It is now day 5 on the expedition and the company remains in good spirits. Prepare for lots of photos, some of which you will have seen if you follow us on Facebook…

On Wednesday Petermus Maximus celebrated his big birthday by walking from Carlisle to Crosby-on-Eden. We enjoyed the sunshine and almost had to break out the sunscreen. Here are some sights…

We arrived at our camp for the night – the Oakwood Park Hotel – to find that it was actually a large Georgian house beautifully decorated and with the most wonderful grounds teeming with sheep, chicken, ducks and even pheasants. The lady who owns the house had even made Petermus a birthday cake!

Yesterday we marched from Crosby-on-Eden to Lanercost. The fields were a little steeper but the glorious weather continued. One of the disadvantages of this walk is that there are often NO facilities in the small towns. This presents a problem for the female members of the company particularly.  I had to take advantage of the offer from an anonymous lady in Newtown to use her loo – an offer for which I will be eternally grateful!

The last two photos are of Lanercost Priory. This is special because it is the first time that we see large parts of Hadrian’s Wall – that’s because the Augustinian monks who built the place knew where they could find a ready supply of stone when they came to build the priory – yes they ‘recycled’ the wall. They weren’t the only ones – many builders did the same but they did it in style. The border thugs regularly popped in to cause an ‘infinity of injuries’ until finally King Henry VIII shut it down in the great dissolution of the monasteries. Subsequently it was given to a nobleman and eventually English Heritage took over so everyone can enjoy it all.

Day 5 started with casualties. The selfie stick used to record a group photo at the start of each day cracked under pressure and threw its claw in. A memorial service was held before the expedition set off this morning.  The march was a little steeper again and some members of the legion had additional problems with their transportation. Petermus had problems when his boots took turns to attack him. Yesterday the left one inflicted minor injuries and today, for no apparent reason the right one assaulted him. Fortunately there were medical supplies in the garrison and disaster was averted. Indeed when he was asked if his toe was sore he replied “No, I can’t feel anything below my knee”. Good result.

Although there were a few clouds today the weather was still excellent and we actually walked beside the wall for much of the day. The scenery changed from riverbank to forest to rolling hills. The only problem the legion has with rolling hills is that while it may be a pleasure to go down, going up the next hill is not so enjoyable.

Isn’t it magnificent? Until the next despatch….

Kaye