10km Walk the Wall - Vindolanda to Housesteads
Hadrian's Wall
Walk the Wall
Walk Overview
You couldn’t come all this way, ride Hadrian’s Cycleway without actually seeing the best bits of the Wall , could you?
So stay awhile - a day at least. Walk the Wall. For on this very manageable walk within the Northumberland National Park, you play part of the Centurion, the Briton, the Emperor. You see the most spectacular sections of the Wall (which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site); where it is most intact, where it is at its highest, where there are forts, mile castles and gateways, not to mention the best museum along the whole route, at the Roman fort of Vindolanda. Here, is where you’ll learn most about the ingenuity, determination, and courage of the Roman conquerors. The shoes they wore to march from Rome (little more than slippers), the swords they carried (very heavy), the letters they wrote home to loved ones (one asks for another pair of woollen socks). What did the soldiers eat, what were their living conditions like, what was it like for the Britons held under this yoke of Rome?
And the walk itself? It is oft said that it is one of the best in the whole of England; moody moors, some short but steep climbs and descents. The wall at its fearsome best right beside you. The weather can add an extra challenge to the day, and if wet, the path can be more muddy than is ideal. But overall, today’s walk might just be the most memorable day of your trip.
Ride Practicalities
START/FINISH: Once Brewed DISTANCE: 12km TOTAL ASCENT: 235m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: A couple of quiet roads and the National Trail path beside the wall. The walk has many ups and downs and the path can be slippery after wet weather. RECOMMENDED CAFÈS/PUBS: There are cafés at Vindolanda and The Sill, the National Park Visitor’s centre. NEARBY MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: N/A (There is a bus service which runs along the B6318, the main road near to the Wall. PLACES TO VISIT; Housesteads: Housesteads Fort, Vindolanda: Vindolanda & Roman Army Museum, Sycamore Gap, LINKS TO OTHER RIDES:
Walk Notes
Head South from Twice Brewed on a narrow lane, following signs to Vindolanda. There’ll be plenty of sheep to chat with as you walk - mainly blue faced Leicesters. Spend as much time as you need at Vindolanda - (again best on a winter’s day when groups and crowds are largely absent). Roman shoes, letters, tools, combs, a wig, and all manner of day to day stuff. Films and artefacts outline what life may have been like for the legionaries who were sent far from home, to this northern outpost to keep querulous Britons under control.
Walking up to Stanegate, you stand on the crest of the hill, exactly where Emperor Hadrian stood (so it is believed) to survey the land before agreeing with his advisers that the natural geography would indeed be perfect for a wall. The scene is one of majestic splendour; moorlands and painterly skies, with the smell of wet wool lingering in the air.
The route continues down the remnants of the ancient road of Stanegate (it was already old when the Romans turned up), before climbing up to the ridge you see ahead of you. There, the most picturesquely situated of all the forts, Housesteads, awaits your explorations.
From the fort, the path heads westwards and stays close to the wall. Using the high ground along the Great Whin Sill, a volcanic intrusion created 300 million years ago, the wall is at its most spectacular. Following the natural lie of the land, the wall seems to embed itself quite naturally into the landscape. It took an estimated 15,000 men, six years to create it.
The walk is by no means flat. You end up rather pitying the Roman soldier, enduring the wind and the rain, wearing his worsted skirt, sodden leather and an uncomfortable metal helmet on his head, having to trudge up and down these short, but oh-so-steep hills.
The path takes you to ‘Sycamore Gap’ where once Robin of Loxley (aka Kevin Costner) saved a boy poacher from being killed by the Sheriff of Nottingham’s enforcers. The tree was mindlessly chainsawed in 2023. Another reason to do this route in the quieter months (tourist-wise) is that you have the wall, the forts, and the landscape to yourself.
Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.
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