This is my last chance to walk with the guys but I know I can't do the 11 plus miles scheduled. We try to work out a way for me to meet them part-way but the scheduling is just too difficult. I have to make a choice so I decide to visit the priory, which I had seen on my bus ride, yesterday. It looked fascinating. Then I plan to take the bus all the way to Bowness-on-Solway which is where the wall ends. My companions are only walking to Carlisle. I am disappointed but I must remember I still have six weeks to go before I return to Hong Kong. I don't want to spend that time as a cripple.
The Lanercost Priory is an incredible place. The nave is still used as a parish church. Part of it is in ruins dating from the 12th century. The Priory, itself, was finally dissolved in 1538 by Henry VIII. I arrive early. I suspect my eager B & B host wants to do something with the �5.00 he charged me for the ride. I don't mention to him that at all the previous stops we made, the owners generally drove us short distances at no charge.
The ruins, a National Heritage Site, are not accessible until 9:00 A.M. so I spend time in the church and on the grounds including an incredible graveyard that takes up the better part of an acre. At 9:00, I explore the old priory. Having just finished reading "The DaVinci Code," I am fascinated with the tomb of a Knight Templar. I take many photos which are in the Lanercost Abbey Album. I also have an interesting conversation with the woman selling tickets and running the book and gift shop. She's lived on Maui and in Maine and has now come home to take care of her aging mother.
I catch the next bus to Carlisle. Once I reach Carlisle, I have an hour to kill before I can get the bus to Bowness on-Solway so I walk around the attractive pedestrian mall in the center of town, visit the TI and the train station to insure I have the correct schedule.
The bus ride to Bowness-on-Solway is interesting but not exciting. We do have to wait for cows and sheep to cross our one-lane road and pull over for cars coming the other way. I'm sure my friends are going to be happy to learn they didn't miss much by ending the walk in Carlisle. When we get there, I go to the nearest pub for a bite to eat. While I am enjoying my lunch, an older couple who are sitting in the same area and who haven't said a word to one another for the first 30 minutes I am there, suddenly launch into a spirited conversation that soon turns into an argument. As far as I can tell, it's over whether some distant relative is alive or dead. They never settle the issue but at some point just stop arguing, finish their half-pints, say good day to everyone and leave the building. When the proprietress discovers I'm part of a group walking the Wall, she gives me an official stamped certificate of completion. I plan to present it to Tommy Terrific tonight at dinner, for all the effort he put in to this adventure.
After I get back to Carlisle, I spend an hour and a half on the Internet, deleting spam and reading the few messages that are real. At the Internet place, I am reminded of similar venues in Asia where most of the customers are young men playing "shoot-em-up" video games against one another. The noise level is horrific.
I escape into the beautiful late afternoon sunshine and walk to our last night's lodging, the Courtfield Guest House. I run into Tom on the way. He's out looking for Dave. In case you haven't guessed by now, Dave has a tendency to go his own way both on and off the trail. I can't really blame him, what with all the Mattel stories the three of us are constantly telling. I find our room is on the third floor which is along haul with my 70 pound duffel bag. It's another en-suite arrangement that isn't en-suite. The loo is across the hall from our sleeping room.
We decide to dine at a near-by pub called The Beehive. It is reminiscent of an English version of T.G.I. Friday's. I have been threatening to order a pasty since the Newcastle train station so I do just that. It's not that great but the desserts are terrific. I make the presentation of the Official Completion Certificate to Tom and he is appropriately humble about his efforts. After dinner, all I want to do is hit the sack. The guys want to take a walk, believe it or not. Before we do anything Tom wants our closing remarks on his video. We do so next to a beautiful flower bed. I feel a little bit out of it because I only walked for one day but I sure enjoyed our evenings and our breakfasts.
After the video formalities, I say goodbye to Dave who is catching a 5:00 A.M. train to London. As I return to my room, I feel somewhat sad that I couldn't have shared all of my companions' ups and downs but I also feel good about the time we did spend together and am proud of everyone's ability to finish what they started.
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I decide to visit Carlisle Castle and am just in time for one of the daily guided tours. The tour guide is quite good and I learn more than I ever wanted to about a number of things including what a medieval toilet was like. Let's just say, you wouldn't want to go swimming in the moat in those days. The guide also gets into talking about peoples' personal hygiene. Baths were not popular. He quotes Queen Victoria who said, "I bathe 4 times a year and that is quite enough." You can view my photos in the Carlisle Castle Album.
I have to leave the tour early to catch the last bus to Brampton, which is the nearest sizable village to Walton where we are spending the night. Brampton is a surprisingly interesting town. The TI is in an Octagonal building built in 1817 called Moot Hall. Moot Hall served as a market place for many years and is right in the middle of town. The Lady in the TI is helpful and directs me to the Nags Head pub for an afternoon refresher. While there I call Tom to find out what the plan is for the evening. He informs me Dave is somewhere in Brampton and maybe I can find him. Tom tells me he took a cab so I go to the cab company and describe Dave. They recognize him. After leaving instructions that he should wait for me I go looking for him. I don't find him so I wait with the taxi drivers who are very entertaining. Dave finally shows and we head for our night's B & B, Town Head Farm in Walton.
The pub is another of those truly friendly places where in minutes you feel at home. The owner, who I only know as Austen, is happy to recommend different versions of his sausage. Evidently his son had been running the place but had not done well so he had to reassert active management of the place. We meet a Slovakian couple who are newly arrived as immigrant workers. They don't speak much English but the smiles on their faces indicate how happy they are to be here. We are not only pleased with the sausage plates, we learn that the cook had made a special apple crumble after hearing from my companions earlier that they wanted apple crumble for dessert. It was the best crumble we had the whole trip and at least one of us ordered crumble every night.
We stagger back to our rooms full of beer, sausage and apple crumble. On the way we see a small church being refurbished into a residence. Dave, the interrogator, has learned that it will evidently contain two apartments and the person doing the refurbishing expects to double his money in a year or two. I knew real estate was going crazy in London but I didn't know it was hot up here in Northern England, too.