dossier

Hadrian's Wall

GeneralInformation

Duration of tour: 8 days (7 nights)

Season:  April – Mid October.

Starting point of tour:  Whitley Bay (Newcastle Upon Tyne).

Tour ends: Carlisle (Cumbria)

Nearest major City and International Airport: Newcastle,Also transpennine routes from Manchester Airport.

Grading

Easy to Moderate. Some longish days (around 13–15 miles) andshort steep climbs and descents. Generally however undulating. Mixed weathercan be expected at anytime.

Waymarking

National Trail Acorn marks often attached to “finger posts”and stiles. The wall either as an embankment or a wall forms a suitablewaymark  for much of the route, but youwill have to use map interpretation especially in times of low visibility, andgetting to know how far you have come. So you should be accustomed to using mapand compass.

Gettingto the Area and back

From Newcastle bus or train station and Airport, you caneasily connect with the Nexus Metro to take you  to Whitley Bay within about an hour. If you cannot manage withyour baggage then you will need to hire a taxi.

Rail: Fast frequent rail services along the East Coast Main linebetween London, York,  and Edinburgh,operated by GNER with rail connections from Newcastle into the TyneValley.  Virgin Trains operate Intercitytrains between London, Manchester, Carlisle and Glasgow with rail connectionsfrom Carlisle into the Tyne Valley. Virgin Trains also operate cross countryIntercity services providing links to Newcastle from Scotland, South WestEngland, Birmingham, Sheffield and Leeds. Inter-Regional Trans-Pennine servicesprovide frequent services to Newcastle from Liverpool, Manchester, WestYorkshire and York.  Please contactNational Rail Enquiries 011 44 8457 484950 for details of timings and they willpass you on to the relevant train booking numbers, or Rail Euorpe. www.raileurope.com , toll free1-800-848-7245.

Bus: National Express coaches from the main cities to and from bothNewcastle and Carlisle.  A special busservice - the Hadrian’s Wall Bus - operates daily along about half of thelength of the Wall throughout summer. It stops at all the key locations (includingVindolanda, Birdoswald, Chesters, Once Brewed and Housesteads).

By Air: Newcastle Airport has regular international flights fromAmsterdam, Bergen, Copenhagen, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Oslo, Paris and Stavanger,as well as a regular shuttle flights from London Heathrow, Gatwick andStansted. There are domestic flights to Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol,Southampton, Isle of Man, Jersey and Wick.

By Road: There are good motorway connections to Hadrian's Wall.Access from the western side of the country is along the M6 from the south andA74 (M) from Glasgow to Carlisle. Access from the eastern side of the countryis along the A1(M) to Newcastle, with the option of using the A68 which linksEdinburgh and Darlington to reach the central part of Hadrian's Wall. The A69between Newcastle & Carlisle runs parallel to the Wall (approx 2-5 milessouth) and is the main access route.

From Newcastle Airport: Take the Nexus Metro to Newcastle Monumentstation and on to Whitley Bay : (approx 1 hour).

Start of your walk: take the Metro from Whitley Bay  to Wallsend  (15 mins)  or further into town if  you want tomiss out the  first few miles (All notincluded).

At the end of your walk: Carlisle is straight forwardto exit from and get onto mainline rail services.  From Bowness on Solway, there are a few bus connections back toCarlisle, but it is easiest to take a taxi.

Inward journey to London at endof tour: from Carlisle:

Your Accommodation

Pleasenote that with all our night stops we aim to reserve rooms with en suitefacilities. In some circumstances en suite rooms may not be available at thetime of booking. Below we list our normal stops along the route, note that roomnumbers in the different locations are limited and so we may have to findalternatives on some occasions.

Night1:  At Whitley Bay our familyrun 4-crown hotel is in the ideal position - overlooking the beautiful WhitleyBay golden sands.

Night2:  In Wylam we stay inanother nice Victorian country house which has been noted by English Heritage.The rooms are large and en suite. It has been described by some clients as ahome from home.

Night3: At HumsHaug, our guesthouselocated only half a mile from the wall and Chollerford.  It is a welcoming working farm which offersmagnificent views of Northumberland.

Night4:  Near to Housesteads  we stay at a farm B&B situated about half a mile north ofHadrian's Wall within Northumberland's beautiful National Park. Magnificentlysituated, the wall can be seen from the farm. It is in the middle of all themost important sites (Housesteads, Vindolanda, Great Chesters and the RomanArmy Museum at Carvoran are all within 4 miles, via beautiful scenic walks ifyou have the time or you have an extra day).

Night5 : At Lannercost  we  are about half a mile off the route, but in a beautiful little village, in a niceInn which is near to the ruined abbey and attractive river. The place is quietand  rooms are well appointed havingbeen praised by previous walkers.

Night6 & 7: Our Final two nights are spent in Carlisle at asmall hotel Situated in a solid Victorian terrace. It has its foundationsliterally on Hadrian’s Wall. All rooms have hot drinks tray, hair dryer, remotecontrolled TVs, radio alarms and direct dial telephone with lap top point.There is also a Bistro restaurant open  everyday except Sundays.

PLEASE NOTE: It is generally normal practice when staying in hotels that you check-inon or after 2  pm and checkout by 10 amthe following morning.  Guesthouses/bed& breakfast establishments are normally check-in on or after 4 pm andcheckout by 10 am.

Outline Itinerary

Day1 Whitley Bay: Travel to Newcastle and then onto Whitley Bay. If you havetime you will be able to take the Metro back into the city to have a look roundthis vibrant “Toon.”

Day 2  Whitley Bay to Wylam / Heddon on the Wall15 Miles (24km):  Today you take theshort train (metro) from Whitley Bay to Wallsend and the start of the walk (15mins, not included). If you have time before setting off on your days walk takea close look at the remains of the Roman fort of Segedunum which marks thebeginning of the route today. This is a multi award-winning site, withreconstructions of a Roman Bath House and an excellent interactive museum. Fromthe Tourist information in Wallsend, by the Swan Hunter Ship Yard, the trailheads out following the walls of the ancient Roman fort of Segedunum. Take theold Tyne to Blyth railway line (now a footpath) through to Walker where youjoin the River Tyne at the Riverside Park and pass Byker. You come into theriverside area of downtown Newcastle upon Tyne with vistas of the elegant TyneBridges and of the Newcastle skyline including St. Nicholas Cathedral. Thereshould be time to climb up to Newcastle Keep. Walk out of the city along sidethe river. There is plenty of evidence of present and former industrialactivity. As you get to the old village of Newburn, the countryside reallybegins to open up at last. You are now in the county of Northumberland. Justbefore you would cross the River Tyne for Heddon On the Wall,  on the trail, we turn off for Wylam and ourovernight stop at the end of this flattish day.

Day 3 Wylam to HumsHaugh16.5 miles: After crossing over the River Tyne, you have your first steepascent up to Heddon on the Wall, where there are some wall remains. Tobeyond Chollerford now, the National Trail follows beside the roads that havebeen built over part of the wall. The wall became itself a source ofmaterial  for the foundations of GeneralWade’s military road, the trail though often follows  along the Vallum ,the ancient ditch line  created as adefensive feature when the wall was built. Look out for remains of Vindobala fort and the  reservoirs around Welton. There is a pub at East Wallhouses afterabout 6 miles. A slight deviation to Halton after 9 miles might be in order toadmire the old keep.

Day 4 : HumsHaug to Housesteads (Once brewed)  12 miles (19.3 km) The route  follows beside theroad as far as Fozy Moss, where the road veers off the wall as it reaches thecrags of the Whin Sill Escarpment. Our stage roller coasters to Housesteads,with its famed fort and National Trust Museum. There are excellent viewsover  the “Northward Tynescape” to theBellingham and Simonside Hills. Now follows arguably the most scenic section ofthe trip; over Highshield crags and then down via Peel Crags to the NationalPark car park at Steel Rigg. From here you can walk out to accommodation atOnce Brewed.

Day  5: Once Brewed to  Lanercost / Banks13  Miles  The wall climbs to its highest point over Windshields Crags,before descending to the delightfully named Bogle hole. Then  downsteps through Thorny Doors and upCawfields Crags with excellent views onto the Pennines. The way passes by GreatChesters and Magnis (Roman forts), passing Greenhead, the ruin of mediaevalThirlwall castle and in another mile or so crosses  the Cumbria / Northumberland border on the River Irthing atGilsand. There are Interesting Roman defenses to visit  at Birdoswald, and eventually after a trekto Banks you will find a shop / Post office. You turn off here  for the lastmile or so to the little  hamlet ofLannercost and  our  country Inn.

Day 6: Lannercost to Carlisle 13 miles  The route continues undulating acrosscountry,  reaching the little village ofWalton, where a pint might  be in order.After crossing the very attractive Cam beck, you briefly join the road atNewtown Village near the green before skipping across the fields. Here you arefollowing the wall line via Old wall, Blea head and  Wall head farms, before detouring  on a little  “sandy Lane”that takes you down to  The  Stanegate , the old Roman  road that leads into Crosby on Eden and theriver Eden. Now you will be riverside walking for about a mile. At Linstockthere is a Medieval Pele, Peel Tower that rang in times of danger so that thelocals could congregate  within itsfortifications. Next we come to Rickerby which  has, incontrast,  a Victorian  folly tower. Finally we cross the  River Eden, wind  round the  river meander towards Stanwix , then up  into Carlisle -  a very interesting historical city, with a castle started by  Henry I, extensive wall and other Romanremains  and then there is theCathedral. The town has changed hands several times between  Scotland and England and  this is reflected in parts of thetown’s  structure.

Carlisle is quite a bit smaller than Newcastle. Alot of thebuildings such as the castle and the Old Town Hall are made of fine redsandstone. Beer fans will not want to miss out a couple of drams, as this isthe center for the Theakstone’s Brewery. Visit the Tullie House Museum for afine collection of Roman remains. The inner city has been pedestrian-friendlymaking exploration enjoyable around the market square.

Day 7: Carlisle  to Bowness on Solway 15 miles.  Asyou have a second night  in your hotel in Carlisle, the final walk  today can be done in either direction. Mostefficiently take a scheduled bus  (atown expense) at around 09:00 to Bowness On Solway and walk back to Carlisle, orjust check the  timetables and walk toBowness and then bus or taxi back. The walk itself  from Carlisle follows the at first the Southern side of the River Eden. The trail follows the Edenonce again, more or less parallel with the line of the Wall and Vallum, throughGrinsdale and Beaumont where you at last veer away from the Eden. You get goodviews from just north of the village to the peaks of Skiddaw and High Pike tothe south and across the Solway Firth to the West. Through Burgh by Sands, ashort detour takes you to the point on the marsh where Edward I died in 1307.In the vicinity of Dykesfield House, the trail joins an old railway embankmentfor a couple of miles before rejoining the line of “The Wall” near Glasson.From here the route follows the minor road to Bowness on Solway, the site ofthe Roman fort of Maia and journey’s end.

Day 8:   DepartCarlisle  After breakfast.

Included

Bed and breakfast with en suitefacilities where available.  Luggagetransfers from Inn to Inn.  Full route bookand map package including notes on finding your accommodation each night.

Extend your Stay

Extra nights:  Housesteads/Once Brewed.   From $63 per personper night.