"Letting the train take the strain"
Talkin Tarn, Brampton Motte, Hadrian's Wall & Lanercost Priory 13miles 1100ft
Leaving the car behind today I caught an early train to Carlisle, bought a takeaway coffee from the Wetherspoons just by the station and boarded my connection to Brampton Junction. A very relaxing start to the day!
The station is a only a 10 minute walk from Talkin Tarn Country Park....
....which takes about 45 minutes for a very easy and attractive circular walk around its perimeter....
....and again
Overlooking the tarn is this privately owned, recently renovated house which has luxury cottages and holiday appartments. A brief internet enquiry showed one available for over £500 for 2 nights in June
The country park has a visitor centre with cafe and boat hire
Leaving the tarn behind I followed the disused railway line which used to continue the trains into Brampton about a mile away
Above the town is a castle Motte which affords a lovely view of the attractive town
Zooming in on the centre
The Motte is topped by this statue of William Thomas Howard who lived at the nearby Naworth castle. He was the 7th Earl of Carlisle and did much of great service to the townsfolk of Brampton.
Leaving Brampton behind a ridge path leads north to the Abbey bridge over the river Irthing just outside Lanercost
Bypassing the abbey and priory ruins I continued north heading for Hadrian's Wall. I was impressed with this intricately carved bench with contributions from local school children
I arrived at the point on Hadrian's Wall where Turret Watch Tower 52a once stood
....and again
This is how it would once have looked 
The remains of the wall made an ideal place to sit for lunch. Suitably refreshed I continued following the path along the wall for 2.5miles. However there was very little evidence of the wall on this section....
....because much of the stone from the wall was removed to build Lanercost Priory in 1169 by Augustinian monks
More information can be found at:
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lanercost-priory/history/
The entrance arch to the Abbey church which is still used as a local parish church today
Finally I just had time to take a photo of a section of the priory ruins before my lift home arrived!
A lovely relaxing day's walking on excellent paths with much of interest throughout the day.
I'd highly recommend a visit to the area
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