UKWalking Hadrian's Wall

Tour Dates

11-Aug-20

11th August 2020 - 18th August 2020

Tour Guide: Paul Beston

8 Days £2,875 / Single Supplement: £365

Description
Itinerary
Details
Map

Our Walking Hadrian’s Wall tour introduces you to some of the most awe-inspiring and historic landscapes anywhere in Britain. Building on our experience with Exploring Hadrian’s Wall, and our long expertise in the area, in this tour we offer a different take on the region, aimed to give those who want to walk more of this extraordinarily beautiful countryside the chance to experience its raw beauty, while still visiting the historic sites with the expert guidance that is our hallmark.

Walking Hadrian’s Wall overlaps with its sister tour, but is no mere extension of it: each has sites unique to it, which tell the long history of the Wall region in their own way. Nor is it simply one of those end-to-end walks of all the Wall that so many others do. We see no point in taking you to areas where you can see neither Wall nor Vallum and where the landscape is lacking. We’ll bring you the majesty of the scenery that the Wall threads through, follow its undulating and snaking trace and visit its forts, turrets and milecastles, explaining their history, monuments and archaeology as we go, bringing out the less-obvious features on the way. We’ll bring you the longer history of the area, too – the bastle houses hunched against whatever might come out of the darkness, the romantic ruin of embattled Lanercost priory and the wall-thieving sentinel, Thirlwall Castle.

Unlike other tours, we’ll also set the Roman Wall in its wider context and take the opportunity to roam some outstanding country north and south which helps explain the story. We follow a trail in the beautiful Alston valley to visit the earthwork remains of the fort at Whitley Castle, and head north to the remote outpost fort at Bewcastle, nestled under a mediaeval castle and church, and a rare Anglo-Saxon cross in its original position – and we’ll ascend the outstanding hillfort at Burnswark, where new research is reasserting the idea that the two Roman forts underneath mark a bloody assault in the second century, and take in its magnificent views. And, of course, we’ll not omit the superlative Roman site of Vindolanda, where unparalleled preservation gives us the deepest insight into the lives of the soldiers in garrison, and their families in the surrounding town.

We’re proud of this tour and its unique take on one of the most breath-taking regions in Britain and the Roman Empire. We know you’ll fall in love with every crag, rigg and nick, and take away memories of standing on its heights looking down at the millennia of tangled history below to inspire you long after.

Our tours receive an average rating of 5 out of 5 from 398 reviews, according to AITO reviews.

Day 1: Transfers and arrivals.

Day 2: We ease into our walking amid dramatic landscapes south of the Wall, to see why this wild and hilly frontier posed a problem of control for the Romans. We begin in the Pennines at Alston, and head into a realm of raw and attractive hills, strewn with rocks and boulders and intercut with burns and sikes heading down towards the South Tyne, along which distant steam engines puff. At the edge of habitation, we reach the Roman fort of Whitley Castle, it’s unique shape and numerous ditches attested by well-preserved earthworks.

After a splendid lunch, we drive north to the amazing Roman Stanegate fort and settlement at Vindolanda. One of the best-preserved Roman sites anywhere, it has a wealth of organic remains – shoes, shopping bags, wooden doors, animal skulls used for target practice – and imposing stone remains still under excavation. There’s no better place to gain an understanding of those who lived on the Wall, or what their forts were like in life.

Day 3: We begin in the west, in green Cumbrian farmland at Walton. We gain our first tantalising sights of Wall ditch, Vallum and stones here and there as we gaze down from rolling heights at beautiful verdant countryside. Detouring down from the crest, we visit the beautifully romantic ruins of the mediaeval red priory at Lanercost, to see where so much of the Wall stone has gone. After hearing of its turbulent history and viewing the unexpected Roman and Arts & Crafts features, we’re ready for lunch.

Fortified, we make the climb back up to the Wall, set in fine and varied landscape past Haytongate and the vantage point of Craggle Hill. The Wall now emerges in earnest, with its lofty section (and a little puzzle) at Hare Hill and on to feast on our first turrets and signal towers and the long stretch of visible curtain that brings us up to our destination, Birdoswald fort. Situated in a site of startling beauty on a spur over the winding Irthing valley, it has a unique history in its Roman buildings, but even more so in the story of what happened in the Dark Age afterglow of occupation, and into the perilous times of the Reivers. Beyond lies a fantastic section of preserved Wall – but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for that.

Day 4: We pick up where we finished yesterday, and walk one of the Wall’s most interesting stretches, from Birdoswald along to Harrow’s Scar milecastle, where we make the steep descent to cross the Irthing and view the remains of the Roman bridge at Willowford, in a torrent-scoured bend in the river before following the Wall, standing very tall here, back up to one of the finest milecastles at Poltross Burn. Losing the stone wall for a while, we have impressive remains of the ditch and Vallum to take us through rolling green landscape as far as the mediaeval castle of Thirlwall, built from the Wall itself. Here the land again rises, and after a steady climb we take in views as far as the Pennines and Solway Firth before we come to our next stop, the fine collection of the Roman Army Museum hard by the next Roman fort.

We now reach the Wall’s most dramatic stretch, taking to the rugged crags of its renowned centre section. We’ve finally made it to the Whin Sill! Our walk takes us past some of the most sublime views to be had on the monument’s length, at Walltown Crags. In the distance, we can see the wall rising and falling as it marches along the edge of the crags for miles ahead. The rest of this fine day takes us along the awesome heights to the fort at Great Chesters, brilliantly-preserved, and down past a flurry of Roman marching camps to end the day with a glad look back at what we’ve achieved.

Day 5: We take a day to see the Wall’s wider story, and take in some breath-taking views as we head north of the Wall. We head into the sparsely-populated and wild country north of Birdoswald to visit one of Rome’s outpost forts in what was once the Bewcastle Wastes. From our start point at Spadeadam, we head up to the higher ground and the remains of a lonely Roman signal station, with stunning views back to the Wall that we’ve walked, and the amazing stretch that lies ahead, and as far as Scotland and the Solway. We carry on over the beautifully spare landscape to come down to the site of the Roman fort at Bewcastle, where a mediaeval castle still sands sentinel, and the ancient church has a still-standing Anglo-Saxon cross.

After lunch, we head just over the border into Scotland and the extraordinary site at Burnswark, to walk and climb its unique remains. Here, a hillfort stands high and proud, visible for miles, while around it stand the remains of two sizeable Roman camps, their earthworks and deadly intent clear as we walk over them. The summit of this green earthwork Masada commands excellent views down to the coast and back towards England.

Day 6: We return, as the Romans did, to the Whin Sill and its most celebrated length. Starting with the iconic sight of Cawfields quarry, where the wall is sharply curtailed above the dark waters of a quarry pool, we follow a truly excellent section of Wall, with the Vallum earthworks starkly clear and impressive below. Past the milecastle and the evocatively named Thorny Doors and Bogle Hole we go, climbing ever higher to the peak of Winshields Crags, the loftiest point of the Wall. The justly-famed section from Steel Rigg, the Wall undulating over fierce and picturesque crags over the lough brings us to the great fort of Housesteads and its excellent museum, one of the highlights of the entire Wall. After a fortifying picnic just beyond, we carry on along the forbidding, awe-inspiring hard shelf of the Whin Sill to Sewingshields Crags, and then descend from this most memorable section down to finish the day with a visit to the magnificent little temple to Mithras at Carrawburgh.

Day 7: Our final day sees the countryside change character again, with rolling green fields on one side and the rougher country to the north. We begin at the unique site of Limestone Corner, a deep and ragged score in the landscape where the Romans were defeated by the terrain, with part cut blocks still standing in the deep ditch. After taking in a fine view to the north, with the Cheviot and Simonside hills visible far distant, we head down through green fields and woods to the exceptional fort at Chesters. We take in the wide variety our last displayed fort has to offer, including the best preserved bath-house on the Wall and a truly superlative museum before moving on over the North Tyne to the fine remains of the Roman bridge. By now, it’s time for a hearty lunch to ready us for our final section.

In the afternoon, we begin with the steep climb at Planetrees, and a famous section of Wall, and then up to the lovely Heavenfield Church, reputed site of a famous battle in Northumbrian history, but certainly the site of one of the finest views north of anywhere on the Wall. Carrying on west, we leave the stone wall behind, but are rewarded with outstanding lengths of Vallum and ditch set about with gorse. We cross the great Roman road of Dere Street and finally come to the end of our journey at Haltonchesters fort, still largely slumbering beneath grass, and the fine ancient church and castle nearby.

Day 8: Departures.

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Arrival and Departure Information

Arrival Airport – Newcastle International Airport

Departure Airport – Newcastle International Airport

Arrival Train Station – Newcastle Central Station

Departure Train Station – Newcastle Central Station

Our transfer vehicle will collect from Newcastle International Airport at 16.30, and Newcastle Central Station at 17.00, should you wish your arrival at your hotel to be organised by us. If you prefer to arrange your own arrival, check in time is set for 14.30.

Check out time is 10.30. We will arrange a transfer from your hotel to Newcastle Train Station and Newcastle Airport leaving from your hotel at 09.30.

Booking Flights
The cheapest way to book flights to join this tour in the United Kingdom is directly with the airline online.

If you prefer to book with a travel agent, we are happy to recommend specialists in a number of countries around the world, please contact our office for more details.

Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is a requirement of our booking conditions and we recommend you investigate the options thoroughly to make sure that your trip is properly covered. Please be advised some insurers may require you to take out a policy within 15-20 days of booking your holiday to receive all of their insurance benefits.

Visas
If you are not from an EEA country you must have a valid passport to enter the UK. It must be valid for the whole of your stay. You may also need a visa, depending on which country you are from. You can check if you need a visa by using the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

Custom Tours
If you are thinking of extending your trip to the United Kingdom to include visits to London, South-Western England, Wales or further afield, please contact our office for advice and suggestions for bespoke travel plans.

Testimonials

This tour (Exploring Wessex) has it all, excellent food, comfortable hotels, lovely scenery and extraordinary prehistoric and historic sites. Our expert tour leaders, Michael Metcalfe and Paul Beston, took us on a fascinating journey from the Neolithic to the 18th century with a great depth of knowledge and an equal amount of good humour. My husband and I enjoyed their company immensely. We highly recommend this very well-organised, well-paced and informative tour.

Cheryl Masters, California, USA

Peter Sommer Travels' tours for us are really an adventure back in time. It is one thing to walk Hadrian's Wall as we did....it is a totally different experience to have true professionals sharing their knowledge and experience as to the many thousands of years of history which underpin where we are today. Terrific trip led by real professionals who truly understand the importance of an historical understanding of England.

Craig Kirsch, PA, USA