Day 3 on Hadrians Wall walk.
Today we walked 10.5 miles!
7.5 of those on the wall walk- 3 getting to and form the walk from our campsite.
60 miles left to walk!
Scroll down to end for logistics for these two days.
It was always going to be a fiddly day today and we almost got a cab to save those 3 extra logistical miles but we persevered, saved £26 and we’re both proud of ourselves!
This morning started with us packing up Gandalf and leaving High Hermitage Caravan Park, moving a few miles along the wall, re setting up at Wellhouse Farm campsite, and then pounding 1.6 miles in 30 mins to get a bus to where we finished yesterday; Heddon on the wall. [logistics for this stretch below]
Thankfully the owners at Well house Farm had allowed us to arrive super early which helped our plight today and by 10:15 we were plodding down to the bus stop, just in time for the 10:54 bus to Heddon on the Wall.
From there we rejoined the national trail and walked 7.5miles mainly following the old military road. The scenery has suddenly become very beautiful and we enjoyed the rolling hills of Northumberland on both sides. We saw many parts of the wall in various forms and followed the Vallum ditch for quite some time too. It’s been good to be finally on the proper course of where the wall once stood.
There is a large field a couple of miles in which has a Roman fort underneath (Vindobala). Keith sent the drone up whilst we had our packed lunch and a can of Tennant’s, before making our way further.
The pub when we arrived, The Robin Hood Inn at Wallhouses was a welcome relief as it marked almost the end of today’s hike (other than the 1.7 miles back to campsite!) and we enjoyed a couple of drinks including a pilsner brewed there before continuing to home Gandalf. There were loads of walkers in the pub and we really feel like we’re part of a wider community. It’s wonderful! We also met loads of interesting people to have a quick natter to today.
Double cheese burgers and mac n cheese with a homemade potato salad completely hit the spot for tea and we’re loving the field views from our campsite.
It was tough today at times but the foot is still behaving and we’ve enjoyed it lots!
Let’s see what tomorrow brings!
Day 4 on the Wall
East Wallhouses to Chollerford
10.5 miles walked today,
33 along the wall in total.
51 left to go!
Today was tough as we climbed steadily most of the day before a last descent into Chollerford. The path followed the route of the wall all day, and also the old military road so we had a bit of background road noise today all day. Some nice scenery though and cracking weather!
Lots of stiles! Jazz got fed up of them after a while but his little legs did ever so well!
Two surprise beer stops cheered us up- one in the middle of our days walk, at a coffee house who wisely has some cold bottles of beers behind the counter and then another at the end in the picturesque George hotel. This was a particularly nice surprise as online research suggests this wasn’t a bar so we were aiming for half a mile further up the road and off the wall
It wasn’t until our taxi back to camp that we realised how far we’d walked today! It was a morale booster when we got to a couple of great bits of wall towards the end of todays miles- although Keefy enjoyed pointing by out the Vallum ditch most of the day today too!
Tomorrow is a planned rest day, mainly to let Jazzy’s paws recover for a day. That’s our excuse anyway! We’re not in any rush to get to the end but we do want to get to there so are happy to be not breaking any records and slowly plodding along!
Met lots of lovely people again today! We’re loving it!
Delicious chicken, spinach and potato biriyani for dinner perfect 🤩
We’d enjoyed our stay at Well house farm, especially our pitch which was overlooking the fields. It wasn’t immediately close to the wall which added miles on for us every day, but we managed accordingly!
It had clean facilities if not a tad dated. There are lots of seasonal pitches here and two separate areas. We were happy in the grass paddock area as we had more space around us.
£25pn – felt a fair price . Included electric
Logistics 🔽
Day 3
Heddon on the Wall to The Robin Hood Inn (Wallhouses)
10.5 miles in total- 7.5 miles on the wall
24 miles walked so far on the wall. 60 left to go!
This morning we got up early and moved the van a little further along to Well House Farm Campsite http://www.wellhousefarm.co.uk. With prior arrangement they allowed us to park up from 10am.
We then walked 1.6 miles to the bus stop for a direct bus back to Heddon on the Wall where our last stretch finished. Bus runs once an hour £2pp single fare. Dogs free
The alternative was to get a cab pick up direct from the campsite and drive us to Heddon at a cost of £30 – Hexham cars.
We walked back to Robin Hood Inn and half a mile or so beyond, until we turned off the wall to walk back 1.3 miles to the campsite and Gandalf waiting for us.
Campsite £25pn
Day 4
Started walking at 09:30 from campsite.
1.2 miles walk to rejoin wall.
Then approx 9.3 miles along wall path to Chollerford.
Pre booked cab with Hexham cars/ eco cabs
Pick up at 4pm (which we delayed an hour to 5pm) from the George Hotel which has a lovely garden terrace bar, plus good food menu overlooking the bridge.
Cab £32 back to Campsite.
