Travelling Worm

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC visited part of Hadrian’s Wall yesterday. The wall is more than 70 miles long, so we had to choose our viewing point. We chose Walltown Quarry, near the village of Greenhead in Northumberland. The beautiful countryside provided a spectacular backdrop for the remnants of the wall.

The book I’m in

Stormswift, by Madeleine Brent. This author writes adventure stories about young heroines dragging themselves out of impossible situations by dint of courage, strength, and hard-won skills. Despite the dire subject matter, the novels are curiously calming.

Travel tips

Drive the A68 through Northumberland and into Scotland. It’s one of the most beautiful drives in the world, passing through restful grey-stone villages and meandering over rolling green hills dotted with sheep and cattle.

The photos

Me and Peg on Hadrian’s Wall:

Devoted readers will no doubt remark on Peg’s re-appearance on this blog. She took a long break from travelling, but is now back in full force. Expect to see her holding up her end of the tale again in this and future posts!

This part of the wall stands atop a high cliff above the stone quarry at Walltown. Here’s a long shot of the cliff topped by the wall:

The path up to the cliff face is guarded by a fearsome ogre. This worm stayed tucked in the TC’s book while we crept by, managing to get past before the ogre emerged fully from its lair:

Once we’d safely passed the slumbering ogre, me and Peg took a breather on the Walltown bench before making the final ascent to Hadrian’s Wall:

Wild flowers marked the route:

Drops from the recent rainfall sparkled on flower and leaf:

Raindrops decorated the spiderwebs too:

At the top of the cliff, Hadrian’s Wall runs over green velvet hills:

The wall was built by the Roman emperor Hadrian in the second century AD, to draw a line of defence between the south of Britain, controlled by Romans, and the unconquered area to the north, roamed by the fierce Scottish clans. The wall stretches across Britain, from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west.

Adventurous souls took the high road:

This worm found a new friend, who goes by the name of Bluebell. She confided in me that some call her Wall Flower, but she discourages that name with all her might. Me and Bluebell at her home atop Hadrian’s Wall:

Wild flowers grab a handhold on the rocks near the wall:

Lichen adorns the stones on the pathway back down the hill:

And drips off the branches of the plants:

The Walltown Quarry Pond:

The stone dug out at Walltown Quarry was used primarily as chippings for surfacing roads. The quarry opened in 1876 and closed in 1976. After it closed, the land was filled in and landscaped to form the Walltown Country Park.

Here’s a parting shot of Hadrian’s Wall from across the quarry pond:

That’s all for today, folks.