This was to be my final day on Hadrians Wall Path and it looked a little bit like rain outside. Too bad that I had to wait for the castle to open at 9:30. Carlisle Castle was begun in the 1100s and is built primarily of wall stone. It has a rich history which I won't get into here. I'm glad I saw it this morning and it didn't take that long to tour. I was back on the trail a little after 11 o'clock.

There isn't too much to say about the hike. The path follows the River Eden and there are no wall remains to be seen just farms and country churches. The rain arrived but it was very light and didn't last more than a couple hours. I stopped off at the Greyhound pub looking for something to eat but the cook wasn't there. Still it was nice to be out of the rain for a little while.

Soon I made it to the salt marsh and all the flood warning signs. It wasn't anything to worry about today however. Soon I had a small steak and ale pie at the Highland Laddie about 2 miles from the end. Today I have mostly been walking on narrow country lanes. It isn't that different from the first day's walk once I left the urban area.

Bowness on Solway is the finish and I abruptly encountered the little wooden pavilion the marks the end of the trail. There was no fanfare. I was the only one there and I couldn't sit to savour the moment because I didn't have that much time before the next bus back to Carlisle and I had to find the bus stop.

I quickly located the only spot with any life - the town pub. It was filled with other HWP walkers including some that were staying at the hostel last night. They were cool guys. We had stayed up too late last night talking in the kitchen. Anyway this place was also a stamping center. There are six spots along the trail with stamps for the "path passport". This was the last, or first if you start here, and I also was given the completion certificate which reminded me that I still haven't sent in for my certificates from the Long Trail (2005) or the Mountain to Sea Trail (2007).

This was a memorable walk for me and I am glad that I was able to do it, and with fairly decent weather too. Let's hope that I can say that about the West Highland Way which I would like to start in a day or two!