Day 4 - Wednesday: "Vertigo, mysterious ways and a beautiful day"

The team regrouped on a misty mountain top for the second leg of the spectacular middle third of the Hadrian experience.
Yet again the weather forecast didn't play out to the script and sunny spells won the day over occasional very light showers. A big shout out goes to all our sponsors down south who have been experiencing incessant downpours. For many reasons Northumberland really is the place to be this week.
The Roman experience continued with long stretches of well preserved wall, turrets and milecastles. So much so that we were in danger of becoming ambivalent to the achievements of our ancient invaders.
We have been spending most of our time walking on the Roman side of the wall and our own local invader C was clearly challenged today. His vertigo was evident and at times he took the low road whilst the rest took the high road. This may have been a good decision as the climbs and descents took a toll on several of the team's leg joints. Chris in particular had a difficult morning. C the Duracell bunny came to his rescue and the two of them formed an advance party for the rest of the day. Their heads down no nonsense approach paid dividends and both were feeling the better for it.
The rest of the team followed some way behind. A mysterious moment came when entering Gilsland which felt like a ghost village. There was no sign of human life, both pubs were closed and the only thing stirring was a goat tethered to a post. The pace increased and we reassured ourselves with some walkers tourettes.
A late lunch was had in a milecastle then we pushed on for the final stretch to Lanercost. It really was a case of getting through it as the toll of a 4th consecutive day was being well and truly felt across the team. At just over 17 miles this turned out to be our second longest day.
We were all on our best behaviour for the team meal chez Daz and Hoops, the latter of whom was sporting Roman sandals. After dinner the team settled in for the Chelsea Barcelona game. A great result and winner for the Blues but you can't help wondering what chance a certain Mr Drogba would have of completing a solitary mile of the Hadrian challenge without falling over.
So now for the push on to the lowlands of Carlisle. The days stats were 27.4km in 37052 steps and 1862 beer fighting calories.