Hiking Hadrian’s Wall, the 84-mile, long-distance trail across the north of England, is probably my greatest achievement to date. After experiencing so much pain and trauma in the last year, this walk became my Everest. I needed to do it. I had to do it – to prove to myself, and everyone else, that I can actually do it. And I DID IT!

Hadrian’s Wall is an incredible outdoor adventure and one of the most testing experiences I’ve had. If you enjoy being outdoors and are looking for a challenge, I can’t recommend Hadrian’s Wall enough. But there’s a lot you should know – and a lot I wish I had known before I went, too. Here’s everything you need to know about hiking Hadrian’s Wall.

Hadrian’s Wall is an excellent “starter” long-distance UK trail

There are 16 National Trails in England and Wales (Scotland has 29 Great Trails). Hadrian’s Wall is meant to be one of the best for beginners, and I agree. This is mainly because the walk is 84 miles, so it can typically be done in about a week (or less). And also because the trail passes through villages, towns, and cities. So if you need help, you’re not isolated in the middle of nowhere. It’s easy to buy food and supplies on the way, and there are plenty of accommodation options and baggage transfer services. Wondering how much it cost? Read my budget guide to Hadrian’s Wall here.

The elevation gain is minimal on the Hadrian’s Wall trail and the landscape is relatively flat. That being said, don’t underestimate it though – I still recommend having hiking poles. My knees were hurting so bad by the end of Day 3 that I thought I’d have to call it quits! The typical starting point, Newcastle, is also very easily accessible – it’s one of the major cities in the north of England and even has its own airport. Hadrian’s Wall is a great trail if – like me – you’ve never done a long-distance hike before.

If you’re not wanting to do the full trail, check out these options for day tour along Hadrian’s Wall!

I did Hadrian’s Wall in 6 days, but I wish I had done it in 7 days.

While I’m glad to have finished it the way I did, I wish I had given myself one more day to do this walk. In particular, my Day 4 was a slog and I wish I had broken it up into two days, and stayed around Gilsland. Or, given myself a rest day halfway through around Steel Rigg/Once Brewed. I was rushed and tired, and my knees could have really used a break. Below is my approximate breakdown of mileage.

• Day 1: Wallsend to Heddon-on-the-Wall (15 miles)
• Day 2: Heddon-on-the-Wall to Black Carts (18 miles)
• Day 3: Black Carts to Steel Rigg/Once Brewed (11 miles)
• Day 4: Steel Rigg/Once Brewed to Newton (19 miles)
• Day 5: Newton to Carlisle: (9.5 miles)
• Day 6: Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway (14 miles)

Here’s a breakdown of how many miles I actually walked over the course of Hadrian’s Wall, according to my Strava app.

• Day 1: 15.92 miles
• Day 2: 20.36 miles
• Day 3: 11.83 miles
• Day 4: 20.95 miles
• Day 5: 9.88 miles
• Day 6: 14.9 miles

You can see how I broke up the trail in my 6-day Hadrian’s Wall itinerary.

Hadrian’s Wall is extremely well-signposted.

While you should never set out for any walk unprepared, the Hadrian’s Wall path is one of the easiest navigable walks I’ve done. It just happened to be 84 miles long and took 6 days. The National Trail symbol, the acorn, is everywhere. There are lots of signposts and markers telling you which way to go. If you aren’t sure which way to go, if you spend a minute or two (in good visibility) you will probably see a sign telling you which way it is. Even if you’re a beginner when it comes to navigation, you will most likely manage the trail just fine.

Make sure to buy the Trailblazers guidebook before you go, and get OS Maps.

This Trailblazers Hadrian’s Wall Path guidebook is probably the single most important thing you can have for this hike. While it has a wealth of information to help you plan your trip, your route, and where to stay, it also has hand-drawn maps of the entire trail. These are invaluable! While they show which way to go, these maps also detail small, minor landmarks or historical bits that would be easy to miss. It is such an incredible resource. If you’re looking at hiking Hadrian’s Wall, buy the guidebook and it’ll be an excellent guide for you!

I also recommend using OS Maps, in addition to the guidebook. While I have a big collection of paper OS Maps, this year I made the switch and now also use the OS Maps app. It costs £29/year for an annual subscription, although you do get a free 7-day trial. You can download the sections of the walk offline, and use the maps even when you don’t have data or any phone signal. I love the app because it shows me exactly where I am. It makes it incredibly easy to follow a trail in the correct direction.

Support National Trails by buying a Hadrian’s Wall passport.

National Trails sells these passports for Hadrian’s Wall—they cost £5, and there are 7 places in total along the trail where you can stamp your passport. I thought this was such a fun way to measure my progress as I went! All the proceeds support the work National Trails does, so it’s a really easy way to give back to the organization that works so hard to maintain the Hadrian’s Wall path.

Take good footwear, and break them in before you go.

Make sure your boots are worn in. Do not start this trail (or any long-distance trail) in brand new hiking boots. Make sure you put in a good number of miles in your boots before setting off. I had my Scarpa Mistral hiking boots for 1.5 years before hiking Hadrian’s Wall. I absolutely recommend them if you’re looking to invest in a sturdy, waterproof, excellent pair of hiking boots! But whatever footwear you have, make sure you are comfortable in them. You don’t want to set off and end day one with horribly painful blisters. Also, take good socks. I am obsessed with Bridgedale socks and used these exclusively on my Hadrian’s Wall hike. I managed 6 days of hiking without a single blister!

Plan and book your accommodation well in advance.

I walked Hadrian’s Wall in July 2021, and for various personal/work reasons I only booked it about 4 weeks beforehand. There was a lower market, only UK residents as foreign tourists to the UK weren’t allowed in at that time due to lingering coronavirus restrictions. Even then, I struggled to find (affordable) accommodation in one or two places. I ended up with a 20-mile day on Day 4, as there was nowhere (at all) to stay in Walton. So I pushed on another 2 miles to Newton. If I had booked a bit earlier, I could have had a much more enjoyable day, splitting the mileage a bit more evenly. I’d recommend booking as far in advance as you can, just so you know it’s all good to go.

As part of your planning process, check the mileage between each accommodation. I’d also recommend checking the actual point-to-point mileage for each day – I used the OS Maps app for this. After I’d booked it, I realized that Green Cart’s Farm was about 3 miles from Chollerford – and that I would be walking at least 18+ miles on Day 2. I wish I would have looked more carefully and planned better.

I don’t recommend camping, or wild camping, on Hadrian’s Wall.

While I love camping, Hadrian’s Wall isn’t necessarily that well-suited for camping. There is nowhere within a good distance to finish Day 1 (there are no campsites around Heddon-on-the-Wall as far as I’m aware). Many campsites are off the trail itself, so you’ll need to finish the trail for the day, and then walk a mile to set up camp. In the morning, you’ll need to walk another mile back to the trail to carry on. It can add on a lot of unnecessary miles. Remember, unless you’re using a baggage transfer service, you’ll also need to carry all your own gear. This may be doable for a day, but if (like me) you’re not used to carrying a full pack for multiple days in a row, it can be tiring and difficult.

I do not recommend wild camping on Hadrian’s Wall. Firstly, wild camping is illegal in England (and Northumberland National Park) without the landowners’ permission. If you wild camp, you will need to pitch late, leave early, leave no trace, and do this knowing full well you may be asked to move on after a long day of walking. The majority of the trail goes through land that simply isn’t that well-suited for wild camping. It’s a lot of walking near or along roads, around city suburbs in Newcastle and Carlisle, through fields and farmland with very few discreet places to pitch. I love wild camping, and have wild camped responsibly in both England and Scotland. But if you choose to camp along Hadrian’s Wall, book campsites.

East to West or West to East?

You can hike Hadrian’s Wall in either direction: either starting in Newcastle and finishing in Bowness-on-Solway (East to West), or starting in Bowness-on-Solway and finishing in Newcastle (West to East). I don’t think there’s a huge amount of difference either way. But I did it East to West and I’m glad I did. I found it more exciting to finish at the sea (Solway estuary) with a pub, than in a kind of run-down suburb in Newcastle and an ASDA. I also knew I’d want to do a bit of roadtripping around Northumberland afterwards. So I wanted to travel by car and it was easier for me to leave my car at the Newcastle end.

Where do you park to hike Hadrian’s Wall?

Newcastle Airport has convenient long-stay parking. You can take the Metro from the airport to the starting point of the trail in Wallsend (via the city center). This was easy and accessible for me – after finishing the walk, I got myself back to Newcastle, picked up my car from Newcastle Airport, and was ready to set off. I don’t know where you would leave a car in Bowness-on-Solway if you were hiking West to East. There are no long-stay car parks in the village. Most likely, you wouldn’t be able to, and would need to book long-stay somewhere in/around Carlisle, and get there and back by bus.

Be a minimalist when it comes to packing, and/or opt for a baggage transfer service.

Don’t want to haul your backpack 84 miles across the country? Take advantage of one of the many baggage transfer services operating along Hadrian’s Wall, and have your luggage moved for you. If you do this, you’ll leave your bags at your accommodation in the morning, and they’ll be at your next accommodation that evening. It leaves you free and unencumbered for the days’ walk. A few baggage transfer services that were recommended were BaggageTransfer Plus or Brigantes Walking Holidays.

If you’re carrying your own gear (like me), think minimal. I brought a lot of outdoor gear that I simply didn’t need, as I was staying in accommodation each night (not camping). I also brought a few extra clothes items that were unnecessary. While I’m glad I brought snacks to last me throughout the walk, if you’re happy to buy your meals you can pick stuff up on the trail. Read my full packing list for Hadrian’s Wall here!

There are options for food at least once per day, for the most part.

While I always recommend bringing snacks on any hike, the Hadrian’s Wall path runs through many towns, villages, and cities. So there will usually be somewhere you can buy food and get a meal each day. There is a long stretch between Chollerford and Housesteads Roman Fort where there’s nowhere to buy food. Keep this in mind, and stock up the day before. Also remember that opening hours in small villages might be irregular. For example, when I arrived in Gilsland just before noon, the café was closed as it was a Wednesday, and the pub wasn’t open either. It’s always good to carry something to eat, just in case you arrive outside of opening hours.

The best remains of Hadrian’s Wall itself are in Northumberland National Park.

There are very few remains of Hadrian’s Wall during the first and last two days of the walk. The first real glimpse of Wall you see on Day 1 is at the very end in Heddon-on-the-Wall, 15 miles from the start of the trail. There’s nothing left at all between Carlisle and Bowness-on-Solway. If you are doing this walk for the history, you might be slightly disappointed with the lack of Wall at either end. But the middle section is so worth it!

The best one-day section is between Sewingshields Crag and Steel Rigg/Once Brewed.

If I had to pick one part of the walk to do as a day hike, it would be – without a doubt – the section between Sewingshields Crag and Steel Rigg/Once Brewed on Day 3. You can easily do this as a loop just from the Steel Rigg car park to Housesteads Roman Fort. However, I really enjoyed the (very short) bit past Housesteads to Sewingshields Crag. There’s some cracking bits of Wall here, so I recommend this extension up to the trig point!

Being an English Heritage member will really pay off on the Hadrian’s Wall trail.

Most of the historic Hadrian’s Wall sites along the path are run by English Heritage. While the big sites all have admission fees to enter, if you’re an English Heritage member you get in for free. I’ve been an English Heritage member since 2017. I visited 6 sites during my week: Chesters Roman Fort, Housesteads Roman Fort, Birdoswold Roman Fort, Carlisle Castle, Lanercost Priory, and Corbridge Roman Town. I saved about £50 on admission fees by being a member – this is nearly the cost of an annual membership! So if you are wanting to learn more about the history of the Wall and see the historic sites nearby (and I think you should), I’d recommend joining English Heritage.

As an experienced solo traveler, I felt perfectly safe hiking Hadrian’s Wall solo.

I didn’t see many other women (or people) hiking the Wall alone. Although of course many people do and I’m sure I just didn’t cross paths with them! But as someone who has hiked extensively around rural parts of the UK by myself, and traveled solo to places like Russia, I never felt unsafe. There are plenty of people around, and you’re never far from civilization. I’m pretty sure I had phone signal for most of the walk. But I had my phone on airplane mode most days though, so I’m not entirely sure. The biggest safety issue you will likely face is crossing fast and dangerous roads as the trail crisscrosses them, and encountering territorial cows.

Unfortunately, things can and do go wrong when you travel. World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.

If you’re a reasonably fit and active person, you could most likely do this walk.

From the beginning of January I started walking 10 miles over every weekend. This was my training for Hadrian’s Wall. This was very difficult due to lockdown restrictions (and at the beginning of the year I didn’t have a car), but I stuck to it. Gradually, I built up to doing hikes of about 8-10 miles at least once a weekend. The longest hike I did before starting Hadrian’s Wall was probably 14 miles. If you are active, and more importantly if you enjoy walking, you can most likely hike Hadrian’s Wall, too. However, if you’re not used to regular long walks, work to build up to them. If you aren’t comfortable carrying all your own stuff, use a baggage transfer service. But as Hadrian’s Wall is easy to navigate and relatively easy to walk with accommodation options, it is a very accessible long-distance trail.

Hiking Hadrian’s Wall was the experience of a lifetime. I am so proud of myself for doing this and it’s one of my biggest achievements to date! It does require planning in advance, and a being strategic about where you stay and how you break up each day. I hope this post helps in planning a hike along Hadrian’s Wall!

Would you ever hike Hadrian’s Wall?! If you’ve done it yourself, what was your favorite part?

You might like my other posts:

A 6-Day Itinerary for Hiking Hadrian’s Wall

How Much Does it Cost to Hike Hadrian’s Wall?

Hadrian’s Wall Packing List: What to Pack for Hadrian’s Wall

My Outdoor Gear Guide For Hiking and Camping in the UK

Exploring Northumberland: A Coastal Road Trip Itinerary

Why You Should Visit Alnwick, Northumberland

Interview: Hiking the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails

All of my hiking posts!

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