seniortraveler

Can anyone recommend a place to leave luggage in Carlisle, England.? We plan to stop there by train and catch a bus over to Hadrian's Wall and back. Later in the day we will travel on to Edinburg.

Thanks!

janisj

Carlisle station doesn't have left luggage facilities. If you went up the eastern route -- Newcastle station does have left luggage. But going up the west side - nope.

You <i>might</i> find a hotel that will hold your bags --but that is along shot for sure.

Now - another option would be to do an overnight along the wall. You could travel to one of the towns along the Wall, stay in a B&B and the travel on to Edinburgh the next afternoon.

But just a day trip from Carlisle, you'll probably have to take your bags w/ you.

ron

While highly unlikely, it's possible that left luggage arrangements could be made at the Carlisle bus station. You can contact the operator of the travel centre there at [email protected]

seniortraveler

Can you take luggage on the #AD122 bus along the wall? We mainly want to see the Homesteads Fort and also ride along the wall.

janisj

Yes - you can take luggage on the bus. But then what would you do w/ it?

It is quite a walk from the road to Housesteads ruins - probably 10 minutes for fit folks and longer if there are any mobility issues and longer yet if one is schlepping luggage - and that is just from the car park - it is a bit farther from the bus stop. I'm almost certain the visitors' centre won't have left luggage facilities. However there is a small NationalTrust cafe at the bottom of the hill. There is a VERY outside chance the cafe could hold light bags -- but again, that would be a longshot.

The best way to see the Wall is to stay a night along the Wall. Or, barring that (or having a car) you want to either have very light luggage/backbacks, or to come from the east/Newcastle.

seniortraveler

Does bus AD122 actually go to Homesteads ruins and wall? It sounds like you get off on a road and then walk a distance to the ruins. Is that correct? Maybe it will be better to just skip the bus ride and Hadrain's wall since we don't have time to stay a night.

janisj

Yes - the bus goes right along the wall and has a stop at Housesteads (and even if there wasn't the driver would stop for you). But even the Housesteads car park is a 10 minute walk from the fort. Even w/ a car one would have to walk that far since the road is a few hundred yards from the fort.

You could take the bus all the way across and continue your train journey on the east side - but that still would not solve the luggage problem.

It isn't just a quick 15 or 20 minute excursion by bus from Carlisle - if you must go on to Edinburgh that day and have luggage, you'll probably have to skip the Wall and any of the forts.

OR - if you just want to ride the bus and not explore any forts, you could do that. Ride part way - the road is next to the Wall in many places and has good views all along the route - get off in one of the villages/towns and then wait for a return bus in the other direction. That way you could see a bit of the wall w/o having to carry your bags. But it could still take several hours depending on the bus schedule.