In September 2019 I walked Hadrian’s Wall, from Bowness-on-Solway on the Cumbrian coast to the end of the line at Wallsend, Newcastle. I left my campervan at the finish line, took a train and then a bus to the start, and set off on 19th September with everything I needed on my back. To save weight I slept in a bivvy under a tarp rather than a tent, which meant nothing between me and the night sky.

The wall itself takes its time to appear. The first day was flat walking with no sign of it because the stone was taken down long ago and reused by local people for roads, houses and churches. It wasn’t until day three that I got my first glimpse of what remains. Along the way there was a detour into Carlisle for forgotten tent pegs and a night of food poisoning, which turned day two into an unplanned rest day in a hotel. Day four, from Gilsland to Chollerford, brought me back to full strength and was the best of the trip, with the famous Sycamore Gap tree as the highlight.

The skies were blue more than they wrecked grey until the penultimate day when I was soaked to the bone. Walking east into Newcastle, the wall became a quiet companion amongsth the industral estates and roads. 

If you only have time for one stretch, make sure it Gilsland to Chollerford. By far and away the most beautiful scenery.