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  1. #1
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    :banana Hadrian's Wall hike

    I can't get my wife to join me on the AT (tents, hills, backpacks, etc) but she's receptive to hiking Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain (B&Bs, inns, pubs, luggage forwarded, etc). 2020 may be the year.


    I'm just starting my research and finding the tour companies. Does anybody have any experience with any of them?

    I have researched here (despite the search function) for any threads and only found this one:

    https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/arc...p/t-51203.html

    Thanks,
    RangerZ
    Last edited by RangerZ; 02-19-2019 at 20:43.
    76 HawkMtn w/Rangers
    14 LHHT
    15 Girard/Quebec/LostTurkey/Saylor/Tuscarora/BlackForest
    16 Kennerdell/Cranberry-Otter/DollyS/WRim-NCT
    17 BearR
    18-19,22 AT NOBO 1562.2
    22 Hadrian's Wall
    23 Cotswold Way

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by RangerZ View Post
    I can't get my wife to join me on the AT (tents, hills, backpacks, etc) but she's receptive to hiking Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain (B&Bs, inns, pubs, luggage forwarded, etc). 2020 may be the year.


    I'm just starting my research and finding the tour companies. Does anybody have any experience with any of them?

    I have researched here (despite the search function) for any threads and only found this one:

    https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/arc...p/t-51203.html

    Thanks,
    RangerZ
    My wife might be related to your wife. She would never go backpacking or camping but is interested in a walking tour. We have thought about this company but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

    https://www.countrywalkers.com/desti...urope/england/
    If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

  3. #3
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    My wife and I are visiting the Cotswolds come summer. We picked an outfitter offering nice easy itineraries, bookings arranged and baggage hauled. I'll report and review after. They do trips all over Britain and beyond. See UK websites for information on the many available choices. And bring good rain gear, I'm told.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by RangerZ View Post
    I can't get my wife to join me on the AT (tents, hills, backpacks, etc) but she's receptive to hiking Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain (B&Bs, inns, pubs, luggage forwarded, etc). RangerZ
    Haha my hubby is the same way (minus luggage transfer)!
    We are going to hike the West Highland Way in Scotland together in the fall.

    I would love to walk Hadrian's Wall in the future. Rather than spending extra money by going with a tour company, I think I could cobble together an itineray from this website.
    https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrians-wall-path
    It may be useful for you!

    Cheers,
    Sara
    Follow My Hiking Adventures: http://www.youtube.com/SaraDhooma
    Or if you just like photos: http://instagram.com/scifi_sara

  5. #5
    Registered User lonehiker's Avatar
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    Funny that one of the pictures that come up when you go to the link is of a couple that I met on the AT in 08. But anyway, I've heard from a couple of people that they like this company.

    https://www.macsadventure.com/us/?ms...cs%20Adventure
    Lonehiker (MRT '22)

  6. #6
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    Well, it took three years, but my wife and I walked Hadrian’s Wall Path in mid May.


    It was my wife’s style of hiking – B&B to B&B, showers every night, pub dinners, luggage advanced for us daily, packed lunches, etc. We just carried daypacks with rain gear, water and the lunches.

    We went with a UK hiking holiday company. They set up everything - itineraries, accommodations, etc. They provided daily itineraries, a guidebook and large scale map, information about everything from inns and pubs for dinner, banks and ATMs, medical facilities and even public toilet locations. They set up two taxi rides – one because they deemed the road to the B&B too dangerous to walk on and the other because it was too far. The guide book was excellent with plenty of information; I also used the Far Out (Guthook’s) Guide

    They have plans for 7 to 10 days hiking, we chose to take our time and did 10 days with a ‘rest day’ in the middle. It’s nominally 84 miles but with some off path walking to accommodations (only one was right on the path) we did about 94 miles total. Daily distances were from 7.7 to 12.5 miles.

    There is a lot of discussion about which way to walk, like the AT’s NOBO or SOBO. We walked from Newcastle in the east to Bowness on Solway in the west. The prevailing winds are from west to east and on the first days we had a blustery headwind.

    The path is well marked, it would be hard to get lost. It varied from sheep pastures, to farm lanes, to paved country roads, to Newcastle’s Quayside with offices and restaurants. In the countryside there are plenty of gates to go through and stiles to go over.

    I’d characterize our ten hiking days as follows:

    Day 1 – flat semi urban/light industrial along the River Tyne
    Day 2 – starting countryside, move up away from the river
    Day 3-4 – rolling countryside
    Day 5-7 – steeper countryside along the crags
    Day 8-9 – rolling countryside down to the River Eden
    Day 10 – flat along the River Eden and its estuary.

    The terrain isn’t bad, the climbs aren’t long and hard, but some climbs and descents can be short and steep (some with stone steps), especially in the crags. The highest point is only 1132 feet and that’s not in one climb. It’s not that strenuous a walk.

    We lucked out on the weather, the temperatures were 50-60 and it really rained on only one day. I hiked in a 150 merino base layer and hiking shirt, one day I zippered my pant legs off.

    Hadrian’s Wall, the reason for going, mostly isn’t there. Over the last 1600 years or so since the Romans left the stones have been taken for probably every pasture stone wall, house and church within a mile. There are some stretches remaining but none to the original dimensions; the forts that have been excavated are largely stone outlines of the buildings. There are good museums to explain the Wall and the forts, and one specifically dedicated to the Roman soldier.

    IMG_2799.JPEGIMG_2829.JPEGIMG_2840.JPEGIMG_2851.JPEGIMG_2937.JPEGIMG_2942.JPEGIMG_2977.JPEGIMG_2995.JPEG


    Quote Originally Posted by RangerZ View Post
    I can't get my wife to join me on the AT (tents, hills, backpacks, etc) but she's receptive to hiking Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain (B&Bs, inns, pubs, luggage forwarded, etc). 2020 may be the year.


    I'm just starting my research and finding the tour companies. Does anybody have any experience with any of them?

    I have researched here (despite the search function) for any threads and only found this one:

    https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/arc...p/t-51203.html

    Thanks,
    RangerZ
    76 HawkMtn w/Rangers
    14 LHHT
    15 Girard/Quebec/LostTurkey/Saylor/Tuscarora/BlackForest
    16 Kennerdell/Cranberry-Otter/DollyS/WRim-NCT
    17 BearR
    18-19,22 AT NOBO 1562.2
    22 Hadrian's Wall
    23 Cotswold Way

  7. #7

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    You might also consider the Coast to Coast trail. We only hiked half way (~85 miles) and started in the Lake District.

  8. #8
    Registered User gdwelker's Avatar
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    Ranger, what company did you use?
    GDW

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by gdwelker View Post
    Ranger, what company did you use?
    Mickledore. Absolutely satisfied with them.
    76 HawkMtn w/Rangers
    14 LHHT
    15 Girard/Quebec/LostTurkey/Saylor/Tuscarora/BlackForest
    16 Kennerdell/Cranberry-Otter/DollyS/WRim-NCT
    17 BearR
    18-19,22 AT NOBO 1562.2
    22 Hadrian's Wall
    23 Cotswold Way

  10. #10

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    Mickledore. Absolutely satisfied with them.
    Sounds like a great hike, Ranger! Kissing gates, stiles, livestock - classic!
    Teej

    "[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.

  11. #11
    Hammock and Bicycle camping Crash's Avatar
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    Glad you had a great trip.

    I did Hadrian’s Wall a few years back. We biked the western third, hiked the middle, biked the eastern third. The middle section we did in the rain and still had a great time. Stopping in at the pubs, b&b’s, the historic sites and museums was very enjoyable.

    I highly recommend doing it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    When the Trail calls you,
    its not on your cellphone!

  12. #12
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    The tree at Sycamore Gap was cut down on 28 September 2023.

    Sycamore Gap Tree - Wikipedia


    This would be like cutting doen the Dover Oak or the Keefer Oak on the AT.
    76 HawkMtn w/Rangers
    14 LHHT
    15 Girard/Quebec/LostTurkey/Saylor/Tuscarora/BlackForest
    16 Kennerdell/Cranberry-Otter/DollyS/WRim-NCT
    17 BearR
    18-19,22 AT NOBO 1562.2
    22 Hadrian's Wall
    23 Cotswold Way

  13. #13

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    Incredibly sad that a living tree was taken down for unknown reasons.
    For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
    Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF

  14. #14

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    I did the short Peels Crag - Sycamore Gap loop in May.
    Unbelievable such an icon was destroyed by an idiot.
    Teej

    "[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.

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