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Hadrians Wall

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited January 2023 in General Chat
Im going to walk it in April.

Has anyone done any long walks before?

If so do you have any advice on kit, i.e lightweight tent, food to take etc.

I think i can walk it in 3-4 days.

:)
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Its a supposedly a nice walk, I'd give it a bit longer - people I know took a week and they only did a section of it. I guess it depends how long you want to walk each day.

    I've done day long hikes before - decent boots and hiking socks are key! I quite like those dehydrated rice/cous cous/pasta packets for camping - they weigh nothing, quick to make ans just require hot water.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hey Miss_Riot

    Thanks for the reply, thats a good idea about the Cous Cous and pasta packets, ill definately pack those, thats exactly what i was after, something long lasting that doesnt go bad quickly.

    Ive not done much planning but ive looked on google at campsites locations and i assumed id walk roughly 20 miles a day but then ive not gave any time to walk around interesting villages or roman ruins so maybe it is more like a week long walk?

    Do you know if you can literally walk close to the wall all the way or is there parts where you have to go around certain areas because on Wikipedia i noticed an itinerary that breaks the walk into 6 stages and it sometimes says things like "There are occasional glimpses of the Wall."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_Wall_Path

    I find that strange as i imagined finding one end of the wall and then walking close to it all the way and only walking away to find campsite and visit other areas should I wish?

    On those 6 stages sometimes you cant even see the wall?
    :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you are carrying all your stuff and being relatively self sufficient, if you have not done anything like this before, I think 20 miles a day could be pushing it a bit. People will be capable of it, but repeating the same again for the second day might prove difficult for some. With the weight on your back and "breaks" etc, doing that distance a day could take you a long walking day.

    All I'm saying is that don't just do it straight off, work up to it or do some training before hand.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hadrians Wall? :3 Sounds fun! :3
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think 20 miles is doable, but on the top end of what you'd want to walk.

    You will need good walking boots with ankle support though; twisted ankle on day 1 means you're coming home.

    the coast2coast walking website links to this: http://www.sherpavan.com/trails/hadrians_wall.asp which might be useful!

    This forum as well: http://www.coast2coast.co.uk/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm&c=1 might have lots of useful information for you!

    Good luck :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The terrain along Hadrian's Wall is not easy, it's not a flat walk, despite what wikipedia says. Especially on the section between Chesters and Greenhead there's a lot of elevation change, most notably between Chesters and Steel Rigg. On this section especially the actual elevation is not that high, but you are constantly climbing up and down the same 200m elevation change.

    I think 20 miles a day is probably do-able, but it would be a fairly strong pace.

    Hadrian's Wall is not one continuous wall anymore, much of it has been lost to history, especially in urban areas. There are some sections of the wall still extant in Newcastle (there's the odd 100-yard section of wall in the housing estates around Benwell and Denton Burn) but the Hadrian's Wall Path actually doesn't follow the wall here. The wall path takes you along the banks of the Tyne as far as Wylam (just as well, it's more scenic than walking along the West Road) and then up to Heddon on the Wall. The section from Heddon on the Wall to Chesters is mostly along the side of the Military Road and cars travel along there at high speed. Further along much of the wall around Lanercost has disappeared; it was actually used by the monks to build Lanercost Priory.

    It is a long walk and not all of it is very interesting. The walk west of Carlisle is scenic enough- Bowness on Solway is beautiful- but there's no wall and no shelter if the weather's inclement.

    If you're not bothered about doing the whole wall but want a good long walk and explore, you're probably best on focusing on the section of the wall path between Newburn in west Newcastle and Lanercost Priory near Brampton. The sections between Newburn and Wallsend and between Brampton and Bowness on Solway are really not that interesting.
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