Hadrian’s Wall

It was a year and a half in the planning. Then suddenly 24 May 2025 was here. Six leaders and 20 participants converged from many regions of the UK on Bowness on Solway to challenge themselves to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall and on to South Shields on the east coast. There was a mixture of anxiety and excitement.

After a good meal and a sleep, they were off. Over the flat salt marsh following the finger posts and acorn symbols to the 1^st stop at Carlisle Castle, some 15 miles east. The strong winds blew them along and the short sharp showers had them playing hokey cokey with their waterproofs, on, off, on off, on, off!! The afternoon was beautiful walking by the river through the trees after some surprising sets of steps. Finally, the castle came into view. Some managed a cheeky ice cream before all the separate groups gathered on the grass waiting for the minibus to take them off to the accommodation.

Tuesday 27 May started out as a lovely sight seeing day, all made better by the sight of not one but two donkeys (part of our non-competitive scavenger hunt). This quickly turned into a gentle undulating trail as mentioned by Jo, which in Edwina terms means steep hills. Trig points and Milestone castles were reached and photographed very quickly due to the mention of a minibus bail out. Obviously not an option! We sped through the hills with Jo hot on our tails and made it to the The Sill in record time for us.

 The day was extra special as it was my (Leah’s) birthday. I had a lovely surprise cake and candle at Milestone castle 41, with Quita Jen and Roxie, which was a lovely surprise.  A second cake was presented at dinner which was a lovely end to a great day.

From Leah, Roxie, Jenny and Quita

We stated the morning at steel rigg full of porridge before starting our scramble to Sycamore Gap. We were saddened by the sight of the once great sycamore tree but found some joy in the fact the tree was sprouting, giving hope in the darkest of day. After seeing the gap, we marched to homestead for our group admission to the fort. After some time exploring, we continued along the wall and rolling hills, exploring turrets and mile castles along the way. Before finishing the day off in the sunshine at Chester fort. 

Today we undertook the walk from Chester’s Roman Fort to Heddon on the Wall. This was the longest walk of the week (16.3 miles) and as usual the speedy group finished in record time. For some of us it was a long slog but everyone was determined and we all made it to the end. It began with a climb up some hills in the pouring rain but it wasn’t long before we were walking on flat terrain in the glorious sunshine and waterproof layers were removed. Many of the group had a pit stop at The Errington Coffee House where people were able to dry off and sample some delicious cakes and hot chocolates. Further along the route we reached the Robin Hood Inn where many had a stop for lunch. The scenery was still very beautiful along the walk and we caught our first glimpse of the sea (way in the distance). For those who finished quickly, a drink in the pub was had and for those groups bringing up the rear an ice cream was enjoyed.

On Friday, we walked from Heddon-on the-Wall to Segudunum in Wallsend, 16.5 miles. We saw a final section of the wall in Heddon and then followed the path through the village and down to the River Tyne. Initially we followed the Wylam Waggonway; a tunnel of trees with goldfinches, song thrushes, blackbirds and chiff chaffs singing. We gave a plaster to a child who had fallen over in Tyne Riverside Country Park and then found a convenient coffee shop. We continued to follow the Tyne towards Newcastle. It was a hot day, so we made the most of any shade! We knew we’d arrived when we saw the seven bridges of Newcastle. The quayside became more crowed and provided much needed ice creams. Our feet were getting tired, so we started to sing our favourite guiding songs to distract ourselves! A few people may have wondered who the crazy moose was and why he had juice in his hair and why there was an old Australian yodelling in Newcastle 😊 We continued through the industrial area and reached Segudunum and the official end of Hadrian’s Way.