Hadrian's Wall Path - 8 Days & 7 Nights

If you want to take on the challenge of a long-distance trail, with fantastically scenic walks, steeped in history, and then arrive in your comfortable and welcoming B&Bs every afternoon, feeling a sense of achievement each day, then this tour is for you. This is our most popular itinerary on Hadrian's Wall.

Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way, Tour Du Mont Blanc and the Passau to Vienna Danube Cycle Path, to name but a few!

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&B’s, inns, and guesthouses.

Solo Travellers

The minimum age for this tour is: 12 Years

This tour is graded anywhere between easy to moderate and strenuous, depending on which itinerary you choose. It is most suited for those walkers with previous long distance experience. The route is a mixture of paths, tracks and minor roads. Some of the paths can become very muddy and boggy and negotiating this terrain can be slow-going at times. Please read the Hadrian's Wall Code of Respect in your guidebook, which gives guidelines as to how to care for the natural environment for this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Overnight in B&B’s, small hotels and guesthouses, specifically chosen to ensure that you enjoy every minute of your stay. They all offer a warm welcome to walkers and traditional hospitality.

On our full Hadrian's Walking tours, the first day’s walk to Heddon (or beyond) is one of the longer walks so many of our walkers choose to arrive early in Newcastle, drop their bags at their accommodation in Newcastle and then enjoy the 5 mile (2.5 hour) walk to Tyne Bridge that afternoon, returning by metro to Wallsend and starting again from Tyne Bridge in the following morning. If you would like to do this please let us know when you book.

Please note that Bowness has limited accommodation and transport links so many walkers choose to finish the last days walk in Bowness and then catch the bus back to Carlisle that afternoon, ready for the journey home the next day. Just let us know at the time of booking if you would prefer this option.

Accommodation Location

We will always try and accommodate you at the locations detailed in the tour itinerary. Occasionally, because of limited availability, we may have to accommodate you into alternative accommodations which are not listed in the description. If those listed are unavailable the alternative accommodation will be of the same or better standard than those described.

IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE REGARDING OVERNIGHTING IN BRAMPTON - Due to very few accommodations in Lanercost/Haytongate, you will likely be staying in Brampton overnight instead. Brampton is approximately a 3-mile (5km) walk away from the Hadrian's wall trail path turn-off at Haytongate and 2.5 miles (4km) from Lanercost. You can either walk this section (adding the 3 miles / 5km to your walking day) using our supplemented walking route given in or alternatively, if your legs are feeling a bit tired or you'd rather not walk this extra section, you can instead call a local taxi company to take you to Brampton instead (number given in your tour documentation). Local cab companies generally do runs via Lanercost priory for around £10-15 depending on the time of day/year. The Priory is worth a visit in itself and also has a tearoom where you can get refreshments as you wait. The following morning, you will again have to decide if you wish to book a local taxi back to the Lanercost priory or walk via our supplemented route (again potentially adding 3 miles / 5km to your walk).

Solo Walkers & Single Rooms

This tour is available to solo walkers, although a supplement is payable. If you require single rooms within your party we would be happy to accommodate your request, although it is not generally possible to secure more than three single rooms in a party. A single supplement is also payable.

The Hadrian's Wall is well-waymarked and easy to follow. Navigation is straightforward as you can use the Macs Adventure App which has maps, GPS tracks and daily route information. Simply download the GPS tracks for offline use and follow the route on your phone with the assurance that navigation on this tour will be made simple. You will find more information on downloading the app in your Macs Adventure Account.

Recommended Reading

Although not essential, if you would like more information on the route please see our recommendation below:

• Guidebook - Hadrian's Wall Path, British Walking Guide. Trailblazers
• Guidebook - Hadrian's Wall Path. Cicerone. Recommended if travelling West to East
• Map - Hadrian's Wall Path. Harvey Map

You can begin this long-distance walk anytime between March and October. Between these dates, the weather can be vastly different, from rain to wind to glorious days of sunshine. Please come prepared for walking in rain or shine.

Please note there are various events on throughout the year that may make availability difficult in the city of Newcastle (large concert events and the Great North Run). During these periods we recommend booking our "Best of" or Short Break Itineraries. Your adventure specialist will advise you of any difficulty in booking on particular dates.

By nature, the North of England is prone to varying types of weather throughout the year. Always be prepared for changeable conditions when walking in England. Waterproofs are essential. We recommend visiting https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ (the UK’s official source for weather warnings) before setting off each day. Do not attempt to walk any sections if any serious weather warnings are in place.

Newcastle is a major transport hub in the northeast of England and has excellent rail, road and air links from both Scotland and the South of England. It also has an airport which serves many carriers. You can take flights to and from London, and there is also a direct flight (at the time of writing this) from New York City on United Airlines. 

By Rail

Newcastle is on the main East Coast rail line. A direct train from London takes approx 3 hours, or from Edinburgh takes around 1h 30m. 

By Air

From outside the UK, you can fly to Newcastle with several airlines including Easyjet, KLM and Airfrance. 

By Road

You can easily reach Newcastle by road too. It is a 2hr drive from Edinburgh via the East coast of Scotland or approx 3hrs from London. Car parking is quite limited but it is available at the main hotel we use in Newcastle which is £12 per night. Parking there is on a first-come, first-served basis and unfortunately cannot be reserved.  You can also find a list of off-street parking locations here - https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/parking-and-permits/car-parks-and-street-parking/street-parking-places-order-city-centre 

Bowness has limited accommodation and transport links so many walkers choose to finish the last day's walk in Bowness and then catch the bus back to Carlisle that afternoon for a second night in Carlisle, ready for the journey home from Carlisle the following morning. Just let us know at the time of booking if you would prefer this option.

The Stagecoach Bus Service 93 connects Bowness-on-Solway and Carlisle (the main transport hub for connecting travel). Please ensure you check the bus timetables in advance as it is a limited service that runs around three times a day - also, no buses run between Bowness-on-Solway and Carlisle on Sundays/bank holidays (so please keep this in mind when booking). Local taxi services are the only other option (we provide numbers in your information pack).

From Carlisle, there are excellent transport links to all major cities across both Scotland and the south of England. 

Your bags will be transferred from your accommodation as per your itinerary and moved onto your next overnight accommodation. 

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person.  It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.