Walk Across England? Been There, Done That!

So, Judy and I and our friends, Kim and Larry Drexler,  made our way across the Pond and walked East to West across England from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne to Bowness-On-Solway along the famous and historic Hadrian's Wall Path!  We had phenomenal weather--60s generally with plenty of sun, a nice breeze as a tailwind (which was a surprise because it typically blows west-to-east), and no rain what-so-ever for the 10 days we were there, including the 7 days of our hike.

We all had very high expectations for this truly "bucket-list" experience and I can safely say that the actual experience blew those high expectations away!

This post will be a quick summary of the experience.  First off-here is the overview of the 7-day trek and the 95 miles we covered:

Our target/plan was to average about 2mph (30-minute miles) all-in including all of our rest stops, lunches and a lot of site-seeing at the many forts and castles/turrets along the path--which we pretty much nailed!.  Here is a review of each day:

Day 1: 5/7/25: Newcastle to Heddon-on-the-Wall (15.6 miles/7:01/771 feet vertical

The first day was relatively flat (flattest of the 7 days) and principally an urban walk in Newcastle and its western suburbs.  The end of the hike featured a pretty good climb up to Heddon, where we first saw a portion of the wall.

Most of the hike was on hard, paved surfaces and we all had sore hips and feet by the end of the day.  It took us a while to find our groove and by the end of the day, we were all a bit tired (and wondering what the next day had in store for us).

The Keelman, above, is where we stayed and had our meals the first night on the trip.  We saw that our luggage transport arrangements worked like a charm (thanks Mac's!)--and they did for the whole trip.

DAY 2: 5/8/25: Heddon-on-the-Wall to Chollerford (16.7 miles/8:34/1,244 vertical)

The second day was spent out in the English countryside.  It was a glorious day, with a bit of a chill in the air, but perfect for hiking.  We had quite a bit more up and down on this day and it was our longest day, both in terms of distance and duration.  We began to see quite a bit more of the Wall as well!

One of the highlights of the trip is your interactions with the various farm animals along the way, especially the sheep, which I estimate we saw in the 10s if not 100s of thousands!  On this day I made friends with a couple of horses and made do with two less apples!

The above is the Robin Hood Inn where we stopped for a mid-morning snack!

This last picture is of the George Hotel in Chollerford where we stayed that night.   It was a delightful stay in a quaint, old but charming,  English Country Hotel!

Day 3: 5/9/25: Chollerford to Once Brewed (13.6 miles/7:45/2,166 feet vertical

Days 3-5 are the heart of the Hadrian's Wall trek as we move into the middle of the country and Northumberland National Park.  Today was an absolutely spectacular day--hiked with shorts and a light top.  Brilliant Sunshine, high 60s and a pleasant breeze were with us throughout.  We overlapped a fair amount with a gentleman couple--one in his 60s and the other who recently turned 80 years old.  Turns out he was a major player in the bike industry on the West Coast, including playing a big role at Schwinn (Pacific Cycle).

We also met some horses that seemed to be involved in some "frisky" activities.....

The terrain was breathtaking and we had numerous climbs--many fairly steep, but not especially long.  the Romans build the wall along the natural contour of the many crags that are a major feature of this area.  We passed the famed Sycamore Gap and saw the sad stump of the 150-year old Sycamore Tree that had stood there and was the most photographed tree in England.  It was also known as the Robin Hood tree.  We happened to pass there on the day the two vandals who brought it down were convicted and sentenced to jail for their crimes.  There was a TV News Guy there when we went by.

There were a couple of pretty testy climbs and our whole team did great!  Overall, it was to be our biggest vertical ascent day and a tremendous day of hiking!

Day 4: 5/10/25: Once Brewed to Gilsland (12.2 miles/7:43/1,956 feet vertical

In the morning we did not immediately head back to the trail but rather to an ancient Roman fort site called Vindolanda.  We spend about 90+ minutes there before we walked back to where we had left the trail the day before just north of Once Brewed.  This added quite a bit of vertical, distance and time to the day's hike.  This day in fact turned out to be the day with the highest average grade.

The fort was amazing.  They are in the midst of a 200-year old excavation project!  the weather and scenery were once again spectacular!

These guys were hiking the wall in roman garb for a bachelor's party!

Day 5: 5/11/25: Gilsland to Walton (8.9 miles/5:08/819 feet vertical

Our fifth day on the trail was our shortest and as a consequence we slept in a bit and enjoyed yet more great weather, company and stunning views!

Day 6: 5/12/25: Walton to Carlisle (12.2 miles/5:16/487 feet vertical)

The terrain henceforth was considerably flatter and alas, we left most of the remains of the wall behind us.  We could still see evidence of the roman ditch and the Vallum in places as well as where the romans had quarried their stone but now the hike was more of a stroll through beautiful English countryside.

At the end of the day we reached Carlisle, which is what passes for a larger city in this part of the world.  We toured the Castle there as well as the Cathedral, which was build in about 1100 AD!  A nice Italian dinner finished off another great day of exploring!

I lit a candle at the cathedral for the wife of a friend of mine, who had just passed......

Day 7: Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway (15.9 miles/6:57/636 feet vertical)

Our last day!  Another mostly flat day as we walked near the River Eden and the Firth of Solway.  We could look across the water to our north, throughout and view Scotland.

When we finally made it, 95+ miles after starting there was an immense feeling of accomplishment, a few tears, a maybe just a touch of sadness that this great adventure was coming to a close!