us only 2 menu options and probably spat in our food.
By this point people were shattered, and it was more or less straight to bed at RAF Spadeadam!
Day 3
We again set off in 2 separate groups from Greenhead. By now, after a very long day 2, the sore feet were starting to take their toll. There was no doubt this would be the toughest day, with a significant amount
of gradient, as well as a slightly longer distance of around 20 miles. What could have been better at the 6 mile point than to be met by Roz Moore and Anne Natrass
who had very kindly set up a cake stand at Cawfield Quarry! This was not like just any cake stand. We had never seen anything like it, it was practically a fully-fledged café, something which would have impressed Emperor Hadrian himself!
We all stuffed our faces, but by this point Emperor Armer was in a bad way. His
feet had almost fallen off, so he was not hanging around and soldiered on. We were also joined by Lt Col McDicken and Lt Col Jess. Despite this turning into ‘walking with the wounded’, we made rapid progress to Houseteads Fort for lunch. This section of the wall was exceptionally well preserved, with many Turrets and Milecastles still present. Robin didn’t even have to point them out for us on the map – we could
see them! We passed the legendary Sycamore Gap, made famous when Kevin Costner (Robin Hood) walked from Dover to Nottingham via Hadrians wall.... In a day!, and took in the breath-taking scenery. Housesteads fort itself was incredibly interesting, with the Hypocaust still visible in the bathouse, and a number of buildings remaining.
At Houseteads, there was further morale delivered in the form of fresh water melon, beer and cider from Dr Clarke (Albemarle Barracks). This provided the much needed boost for us to proceed towards Chesters fort. By this point the party had ‘hit the wall’ in terms of Roman History Banter, and most just wanted to push on and get the job done. Despite this, Robin would ensure that not a single Turret was to be missed. We were picked up from Chesters, and taken to the Reserves Centre in Hexham. Basic is the word, but it was meant to be AT after all. It was within walking distance to Hexham, so we all headed into Hexham for food. There was also a Cameo appearance from the retired Emperor, Pete Watson!
Day 4
We left Chesters on a mission. The Pace had picked up and people could sense the North Sea was just over the Horizon.
Maj Armey Vs Cow (Armer is the one on the right)
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