Today is the first time we made a major change to Nigel's well-crafted schedule. Armed with yesterday's knowledge that we now walked faster, we decided to see if we could complete the walk in one day, rather than two.
Hadrian's path took us off the route of the wall, and along the bank of the Tyne - a much more winding course but one where we were less likely to get run over or inhale traffic fumes.
We marched straight past all manner of interesting industrial archaeology, intent on getting to Segedunum fort at Wallsend in time to have a look around before it shut.
Pascoe met us on the riverbank near the Redheugh Bridge in Newcastle. He had intended to start our walk with us, but a Covid scare had prevented him. Instead, he would help us finish it.
We stopped at Greggs on the buzzing Quayside - a sit down meal would take too long.
We fell in step with some younger walkers supporting teenagers with cancer - a chiropractor and his patients. Half their number had already dropped out and it made us proud that we had stayed the course. Although my knee was certainly twingeing again.
We arrived at Wallsend, Segedunum Fort, at 14.30 and we identified the point at which the Romans had sent a branch wall down into the Tyne, marking the end of Hadrian's Wall.
Even so, I asked museum staff for reassurance that we had truly reached the end of the Wall and there was no last little bit we must do.
We had our photos taken under the arch which proclaimed we had walked the Wall and could not help noticing it was considerably shorter than the arch where we set off. We decided that perhaps most walkers had worn a foot off their height by the time they got there.
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