As you may know, I will be walking the 180 kms of Hadrian's Wall across Britain from the North Sea to the Irish Sea. I will be accompanied by my friend Rosemary and "Daisy", a miniature version of the cow at the Aesch campus of ISB. We would be delighted if you would like to sponsor us on our challenge. Donations, however small or large, will be gratefully received. We aim to raise 20,000 Swiss Francs, in order to enhance the lives and education of the children of Reuben Monareng School, South Africa.

You are invited to transfer donations to either of the following accounts, which Credit Suisse has kindly opened to support the charity venture. All monies collected will be donated to the Reuben Monareng School to complete their building project, and we thank you in advance for your support.

Bank accounts under the name of Lesley Barron: Credit Suisse IBAN number: CH4204835004400921003 (Swiss Franc account) or CH6204835004400922001 (Sterling Account).

We start our challenge on Sunday 11th September and will be walking for 10 days - whatever the British weather sends us!!

Rosemary, Daisy and I will keep you regularly informed about our adventures and progress via this blog. We would love to hear from you at anytime.

Monday, 12 September 2016

Day 2: The Wall beckons!

Getting up bright and early, we opened the curtains to see the sun shining in a clear blue sky. We left our B & B around 9 a.m. knowing that we had more than 20km ahead of us. Everyone we spoke to yesterday evening joked about the steep path that lay ahead. Optimism high, filled with enthusiasm, but with a touch of trepidation, off we went.

Start of the day

We had a rigorous stroll along the banks of the River Tyne before heading due north to Heddon on the Wall. The warnings were justified! Heddon on the Wall is the most beautiful village hidden away from the rest of the world, except for the community and intrepid walkers. One of the other unexpected charms of this adventure is meeting fellow travellers from all across the globe, and in Heddon we met a delightful Dutch couple who not only spoke (as one might expect) perfect English, but had also embarked upon the walk carrying their own luggage - such admiration, although they were about forty years younger.

Daisy initiated some quite interesting questions and gave us the opportunity to talk of our challenge.

Something that disconcerted us was the fact that we were meeting so many people walking towards us and not in the same direction as us. What did they know that we didn't? We had the sun in our face, but they had the breeze at their backs.

Historical note: the Romans built sixteen forts along the Wall and in the second century it was manned by soldiers from Germany and Holland. The European Union was alive and well....

A kissing gate

The trail was peppered with stiles and what are commonly called kissing gates. Daisy was fascinated and slightly bruised after passing through so many. And finally for those of you who have an understanding of colloquial English, enjoy the photograph below.

Colloquial English

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