Itinerary

Day One
Meet in the evening for lecture at our Wetheral hotel.

Day Two (8.4 mile walk)
To Bowness-on-Solway, where the walk along the course of the wall begins on the shore of the Solway Firth, with views across to Scotland. The walking is flat and easy here, and there is very little to see of the wall, which may have crossed the marsh, since virtually all of it was robbed away in later times. Pub lunch at Burgh-by-Sands and then by coach to the Tullie House Museum Carlisle.

Day Three (12.7 mile walk)
Today we follow the line of the wall from Crosby-on-Eden, stopping for a pub lunch (6.3 miles). Then past Hare Hill to the fort and museum at Birdoswald (6.4  miles). Just outside the fort the wall is marked with one of the many good-luck phalli sculpted by the builders.

Day Four (11.4 mile walk, some of it steep)
By bus to Birdoswald, and walk to Willowford bridge abutments, then to Gilsland (1.3 miles, steep down and up) and then take coach to hotel. Continue to the Roman Army Museum at Carvoran (4miles). Packed lunch here before continuing over Walltown Crags, past Great Chesters to Burnhead (3.6 miles). Great Chesters remains an atmospheric ruin, having been largely unconsolidated. Optional pick-up, or on over Cawfield Crags and milecastle 42 and Windshield Crags to Turret 39B (near Steel Rigg) (2.5 miles). Coach to hotel.

Day Five (8 mile walk, some of it steep)
We divert from the course of the wall this morning, to visit Vindolanda, where the writing tablets voted Britain’s greatest treasure were found. This was one of the Stanegate forts, founded in the 1st rather than the 2nd century, and is famous because of the extensive excavations which have been taking place here for decades. Back on course by coach to Steel Rigg and walk along the crags to Housesteads (2.8 miles). The whole central range of buildings is displayed here, including the commander’s house, the granaries, and a possible hospital. Lunch here. Continue to Carrawburgh (5.2 miles). Coach to hotel.

Day Six (6.2 mile walk)
We pick up the trail again at Carrawburgh, and continue past ‘Limestone Corner’ (actually whinstone, and the most northerly point on the wall system), to Chesters (Cilurnum Roman fort), on the bank of the river North Tyne. The wall was carried over the river by a bridge, the abutment of which still survives. Drive to our hotel.

Day Seven (12.4 miles)
Walk to Brunton turret, past Planetrees (a farmhouse built out of stones from the wall) to the Portgate, where Dere Street crosses the Wall. Pub lunch and then on to Harlow Hill. Coach to hotel.

Day Eight (11 mile walk)
Walk to Heddon-on-the-Wall for lunch. We finish at the section of wall (in a garage forecourt) at Denton Burn. Increasingly now the urban sprawl of Newcastle upon Tyne makes the course of the wall more difficult to determine, and the walking less attractive, so we miss out a stretch through the suburbs - but there is still some impressive archaeology to see tomorrow at the eastern end. Coach to hotel.

Day Nine (2.2 mile walk) 
By coach to Benwell, then walk to the remains of the fort at Newcastle. By metro to the Great North Museum, and then by metro to Wallsend site and museum. The excavated fort sits beside Swan Hunter’s shipyard, and the museum observation tower allows a wonderful view of both Roman and industrial archaeology. Disperse late afternoon at Newcastle Station, or return to your hotel.

Many of the photos on this page have come from Mike Bishop’s website which is a pictorial record of features and views along the wall: www.perlineamvalli.org.uk

Included

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• Local Travel Private a/c coach to the beginning and from the end of each day's walking.
  Walking - Good path, up and downhill in places. Walking distances are indicated in the itinerary. Most of everyday will be spent walking or visiting sites along the way, and you must be prepared for this with suitable footwear and weatherproof clothing. You will also have to carry your own water which will add to the weight.
  Meals All meals included; drinks (except water) are not included.
  Guide Lecturer Not to be confused with "guest lecturers"!  The guide lecturer will be with you from breakfast to supper, and probably even a drink in the bar afterwards.  There is the occasional site where they may not be allowed to guide because of local regulations (we normally manage to circumnavigate these) but otherwise the guides are just that. They will have been chosen because of specialist knowledge and their ability to communicate and interest you.  After 22 years of making tours worldwide, we are highly appreciative of the attributes of a good guide, and intensely critical of people who do not possess them.  If you would like to know more about Dr Mike Bishop, please click his name.
• Tour Manager We never know how best to call the very special people whom we choose to accompany you on your tour.  They are usually employed in this capacity only by us, and have been trained to do things in the Andante way - unobtrusive, friendly and quietly efficient.
• Fieldnotes written for the tour.
  Entry & Tips Entry to all sites in programme; tips included.

Hotels

3 nights in a comfortable hotel in the village of Wetheral, close to the railway station;

5 nights in a friendly and comfortable 3* hotel in Hexham.

Comments

What Did You Enjoy Most About This Tour?

"A wonderful walk with superb scenery most of the way. The infectious enthusiasm of the resident archaeologist at Vindolanda. Learning about how the Roman soldiers lived, what they ate and wore, and how the army was organised. The company of my fellow travellers."

"We especially enjoyed learning so much about Hadrian's Wall and the Romans in North Britain, the company of our travelling companions - an excellent Andante group - , the lovely scenery and, frankly, the exertion - the physical challenge. And the company of Mike and Simon - knowledgeable and witty and sociable."

"The middle 4 days when we did the most demanding walking but in the most fantastic scenery and amazing archaeology. That sense of shared achievement, adventure and fun was fantastic." 

"The walk itself which gave fascinating insights to the history of the Romans in this area; incredibly beautiful scenery; a sense of achievement in completing the course. A hot bath at the end of each day's walk and a comfortable bed for the night."

"I loved the way in which the group gelled, more or less from the beginning of the tour, due to the friendliness of the mainly single people on the tour and the support between Mike and Sarah. I also loved the countryside and spectacular views on the walk." 

"An excellent holiday, which suited us very well as regular walkers with an interest in archaeology." 

"The ambience, the views, Mike Bishop's knowledge & friendliness and Sarah Mayer's picnics and laughter." 

"The combination of walking the Trail and learning about the landscape and the Romans, forts etc. I have recommended Andante to many people since I returned home." 

"I consider myself to be a walker with an interest in archaeology and this holiday provided me with the added opportunity for a good challenging walk with the added bonus of learning more about the activities of the Romans and the Wall from an expert "on the hoof". 

Reading List

This list is no more than a guide to some books that you may find useful to read in advance of the tour. Talks given on the tour will attempt to fill in the background to what we are seeing, so no prior knowledge or pre-tour cramming is expected or needed. In many cases, we expect that you will find some of these books even more interesting and useful to read once the tour is over.

Guide Lecturer's Choice

Breeze, D.J. and Dobson, B., 2000: Hadrian's Wall, ed.4 (Penguin), Harmondsworth

If you only have time to read one book, make it the Breeze and Dobson volume.

Richards, M., 2004: Hadrian's Wall Path (Cicerone), Milnethorpe

If you have room to take only one book, take the Richards volume.

Roman Warfare

Campbell, B., 2002, War and Society in Imperial Rome, 31 BC-AD 284 (Routledge), London.

Gilliver, C.M., 1999, The Roman Art of War (Tempus), Stroud.

Goldsworthy, A.K., 1996, The Roman Army at War 100BC-AD200 (OUP), Oxford.

Arms and battle

Bishop, M.C. & Coulston, J.C.N. 2006, Roman Military Equipment, ed.2 (Oxbow), Oxford.

Feugère, M. 2002, Weapons of the Romans (Tempus), Stroud.

Wilkins, A. 2003, Roman Artillery, Shire Archaeology 86 (Shire), Princes Risborough.

General texts on the Roman army and soldiers

Birley, A. 2002: Garrison Life at Vindolanda: A Band of Brothers (Tempus), Stroud

Campbell, B, 1994, The Roman Army, 32BC-AD337: A Sourcebook (Routledge), London.

Campbell, J.B, 1984, The Emperor and the Roman Army 31BC-AD235 (OUP), Oxford.

Cheesman, G.L., 1914, The Auxilia of the Roman Imperial Army, Oxford.

Davies, Roy, 1989, (ed. D. Breeze and V. Maxfield), Service in the Roman Army

Hadrian's Wall: General Works

Bedoyère, G. de la, 1998: Hadrian's Wall: History and Guide (Tempus), Stroud

Breeze, D.J. 2006: Handbook to the Roman Wall, ed.14 (Society of Antiquaries), Newcastle

Fields, N. 2003: Hadrian's Wall AD 122-410 (Osprey), Oxford

Johnson, S. 2004: Hadrian's Wall (Batsford), London

Jones, G.D.B.  & Woolliscroft, D.J. 2001: Hadrian's Wall from the Air (Tempus), Stroud

Moffat, A. 2008: The Wall. Rome's Greatest Frontier (Birlinn), Edinburgh (TV series companion book, so a very popular' approach)

Hadrian's Wall: Sites

Wilmott, T., 2001: Birdoswald Roman Fort. 1800 Years on Hadrian's Wall (Tempus), Stroud

McCarthy, M., 2002: Roman Carlisle and the Lands of the Solway (Tempus), Stroud

Crow, J. 2004: Housesteads: A Fort and Garrison on Hadrian's Wall (Tempus), Stroud

Birley, R., 1977: Vindolanda: A Roman Frontier Post on Hadrian's Wall (Thames & Hudson), London

Hadrian's Wall: Maps and Guides

Burton, A. 2003: Hadrian's Wall Path (Aurum Press), London

Ordnance Survey 1972: Map of Hadrian's Wall (very rare; later editions are awful)

Ordnance Survey Explorer 1:25,000 sheets 314, 315, 316, OL43

NB I actually road- (or rather Wall-) tested the Richards and Burton books and found the Richards one much easier to use when walking west to east. The Burton has nice maps, but that's about all!

Hadrian's Wall: Multimedia

Hadrian's Wall Path ‛From the Air' (Countryside Agency), Newcastle (DVD of a real-time helicopter flight along the Wall from east to west; nice music)

Per Lineam Valli my Wall website with photographs of much of the surviving bits of the monument, a Google Earth file of the whole Wall system, and various useful links.
http://perlineamvalli.org.uk