The Route

It’s more common to walk Hadrian’s Wall Path starting from Newcastle and heading west. Many walkers feel that it is ‘more natural’ to walk out of a big city into the open country, and it also makes getting to the start of the walk easier due to the better transport connections to Newcastle. Furthermore, the scenery improves the further west you go – up to a point – and the turrets and milecastles are also numbered from east to west as that is the direction in which the Romans built the Wall.

Departing from Newcastle, near the North Sea, the trail follows mostly railway tracks and footpaths to Newburn. From here, it follows river-side tracks for a small while, before heading away from the river to Heddon-on-the Wall. The route then follows the old Military Road, built on top of the Wall, through a pastoral landscape.

More and more remains of Hadrian’s Wall and its forts, towers and castles become visible as the trail follows the line of the Wall west. The route soon passes the old Roman Portgate, near Corbridge, and then leads on to Chollerford with its Roman Fort of Chesters. From here the trail soon rises to follow the tops of the Northumberland Crags with better-preserved Roman remains.

From Housesteads, continue up and down along the crags to Once Brewed and to the lovely village of Gilsland. The trail then follows the Wall through a more level landscape via Newtown to the ancient city of Carlisle. Following the River Eden and then moving through the flat landscape along the Solway Firth the route soon reaches Bowness-on-Solway on the Irish Sea.

Terrain Overview

The walking on this trail is relatively easy along footpaths, cycle lanes, well-maintained paths and tracks through fields and on good, grassy paths along the top of the Northumberland Crags. Though sometimes muddy in places, there is very little rugged or very wet ground.

Anyone who is reasonably fit should be able to walk the Hadrian’s Wall Path. However, the central section between Chollerford and Birdoswald includes a surprising amount of up and down and there are several short, steep climbs and descents along the crags – a bit like walking along the coast. Beyond that, the path is more or less flat for much of its length. The total aggregate ascent is approximately 2,000m over the entire route and the highest point is just 345 metres above sea level.

Elevation Profile

Would you like more time to visit all the sites and museums along the route or do think you might need a break from all the hiking?

Newcastle: Once the world’s #1 centre of shipbuilding, vibrant Newcastle has undergone a cultural and architectural renaissance. Visit the outstanding ‘Great North Museum’ or experience one of the best nightlife scenes in Britain. (Please note that accommodation for Newcastle is provided in the friendly seaside towns of Whitley Bay or Tynemouth, just 25 minutes by Metro train from the city centre.)

Chollerford: Explore the captivating Chesters Roman Fort with its ornate headquarters building, commanding officers residence, barrack buildings and military bath-house.

Housesteads / Once Brewed: Discover the Roman forts of Vindolanda and Housesteads with their extensive Roman remains and fascinating artifacts.

Carlisle: Visit medieval Carlisle where you find the award winning Tullie House Museum, the 12th century cathedral and the vast castle, with its ancient chambers, stairways and dungeons.

Staying at the very best accommodation during your time in England can transform a “good” hiking tour into a “great” hiking tour.

That’s why, at Hillwalk Tours, we take the quality of our accommodation partners seriously. So much so that you will find we strive to only work with high-quality and well-reviewed accommodation. Additionally, most of our accommodation partners have been personally checked by a member of the Hillwalk Tours team to ensure your comfort.

As keen hikers ourselves we know you’ll want somewhere relaxing to put your feet up in the evening. A place where a warm smile from your hosts makes you feel welcome as soon as you step through the door. If your hiking gear gets wet, it’s nice to know that you can dry it or, if you ask, it may even be taken from you and returned nice and dry the next morning.

Comfy beds, en-suite bathrooms (where available), tasty breakfast menus, and a friendly & cosy atmosphere – these are all the things that we like so you can rest assured that we’ll do our best to find them for you as well.

To find out more about the types of accommodation you can expect to find on a Hillwalk Tours walking holiday, read here: Accommodation on your Walking Tour

In addition, if you’d like to stay an extra night at any location during your hiking tour, just let us know.

Getting to and from your Hadrian’s Wall Path (East to West) hiking tour is easy… when you know how!

In your walking pack, you will receive all the necessary public transport information you need to make your journey as convenient as possible.

In the meantime, if you’d like to do some advance planning yourself, here are our tips:

Departing from Lanercost, Newtown, Carlisle or Bowness-on-Solway after your Hiking Tour:

Use public or private bus and train services to Carlisle, Newcastle, Manchester and London.

Travelling by car?

If you would like to leave your car at the first or last accommodation on your tour, for the duration of the tour, then you can directly contact the accommodation owners before the start of your tour to check that this is possible. We will provide contact details for the accommodation provider.