Hadrians Walls - Haltwhistle to Hexham (★★★★★)

This stretch of Hadrian's Wall from Haltwhistle to Hexham, is the first section of the wall I ever walked - and is in my opinion the best section of the wall (although the end of stretch to Haltwhistle heading from Carlisle is also very good).

The main appeal of this section is that the wall is present in many sections along the path, and this section of countryside is also particularly enjoyable to walk through (if the weather is good that is).

Today I am heading out on the train, and I get off at Haltwhistle early in the morning. Haltwhistle itself is not on the line of Hadrian's Wall, but instead sits on the banks of the South Tyne, on a line of towns that sit south of the wall. From here I head up on the road to the east of Halwhistle Burn, heading north and join up with the wall at Cawfield Crags. You can also head up on the road to the west of Halwhistle Burn and I have used that on other occasions.

Here I turn right onto the wall, and get a strong early introduction to the wall on the path ahead.

Hadrian's Wall

At this point the wall is not at its original height - formerly it is believed to have stood at a height of 13 to 15 feet high (4 to 4.5 meters). It would have been an imposing wall, and in many ways it is a real shame that it hasn't been maintained in the same way that somewhere like the Great Wall of China has been. But this small height of wall will remain for much of the day and so you do get a real feel on this walk of how the wall would have been in Roman times. With that in mind, here is an idea of how it would have looked in those days :

A computer visualization of the original wall at a milecastle

If we did rebuild the wall in full, the estimate of cost is around £300-700m to rebuild Hadrian's Wall in full and although it feels like a waste of money, I'm all for us doing it. The cost would be a lot of money, but the government spends £1tn annually, so really it isn't going to move the needle that much, and what a draw that would be for tourists from around the world - incidentally many of the walkers on the wall will be tourists from abroad, backing up this point.

 

But today, we have to make the most of what remains of the wall, as we walk across this fairly barren landscape, with this remaining bit of wall to keep us company.

This section of the path is fairly quiet and after reaching a road, the path heads upwards as the route gains height - and this general climb continues for some time along the next section, occasionally losing a bit of height for a section, but in general climbing up until the trig point is reached above Winshield Crags.

From here you get far reaching views over the fairly barren landscape, and up ahead you can clearly see Crag Lough, and Highshield Crags above. Here the Wall was able to make use of the natural landscape to make the wall particularly hard to attack, with a large drop the other side of the wall to the landscape below.

Heading onwards, the path dips downhill and the walking gets much busier again as we head over the road and arrive at a car park.

From here the path meanders round, and then heads up a steep series of steps up onto Peel Crags. Heading onwards we reach Milecastle 39, which is fairly well preserved and which would have just about had great views out across Crag Lough below from the front of the fort.

Milecastle 39

You can see the remains of the gaps both front and back in the milecastle. Looking back at the simulated image of a milecastle, you can see how these would have provided access points to the land to the north - and you can see how this milecastle sits in a dip in the landscape. Indeed as you visit you can have a wander through and walk out into Scotland - or at least what would have been Scotland when this was the border between the two countries.

Having climbed back up on the other side, it is time to dip down once again, as the path heads through Sycamore Gap (UPDATE - the tree has been cut down by some idiot 😡).

The path at Sycamore Gap

Climbing back up the other side, the path continues on to join up with Crag Lough, with views out over the lake below.

Looking out across Crag Lough

Having cleared Crag Lough, the path then heads left and up to Hotbank Crags, where the path continues to bump up and down the rolling landscape.

There are a lot more ups and downs than you would expect

At the next dip in the path, it is time for walkers following the Pennine Way to head off to the left - and head north - with the Hadrians Wall Path and the Pennine Way having followed the same route so far today.

Having got past this point, the next crags to tick off are Cuddy's Crags and then Housesteads Crags - and here - after clearing a small section of woodland - we meet up with Housesteads Fort.

I have been inside here before with family, and there isn't all that much you can see inside that you can't see from the outside, but you do have to pay to get in, and some low security fencing on any gaps reminds us of this fact as we walk by.

This was a substantial fort in its day and one of the advantages of paying to visit, is that you do get to watch a video of how the fort would have looked back in the day. Sitting near the middle of the wall it would have been a major strategic point, and there is evidence of land cultivation on the south side of the wall near the fort, creating a bit of a small town.

Housesteads Fort visualised

They set this up to how the gatehouse would have looked (presumably it would not have been multi-coloured though)

Having headed down the hill, the path continues on - with the remains of the wall continuing on throughout this section.

Here we are passing Kennel Crags - and once again there is a sharp drop on the far side of the wall - with Bromlee Lough lying in the dip in the land below.

As the path pulls up and joins up with Sewingshields Crag, the best views of the landscape open up near the trig point.

Looking out towards Broomlee Lough

From here the long run of having some sort of wall sitting alongside, starts to break down, and next up the path heads through a small wood, coming out into flatter and less dramatic land on the other side (the wall here is effectively gone). 

The path continues along this fairly flat section and is joined by the road (although we are separated and still walking on the fields on either side).

Further along at Teppermoor, the path crosses over and then passes through the former site of Carrawburgh Fort where there is not much left to be seen, except the remains of a temple to Mithras. 

Temple of Mithras as reimangined

The onward path continues to be fairly flat, with limited ability to see much in the way of the original wall, and it is only when the path turns a corner that you start to once again get a view of the old wall at Black Carts. 

After a short diversion, the path continues on through more agricultural land, as the landscape shifts from the wild and barren region walked previously, to a more refined and cultivated landscape. Personally I prefer the former, but there is a general evolution of the landscape as you head across the wall, and this is strongest as you head up to any major towns or cities.

Here the path diverts off once again, before a short stint following a minor road heading into Walwick. 

By this point we are getting close to Hexham and - with Hexham lying off route from the perspective of the official path - there are a few alternatives for a route down.

The first option is to head down at Warwick (and follow the River Tyne Trail down and into Hexham), alternatively the Pennine Journey path takes a route down through Acomb and a third option continues on past Hill Head and down through Codlaw Hill - before heading directly south down into Hexham.

UPDATED TEXT - On this walk I chose the first option, which while mostly road walking, did offer a pleasant route down - with a particularly enjoyable stretch along the river down into Hexham. However, having explored the different options, my favoured route these days is the third option. This extends the stretch along the wall and then uses a road that runs direct north-south, lining up directly with Hexham Bridge. This second option feels like a more authentic route down into Hexham as the direct line of the path suggests that it was an old Roman route up to the wall. Having looked into it I'm not sure that this is a Roman road as the main supply point was Corbridge - but it does make me feel better to look at it this way and so I continue to use this route.

From here, whichever route is taken into Hexham, it is on to the train station to take the train home.

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

UPDATE - Click on the link to see a writeup of the next section of Hadrian's Wall running from Hexham round to Newcastle.

UPDATE - Click on the link to see a writeup of the prior walk from Bowness on Solway round to Haltwhistle

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 86 and 87 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a Hadrian's Wall guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.