Walking Hadrian's Wall
 

A friend has decided she would like to walk Hadrian's Wall next June for 5-6 days in celebration of a big birthday. Of course, I'm in! :-) I said I'd help research, so here I am.

I'm looking for feedback and experiences from people who have done this. I'd especially like to hear from people who have used a company to organize the accommodations, baggage transfers, etc.

I know this is possible to organize on our own, but my friend would like this to be as stress free as possible. There will be a group of at least 6 of us (possibly more), ages ranging from late 40's to early 70's. With that many people, it will be better to have help organizing everything.

We're thinking that the middle section, walking no more than 10 miles a day, might work for our group. The walks themselves probably don't need to be personally guided, but she'd like everything else taken care of.

Thanks for any advice, company recommendations, links to trip reports, etc.

My wife has expressed an interest in this, and of course I'm in! Tagging along here to see any responses.

I have contacted one or two companies regarding this walk, but it never progressed beyond that, so far. However, I did get good vibes in the replies from these folks:
https://www.thewalkingholidaycompany.../hadrians-wall

Good luck!

I walked sections of the wall quite a few years ago and often wished I'd done the whole route. Although I haven't seen this particular guide, I have seen some of their others, and they are well done. They also list accommodations and places to eat along the itinerary.

https://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/d...id/5/show/maps

I've used Contours for one trip and they were fine, made a good itinerary for me taking into account my limitations. They have plans for the entire 84 miles or for shorter sections, all here: https://www.contours.co.uk/walking-h...-wall-walk.php

If this is your first time on a multi-day walk, using one of these companies can be a good idea. I didn't use one until well into my walking career and it was just to see if it made a huge difference to going it on my own. I found it really was superfluous, you really don't need all your stuff and can easily carry the little you do need in a day pack, as I'd been doing. But if having help gets you going, that's a good thing

walk west to east - prevailing winds behind you

West to east:
https://www.contours.co.uk/walking-h...lk-reverse.php

Thanks for all the interesting replies so far. Please keep them coming.

I've looked at Contours. Their costs seem reasonable, but OTOH, because they don't list specific accommodations, there's no way to know if the value is there for 70-75 GP per person, per night for the hotels, baggage transfer, and info pack. A lot of the companies I've looked at appeared similar, though I've yet to contact any of them to find out about specific accommodations.

I think for us, the baggage transfers is a must no matter how we do it. No one is going to want to carry all their stuff, especially since the Hadrian's Wall walk is only part of a larger trip so everyone will want more than what they can carry in a day pack and they won't want to leave stuff behind for the duration of the walk.

I was must reading recommendations for this company in International Travel News:

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk

I've never done something like this, but it seems to me that 70-75 GP for a hotel room and baggage transfer is reasonable. few companies will actually give you the name of hotel or place you'll be staying. You might call and ask what type of accommodations is offered.

"walk west to east - prevailing winds behind you"

Is very good advice.

June is a good month, long days and. "generally" our weather has been better over the past few years. August has been very mixed in the North.

>>if the value is there for 70-75 GP per person, per night for the hotels, baggage transfer, and info pack.<<

£70 pp per night seems quite reasonable for hotels/luggage transfers. Unless they put you in hostels I can't imagine it being very much cheaper.

Don't over-estimate the number of miles you can do in a day for purposes of saving money. Better to do a shorter distance and have time to enjoy the communities where you stop each night than arrive a wreck, then have to do it again the next day. Keep in mind you can only go as far each day as your least fit companion can do.

Another thought - on the trip I booked with Contours, after several days on the path I injured my foot. It turns out that at that time, and maybe still, the luggage was moved from place to place by the B&B host of the previous night. So I was able to ride instead of walk for a couple of days with my luggage until it was better. That may be a question for any company you're thinking of choosing, if one of your party can't walk, can they ride?

To be clear, that 70-75 GP is per person, double occupancy. So 140-150 per night for two people for room and baggage transfers. When I looked up one of the sample hotels, the rate was 90 GP a night for a double. I think the baggage transfer cost is 5-10 GP per day.
I'm not saying 150 per night for a room is unreasonable, but it does depend on the room.

The ride option is a very good point. I remember reading somewhere about a shuttle that runs in the summer along the wall route too. Must investigate that. Point also taken about distance per day. :-)

>>To be clear, that 70-75 GP is per person, double occupancy.<<

I assumed as much/ Most decent B&B's charge £80-£120 double so £70 pp would be very reasonable IME for room plus transfers/arrangements.

>>I'm not saying 150 per night for a room is unreasonable<<

That is the cost of convenience. If you want cheaper -- then you could make your own arrangements. That would save you ££/$$ but you said in your OP you don't want to do that.

Take a look at Sherpa Van. They provide luggage and accommodation booking. You can choose the places you want to stay from their list, they book them & you just pay a booking fee. I used them for the Cotswold Way a couple of years ago and was happy with them.

I've also looked at HF Holidays but haven't used them yet. They take a different approach in that they own a manor house where you stay for the whole trip & they bus you to the start of each walk. This might be a nice option with your larger group as you'll all be able to stay at the same place. This is not always possible as many of the places on these trails are small b&b's.

thursdaysd- that company you linked to was interesting. They offer some guided walking tours along Hadrian's wall with a single accommodation (you get bussed to/from each day) for not that much more cost. BUT, they only offer specific dates, and not that many, so that won't work for us. Plus, I don't think we want to be part of a larger group tour. Still, interesting.

Kristina - the people who wrote about HF Holidays in ITN really liked them, but clearly not for everyone. I think if I were up to it I would want to do a through walk.

HF Holidays has been around a long time and I have considered some of their offerings but not for the walks I generally do that I think of as traveling on foot, as opposed to staying in a nice place and walking here & there then returning for group meals and activities, an entirely different thing.

I find walking from point A to a point B a week or so away, stopping overnight at locations along the path, an extraordinarily satisfying activity. Journeying on foot feels to me like a sort of primeval way of moving through a landscape, a bit hard to explain but my motivation for continuing to do it is this concept that feels so good to me, seeing the world in an intimate way, a step at a time, and traveling the way people have done it forever. It's why I began, imagining it, and why I continue. It's not always easy but I love it.

MmePerdu - do you know about this?

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/p...-of-eden-walk/