Hadrian Wall Path — Day 8
Heddon-on-the-Wall to Newcastle Quayside, 16km (actual 16.5km)
In what was the the fastest day on the trail, and maybe the fastest for us ever, we hiked 16.5km in merely 4.5 hours, including 2 breaks. It seems that we are anxious to complete the walk. With 126km behind us and 8km to go, no wonder.
Leaving from the Three Tuns pub in Heddon-on-the-Wall, we walked carefully to not miss a long section of the wall that Is a bit off-path. It’s worthwhile visiting. Being part of the broad section of the wall, only the base remained. From there the trail goes downhill towards river Tyne, with view of Newcastle suburbs in the distance. At 6km we stopped at a Cafe on-path and at the outskirts of Newburn. It’s a good place for a break, including toilets, but the coffee and scones were mediocre.
After Newburn, the trail leaves the river for a while, to return to it about 5km later at Scotswood. We had our second break right on the path at around 12km. By then the distance between the first walker to the last one was almost 30 minutes apart. The last 4km are just next to river Tyne on a broad boardwalk, to the Newcastle Quayside with many cafes, restaurants and bars.
Some of us were not tired enough and went to a music concert with Simon and Garfunkel songs. The rest were happy enough with just dinner.
