![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.screel.co.uk\/walks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/HW-and-Steel-Rigg.jpg\")
<\/a>Walton-Thirlwall<\/em><\/p>\n“Bitterly cold with strong winds and snow showers”. That forecast by the Met Office was spot on. Temperature\u00a0-1\u00b0C, easterly winds at 28mph, gusting to 40 mph, snow showers and a ‘feels like’ temperature of -7\u00b0C seemed about right. Throughout the day we walked directly into the wind, which seemed to become much stronger when it snowed. We had blue skies at times but recurrent heavy flurries of snow that snatched the visibility away from us. A characterful day.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Craggle Hill<\/p><\/div>\n
But we were\u00a0multi-layered, in the literal sense, and I had brought along a quilted jacket as well just in case. My ski mittens proved\u00a0far more effective than my usual gloves and only once did I wish I had brought goggles, when the snow was blowing directly in my face forcing me to walk hunched looking at my feet, somewhat like Quasimodo, Esmerelda trudging beside me. There were some gusts of wind that negated a step forward, and walking was a much greater effort than usual.<\/p>\n
All that aside, I enjoyed this section and there was was quite a lot of the actual Wall to see along the way.<\/p>\n
At Dovecote bridge the HW trail leaves the road to follow King Beck for a while, but a sign told ud that the route was temporarily diverted along the road. We tried following the river bank, passing a homemade shelter, but found the path had been washed away. We then tried the adjacent fields but turned back to follow the temporary route. The sign did actually look rather permanent.\u00a0This meant half a mile along a minor road before we rejoined the HW trail.<\/p>\n
After our first snow ‘shower’ near Garthside, we had a warming climb up Craggle Hill, watching Cold Fell appearing and disappearing as the showers passed.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Hadrian’s Wall at Hare Hill<\/p><\/div>\n
At Hare Hill we came across our first Wall remnant. An information board gave more details and suggested that this section may have survived because it was incorporated in a farm building, while the stone\u00a0the wall here was carted away to build Lanercost Priory.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Willowford<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>Wiilowford two minutes later<\/p><\/div>\n
Most of the day’s walking was either beside surviving sections of Hadrian’s Wall, along turf banks on the site of the wall, and past several ruins, each with an information board.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Turret 52A East Banks: observation tower<\/li>\n
- Pike Hill Signal Tower<\/li>\n
- Turret 51A Piper Sike: frontier watchtower<\/li>\n
- Turret 49B Birdoswald West<\/li>\n
- Birdoswald Fort<\/li>\n
- Milecastle 49 Harrow’s Scar<\/li>\n
- Willowford\u00a0Bridge<\/li>\n
- Turret 48B Willowford West: watchtower<\/li>\n
- Turret 48A Willowford East: watchtower<\/li>\n
- Milecastle 48 Polcross Burn: fort<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ahead on the horizon we could see Steel Rigg which grew visibly closer as we walked on.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.screel.co.uk\/walks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/No-bridge.jpg\")
<\/a>No bridge<\/p><\/div>\n
The route was relatively straightforward and well marked. I’ve already mentioned the detour near Dovecote Bridge. We did lose the trail near Appletree. After crossing a footbridge I turned left onto a track and up towards the road, whereas a small sign ahead of me, which I hadn’t noticed, pointed to the right, and after a hundred metres or so a gate too us back onto the turf bank. And finally, in Gilsland there is a notice and signs for a detour. the reason given was “no bridge”. We decided to brave it, and there was in fact a bridge, over a beck that could have been easily jumped.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.screel.co.uk\/walks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/P1100193.jpg\")
<\/a>Willowford Bridge<\/p><\/div>\n