Mohope Of Recovery, Sunday 2 March 2014

The splendid isolation of Ninebanks proved too tempting today, so we headed out straight from the hostel to the surrounding moors.

Up a slippery stream lay a land of peace, the bleeping of lapwings giving way to the gentle trickle of water running down from the oddly-named Mohope Moor.

Photo of Ninebanks hostel courtesy of YHA (original at http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/ninebanks)

On the top of the moor, we soon found ourselves literally off the beaten track, making up our own route across open access land between bogs, shrubs and bright white patches of yesterday's hail.  It was a wild, atmospheric place to end.

Patrolling the Border, Saturday 1 March 2014

Up with the lark, and indeed with the lapwing, we were at the edge of the old Roman Empire and they was just one border we needed to patrol: Hadrian's Wall.  A short drive from the hostel took us to Vindolanda, where many of the original wall-builders were based, and on to Once Brewed from where we ascended to the wall itself and enjoyed the classic amble past Sycamore Gap (cue umpteen Robin Hood references) and clambering through many a mile-castle.  We had the serpentine curves of Whin Sill to ourselves for most of the way to Housesteads, another fine fort.  All around patches of hail fell on the hills, but not on us; we had fine walking weather all the way over the undulating geological folds back to Vindolanda too.  Off back to Ninebanks, we felt we'd had a rather special short of day.

How to follow all that? A very big, exceedingly delicious lasagne, of course!