"Hadrian’s Wall Walk, Bowness on Solway to Wallsend" Borders by into-thin-air

Borders Travel Guide: 82 reviews and 278 photos

Planning

This page is about the Hadrian’s Wall Walk, This is rapidly becoming Britain’s most popular National Trail and it takes you from Coast to Coast, a distance of approximately 84 miles mainly following the original route of the wall
The first choice that you will have to make is which direction you choose to walk the route, As I have previously walked two other Coast to Coast routes, Wainright’s from saint Bees Head to Robin Hoods Bay and The Southern Upland Way in Scotland, I chose to “Do” Hadrian’s wall in the same West to East direction. The main reason for this is so that you have the prevailing wind on your back, but also the transport logistics suited this direction better for me. The downside to walking the route in this direction is that all the Guidebooks are written from East to West as this is the way that the Mile Forts are numbered !!
So Once you have decided your direction the next thing to do is to break the walk down into manageable stages, This will depend on both the time you have available as well as your levels of fitness, we opted for a middle figure of six days walking. I will break the route down as we did it on my Sports Travel Tips.
Once you have come up with your “Plan” the next thing that I would Strongly Advise is to pre-book all your accommodation. The main reason for this is that accommodation near to the trail is somewhat limited so the sooner you start to book up the better !!
Then it is just a case of packing your rucksack (As Light as possible) and getting to your chosen starting point.
The way we did this is as there was a group of four of us doing the walk, and with people coming from as far south as Devon and as far north as Fife I decided to drive my car to Carlisle, Pick up my friends at the train station and drive them down to Port Carlisle where I had arranged accommodation with free car parking for the duration of the walk.

The Start

Stevie, Keith and Sid, Start of Day One

The plan went well and we all met up, got to Port Carlisle, checked into The Hope and Anchor Inn, Ordered our dinner and walked out to Bowness on Solway to the starting point of the “Way” and walked back, now with a good appetite :-)
For the next 6 days we walked across Cumbria and Northumberland to Wallsend, as previously mentioned - . I will break the route down as we did it on my Sports Travel Tips over the next few days as this will give you a starting point to what to expect, I will also list our chosen accommodation in my Accommodation Tips with an appraisal of what we thought of them.

Approaching the end of the walk, Tyne @ Newcastle

Meanwhile, If you have Any questions on this amazing walk then please feel free to email me.
Thanks for taking the time to read these pages
Happy Trekking
Rob

Pros and Cons

Pros:Amazing walk through Awesome countryside
Cons:The British Weather
In a nutshell:If you have a spare week, Love the outdoors then you should think about this walk !!

Last visit to Borders: Aug 2010
Intro Updated Nov 22, 2010
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Reviews (23)

Full Kit List (Man) What to Pack (2)

Rucksack Rucksack Pro-Tector Pro-Tector Travel Pouch Trekking Socks (Thurlo) x 2 Inner sock x 2 Evening sock x... more travel advice

Still Smiling even in the Rain !!!! - Borders

Keep your Rucksack Safe -- Keep your kit... What to Pack (2)

Although I didn’t need my Rucksack Pro-Tector to protect my rucksack en-route to the starting point of the walk, I... more travel advice

Extensive Menu, Friendly Service and... Restaurants (5)

The Best meal we had out when walking Hadrian’s Wall was at The Milecastle Inn. Extensive Menu, Friendly Service, Tasty... more travel advice

Good Pub-Grub in Carlisle Restaurants (5)

If you are staying at the Stanwix end of Carlisle and looking for a good meal without paying a big price then I would... more travel advice

Sports & Outdoors (7)
See All Day 6) Heddon-on-the-Wall to Wallsend
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Comments (3)

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nickandchris Jan 14, 2011 at 9:00 AM

Excellent!! Looks like you enjoyed yourselves. I love the idea of those honesty box snack sheds. Loved your photos and videos as well.
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MalenaN Jan 2, 2011 at 1:28 AM

The walk along Hadrian’s Wall looks fantastic! Sounds good to walk from west to east when the winds often come from west.
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bijo69 Dec 5, 2010 at 8:26 AM

Looks like a fantastic walk! Great job here!