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We spent the first 2 weeks of June "up north" where we spent 9 days walking the Hadrian's Wall National Trail path from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend. We walked it with our friend and his brother-in-law and used our cars parked at each end of a section each day. The reason to do it West to East is that the weather comes from the west - so hopefully you don't get the wind and rain in the face for an 84 mile walk! We saw quite a lot of the remaining Roman Wall. My only regret is we didn't have enough time to look around all the Roman sites - we will have to do another trip for that.
These photos are taken mostly with the OM-1 Mk ii and 12-100mm f4, a couple with my phone and some on the last day with the 8-25mm. I used Live GND quite a lot to avoid sky "white-out" on cloudy days. Some images are processed and some are "SOOC". I used RAW + JPEG for the whole trip so a lot to sort out!
The Hadrian's Path National Trail is headlined as 84 miles but my maps app on the phone recorded about 98 miles - I must have bumbled around a bit with my camera or something!
Day 1 : 11 Miles from Bowness to Kirkandrews-on-Eden
We were staying in a cottage at Kirkandrews (our friends were in another one 10 miles east). The first few days walking there was little evidence of the remaining Wall - it's mostly been quarried for churches etc! This section is mostly flat following the Solway Estuary so easy walking.
This is where it starts at Bowness, there is a small car park by this sign
Bowness on Solway - Start of Hadrian's Wall Walk! by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
We passed an interesting building at Drumburgh - looks like a fortified farmhouse
Drumburgh Castle Cumbria by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
The first item to do with the Wall was a Roman Centurial stone in a wall at Beaumont.
They placed these to record details of the legion that built a section of wall.
Roman Cohort Stone in a wall at Beaumont Cumbria by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 2: 10 miles from Kirkandrews to Crosby-On-Eden
This section was along the River Eden around Carlisle to the cottage where our friends were staying. The main interest for me was this old unused railway bridge / viaduct for the closed line between Edinburgh and Carlisle.
Hadrian's Wall Day 2 - Waverley Viaduct at Carlisle by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 3: 11.5 miles from Crosby to Banks / Turret 52A
We drove to our friends cottage and they had already dumped one of their cars at the endpoint where there's a free car park.
View of the church at Walton and Dovecote Bridge in the foreground. We stopped at a cafe in Walton for coffee and cake. The wall crossed the river near the bridge - we missed a sign about it there where there is a section of the wall deliberately buried by English Heritage to help preserve it, I think it was made of sandstone at this point. There was some evidence of the Wall along this section but there are better bits to show photos of!
Dovecote Bridge and Walton Church by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
In the evening having covered a little over 30 miles of the path we were up for a pub meal so I had a pint and a pretty decent Cumberland Sausage in the pub down the road from our cottage!
Pint with Cumberland Sausage by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 4: 3 miles from Banks Turret 52A to Birdoswald Roman Fort
Next day was a short one was we were moving accommodation to all stay at a place in Corbridge. We drove to Birdoswold and left our friend's wife who wasn't walking there to explore and walked a short section. This is where we started to see remaining sections of the Wall. We had lunch at the English Heritage cafe and explored Birdoswald Roman Fort then continued to Corbridge by car.
Turret 49b near Banks / Birdoswald - SOOC by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
When we arrived in Corbridge there had been some sort of vintage vehicle fair going on and they were parking up near a pub. I spied these red Porsche Diesel Tractors. Who knew Porsche made tractors?!
Porsche Diesel Tractors in Corbridge by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 5: 12 miles from Birdoswald to Steel Rigg
This is where the walking gets serious and there's some good sections of the Wall to see and some hills. We dumped a car at Steel Rigg car park (£10 for the day) and then on to Birdoswald to start the walk. This is also one of the best sections of the wall path for the views. If you don't want to do the whole wall path just do some walking around here.
There's a good view of the remaining wall crossing the landscape at Cawfield Crags
Hadrian's Wall at Cawfield Crags by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
We reached the highest point 1132 feet at a OS Trig Point Pillar on the Wall at Winshields with a good view of Steel Rigg, thankfully down hill for the last bit to the car park there!
View towards Steel Rigg from Winshield Crags by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
A bit of cheer when we read this sign!
Hadrian's Wall - Winshields Information Board by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 6: 13.5 miles from Steel Rigg to Chesters Roman Fort
Another tough section for the length and hills. Also good views. We parked a car at Chesters in the English Heritage car park and went on to start at Steel Rigg. The first car park is locked at 5pm so there were reasons to crack on with the walking! This was another good section with views of the Wall and a brief visit to Halsteads Fort for loos (porta-loo not the roman latrine ones!). We arrived at Chesters in time for tea in the cafe and a quick look around the site.
Not long after Steel Rigg we reached That Gap now missing a tree due to some idiots, a view looking back. My other half pointed out that it now really is a gap.
Hadrian's Wall - Looking Back Towards Sycamore Gap by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Looking back towards Halsteads Roman Fort and Steel Rigg
Hadrian's Wall Path near Mile Castle 36 by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 7: 10 miles from Chesters to Wallhouses East
The destination was decided because we asked the waiter in a pub if there were any roadside lay-bys to park near the wall and he told us where there was one on a minor road! So it was Turret 18A near Wallhouses East, that would be only 18 Roman miles from Newcastle I think. This part was relatively flat and mainly a walk through the countryside but there was a section of wall at Planetrees where it's been worked out the Romans started building the wall narrower changing from 10 roman feet wide to 6 roman feet wide. It can be seen that the foundation was made wider here. Imagine doing all that work for a wide foundation to support the wider wall and the boss then changes the plan to make it 6 feet!
Hadrian's Wall section at Planetrees - SOOC by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 8 : 12 miles from Wallhouses to Newburn
We found free car parking in the Tyne Riverside Country Park at Newburn on the outskirts of Newcastle so that was the decided destination. It would also be convenient for the next section to park there too. Again the path was mostly through open countryside with little Hadrian's Wall interest. At Heddon on the Wall the national trail path departs from the path of the Wall which follows a main road into Newcastle.
Hadrian is not forgotten in Heddon however!
Hadrian - The Man Himself! Heddon on the Wall by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Also there is a section of remaining wall at Heddon to look at
Section of Hadrian's Wall at Heddon on the Wall Northumberland - SOOC by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 9 : 13.5 miles from Newburn to Segedunum Wallsend
The last section was mostly along the River Tyne into Newcastle to the Segedunum Roman Fort at Wallsend. We'd parked a car there so we could get back - it took a while to drive into the city. The official national trail isn't following the path of the Roman Wall at all along this section but it was nice to walk along the river for much of it.
Looking back at some Tyne bridges
River Tyne Newcastle by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
The sign at the end! We will do Rome another day, probably get there by train...
Segudunum Wallsend - End of Hadrian's Wall Path - SOOC by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
At the Segedunum museum site there's a memorial to the builders of the Wall - all the Roman centurion officers in charge of the gangs who built sections of the wall. It's a modern creation with information found by archeologists from 'centurial stones' and they left room to add more names should more be found. I don't see Hadrian on there, I don't think he got his hands dirty...
Segedunum - the Men Who Built the Hadrian's Wall Monument by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
We were going to take a group photo at the end but the others cleared off to look around the museum!
So a Spanish lady we met on this section of the walk who finished at the same time as us took my photo on my phone and I took hers. So here's a mugshot of me!
Thanks for watching!
Bill
These photos are taken mostly with the OM-1 Mk ii and 12-100mm f4, a couple with my phone and some on the last day with the 8-25mm. I used Live GND quite a lot to avoid sky "white-out" on cloudy days. Some images are processed and some are "SOOC". I used RAW + JPEG for the whole trip so a lot to sort out!
The Hadrian's Path National Trail is headlined as 84 miles but my maps app on the phone recorded about 98 miles - I must have bumbled around a bit with my camera or something!
Day 1 : 11 Miles from Bowness to Kirkandrews-on-Eden
We were staying in a cottage at Kirkandrews (our friends were in another one 10 miles east). The first few days walking there was little evidence of the remaining Wall - it's mostly been quarried for churches etc! This section is mostly flat following the Solway Estuary so easy walking.
This is where it starts at Bowness, there is a small car park by this sign
Bowness on Solway - Start of Hadrian's Wall Walk! by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
We passed an interesting building at Drumburgh - looks like a fortified farmhouse
Drumburgh Castle Cumbria by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
The first item to do with the Wall was a Roman Centurial stone in a wall at Beaumont.
They placed these to record details of the legion that built a section of wall.
Roman Cohort Stone in a wall at Beaumont Cumbria by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 2: 10 miles from Kirkandrews to Crosby-On-Eden
This section was along the River Eden around Carlisle to the cottage where our friends were staying. The main interest for me was this old unused railway bridge / viaduct for the closed line between Edinburgh and Carlisle.
Hadrian's Wall Day 2 - Waverley Viaduct at Carlisle by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 3: 11.5 miles from Crosby to Banks / Turret 52A
We drove to our friends cottage and they had already dumped one of their cars at the endpoint where there's a free car park.
View of the church at Walton and Dovecote Bridge in the foreground. We stopped at a cafe in Walton for coffee and cake. The wall crossed the river near the bridge - we missed a sign about it there where there is a section of the wall deliberately buried by English Heritage to help preserve it, I think it was made of sandstone at this point. There was some evidence of the Wall along this section but there are better bits to show photos of!
Dovecote Bridge and Walton Church by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
In the evening having covered a little over 30 miles of the path we were up for a pub meal so I had a pint and a pretty decent Cumberland Sausage in the pub down the road from our cottage!
Pint with Cumberland Sausage by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 4: 3 miles from Banks Turret 52A to Birdoswald Roman Fort
Next day was a short one was we were moving accommodation to all stay at a place in Corbridge. We drove to Birdoswold and left our friend's wife who wasn't walking there to explore and walked a short section. This is where we started to see remaining sections of the Wall. We had lunch at the English Heritage cafe and explored Birdoswald Roman Fort then continued to Corbridge by car.
Turret 49b near Banks / Birdoswald - SOOC by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
When we arrived in Corbridge there had been some sort of vintage vehicle fair going on and they were parking up near a pub. I spied these red Porsche Diesel Tractors. Who knew Porsche made tractors?!
Porsche Diesel Tractors in Corbridge by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 5: 12 miles from Birdoswald to Steel Rigg
This is where the walking gets serious and there's some good sections of the Wall to see and some hills. We dumped a car at Steel Rigg car park (£10 for the day) and then on to Birdoswald to start the walk. This is also one of the best sections of the wall path for the views. If you don't want to do the whole wall path just do some walking around here.
There's a good view of the remaining wall crossing the landscape at Cawfield Crags
Hadrian's Wall at Cawfield Crags by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
We reached the highest point 1132 feet at a OS Trig Point Pillar on the Wall at Winshields with a good view of Steel Rigg, thankfully down hill for the last bit to the car park there!
View towards Steel Rigg from Winshield Crags by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
A bit of cheer when we read this sign!
Hadrian's Wall - Winshields Information Board by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 6: 13.5 miles from Steel Rigg to Chesters Roman Fort
Another tough section for the length and hills. Also good views. We parked a car at Chesters in the English Heritage car park and went on to start at Steel Rigg. The first car park is locked at 5pm so there were reasons to crack on with the walking! This was another good section with views of the Wall and a brief visit to Halsteads Fort for loos (porta-loo not the roman latrine ones!). We arrived at Chesters in time for tea in the cafe and a quick look around the site.
Not long after Steel Rigg we reached That Gap now missing a tree due to some idiots, a view looking back. My other half pointed out that it now really is a gap.
Hadrian's Wall - Looking Back Towards Sycamore Gap by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Looking back towards Halsteads Roman Fort and Steel Rigg
Hadrian's Wall Path near Mile Castle 36 by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 7: 10 miles from Chesters to Wallhouses East
The destination was decided because we asked the waiter in a pub if there were any roadside lay-bys to park near the wall and he told us where there was one on a minor road! So it was Turret 18A near Wallhouses East, that would be only 18 Roman miles from Newcastle I think. This part was relatively flat and mainly a walk through the countryside but there was a section of wall at Planetrees where it's been worked out the Romans started building the wall narrower changing from 10 roman feet wide to 6 roman feet wide. It can be seen that the foundation was made wider here. Imagine doing all that work for a wide foundation to support the wider wall and the boss then changes the plan to make it 6 feet!
Day 8 : 12 miles from Wallhouses to Newburn
We found free car parking in the Tyne Riverside Country Park at Newburn on the outskirts of Newcastle so that was the decided destination. It would also be convenient for the next section to park there too. Again the path was mostly through open countryside with little Hadrian's Wall interest. At Heddon on the Wall the national trail path departs from the path of the Wall which follows a main road into Newcastle.
Hadrian is not forgotten in Heddon however!
Hadrian - The Man Himself! Heddon on the Wall by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Also there is a section of remaining wall at Heddon to look at
Section of Hadrian's Wall at Heddon on the Wall Northumberland - SOOC by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
Day 9 : 13.5 miles from Newburn to Segedunum Wallsend
The last section was mostly along the River Tyne into Newcastle to the Segedunum Roman Fort at Wallsend. We'd parked a car there so we could get back - it took a while to drive into the city. The official national trail isn't following the path of the Roman Wall at all along this section but it was nice to walk along the river for much of it.
Looking back at some Tyne bridges
River Tyne Newcastle by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
The sign at the end! We will do Rome another day, probably get there by train...
Segudunum Wallsend - End of Hadrian's Wall Path - SOOC by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
At the Segedunum museum site there's a memorial to the builders of the Wall - all the Roman centurion officers in charge of the gangs who built sections of the wall. It's a modern creation with information found by archeologists from 'centurial stones' and they left room to add more names should more be found. I don't see Hadrian on there, I don't think he got his hands dirty...
Segedunum - the Men Who Built the Hadrian's Wall Monument by Bill Dennis, on Flickr
We were going to take a group photo at the end but the others cleared off to look around the museum!
So a Spanish lady we met on this section of the walk who finished at the same time as us took my photo on my phone and I took hers. So here's a mugshot of me!
Thanks for watching!
Bill
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