Hadrian's Wall Path

Hadrian's Wall Path

A walk between Wallsend and Bowness-on-Solway, following the impressive remains of Hadrian's Wall.

3 to 12 nights
27-84 miles
Easy / Moderate to Strenuous

From £340 per person

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About the trail

Hadrian's Wall Path is an iconic walking holiday. Through a rolling, castle-marked landscape shaped by the Roman occupation of Britain, this popular National Trail strikes across the breadth of the country along the shoulder of Emperor Hadrian’s ancient wall.

Well-waymarked and featuring plenty of friendly villages eager to welcome walkers, Hadrian's Wall Path is the ideal trail for your first walking holiday. Yet it has plenty to offer veteran walkers, too, whether your interest is in the abundant wildlife, the varied remains of Roman milecastles, or the rolling Northumbrian hills themselves.

We offer multiple holiday options along this trail. If you wish to experience the entire trail, simply select the first option from the list below.

Choose your route

  • This route includes dog friendly tour options Hadrian's Wall Path
  • This route includes dog friendly tour options Best of Hadrian's Wall
  • This route includes dog friendly tour options Hadrian's Wall Highlights
  • This route includes dog friendly tour options Hadrian's Wall Short Break

Dog friendly tours available

Dogs are welcome on select routes along this trail. Look for the pawprint icon when choosing your holiday.

Reverse tours available

This route can be walked in either direction - just tick the 'Reverse Tours' box when choosing your tour to see options travelling in the non-standard direction.

Trail running tours available

We also organise trail running holidays along this route. Find out more.

About this route

3 to 4 nights
27 miles
Moderate to Moderate / Demanding
2nd January to 24th December
Includes Dog-Friendly Tours

From £345 per person

Hadrian's Wall Short Break

This condensed walking holiday is the perfect way to explore the Roman frontier of Hadrian's Wall even if you only have three or four days available to fully enjoy it.

Between Chesters Fort in the village of Chollerford and the ruined priory at Lanercost, this 27-mile taster break follows the most dramatic section of Hadrian’s Wall. It makes sure to include the most important archaeological digsites, as well as plenty of excellent scenery, effectively packing this walk with countless discoveries along the way.

This route can also be travelled in the opposite direction if preferred. Select the ‘Reverse tours’ option when choosing your itinerary.

Available tours

Code Tour Duration Difficulty Price per person
HWPSB1 From Chollerford(L) to Lanercost(L) 3 nights, 2 days walking Moderate / Demanding £345
HWPSB2 From Chollerford(L) to Lanercost(L) 4 nights, 3 days walking Moderate £450

Short breaks

Code Tour Duration Difficulty Price per person
HWPSB1 From Chollerford(L) to Lanercost(L) 3 nights, 2 days walking Moderate / Demanding £345
HWPSB2 From Chollerford(L) to Lanercost(L) 4 nights, 3 days walking Moderate £450

Hadrian's Wall Short Break - East to West 3 nights, 2 days walking

£NNN per person
  • Itinerary
  • What's included?
  • Extra nights?
  • Tour facts
  • Route profile
  • Travel info
  • Weather
  • Holiday Highlights
Start

Travel to Chollerford(L) where your first night's accommodation will be booked

Day 1

Chollerford(L) to Once Brewed. 12 miles (19.5km) / 1558 ft (475 m) ascent

Day 2

Once Brewed to Lanercost(L). 14.5 miles (23km) / 1096 ft (334 m) ascent

Finish

Depart from Lanercost(L) after breakfast

Your Itinerary

This itinerary lists our preferred overnight stops for this tour. Sometimes there may be a shortage of available accommodation in a preferred location, in which case we will transfer you from the trail to your accommodation and back again at no extra charge. Overnight stops marked with a (T) will always require transfers as standard.

Overnight stops marked with an (L) have very limited accommodation, and therefore more often than not will also require a transfer, particularly on bank holidays and weekends. We will use non-transfer accommodation wherever possible.

The daily mileages quoted are average trail miles only and do not include the distance from the trail to your accommodation. We do not expect you to have to travel more than a mile from the trail to your accommodation in most cases; should your accommodation be further than this, transfers will be provided as standard if practical. A very limited number of stops will require you to travel on foot up to two miles off the trail, however these instances will be clearly communicated to you if applicable.

Further transfers may also be required due to some accommodations having a two-night minimum booking policy, especially at weekends.

Below are the additional costs that may apply depending on your requirements. Dog-friendly tours are subject to a Daily Dog Charge, which will be listed below if applicable. Our standard prices per person are based upon two people sharing a room; if you are on your own, or are part of a group but require a room of your own, then the Solo Traveller or Single Supplements apply respectively:

A note about transfers
Solo Traveller Supplement
£55.00 per person / per night
Single Supplement
£45.00 per person / per night


You can add rest days at any of the overnight stops:

Extra night (Standard)
£65.00 per person / per night
Standard
Interactive
© Contours Walking Holidays Hadrian's Wall Short Break map
Chollerford to Lanercost
27 miles (43 km)
2nd January to 24th December

Holiday highlights

Filling a long weekend or midweek break with a foray into Roman history.

Visiting the often-overlooked treasures on Hadrian’s Wall Path, including the Temple of Mithras, Saxon burial cists, and medieval shielings.

Making sure not to miss Chesters, Housesteads, Vindoland and Birdoswald Roman Forts.

What's included?

  • 3 nights' accommodation in en-suite rooms (where available) in selected B&B’s, hotels, inns and guesthouses along the trail, or a short distance away via taxi provided at our expense.
  • Breakfast each day.
  • Door to door luggage transfer.
  • Maps with the route marked on and a guidebook or route notes describing the trail.
  • An information pack containing an itinerary, instructions on how to find your accommodation each night and a kit list.
  • Detailed travel instructions on how to get to the start of your holiday and back from the end of it.

Extra Nights & Rest Days

Consider spending an extra night at Chollerford if you wish to explore Cilurnum (Chesters) Roman fort and study the Clayton Collection at Chesters Museum.

The hamlet of Once Brewed is a good choice for a rest day if you want to fully explore the Roman forts of Vindolanda and Housesteads.

You can add rest days at any of the overnight stops:

Extra night (Standard)
£65.00 per person / per night

Tour Facts

Total distance: 26.5 miles (42.5 km)
Duration: 3 nights, 2 days walking
Minimum daily distance: 12 miles (19.5 km)
Maximum daily distance: 14.5 miles (23 km)
Code: HWPSB1 Grade: Moderate / Demanding
Season: 2nd January - 24th December
Start of holiday: Chollerford(L)
End of holiday: Lanercost(L)

Route Profile

Hadrian's Wall Short Break - East to West Route Profile

Travel Information

Useful information and travel links that will assist you in your plans to travel to the start of the holiday and back from the end of it are sent to you with your full tour pack. A summary is given below:

By Air - The most convenient major city and international airports are Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

By Rail - The nearest rail station to the start of the trail (Chollerford) is at Hexham (about 6 miles away). The nearest rail station to the end of the trail (Lanercost) is at Brampton (about 4 miles away).

By Bus - Various bus services run to Chollerford, including from Hexham. Unfortunately, no buses run from Lanercost, so a taxi will be required.

From London - Trains run from London Kings Cross station (and occasionally London St Pancras International) to Newcastle. From there a bus/taxi will be required to Chollerford.

Return To The Start - The easiest way to return to the start of the trail is to take a taxi from Lanercost to to Chollerford.

Weather Information

To find out more about the weather forecast for your chosen holiday's general location, please see the following websites:

  • MetCheck - This website allows you to look up detailed weather information for specific locations as far as six months in advance.
  • Met Office - This website shows regional area forecasts a few days in advance, with a general UK forecast description of up to 30 days in advance.
  • Mountain Forecast - This website shows what the forecast is like up on specific hills and fells, and offers forecasts a few days in advance.

Customer reviews from the Hadrian's Wall Short Break

“Very well organised and nice weather! Wanted to carry on at the end of the 3 days.”
Mrs Elkin, UK
“Thank you for organising a thoroughly enjoyable walking holiday. Everything went very smoothly. The taxi companies were happy to adjust timings when necessary and the accommodation was excellent. All in all, a really worthwhile and beautiful holiday for which I am most grateful.”
Miss Williams, UK
“Thank you for a wonderfully well organised tour, everything run really smoothly. The info packs and explanations are great, easy to use. The accommodations were also excellent. I would recommend to others who are looking for walking holidays.”
Miss Santos, UK
“Hadrian's Wall is a beautiful part of England. It was really well organised, everyone was friendly and helpful. We postponed twice because of Covid but did so without any difficulty at all.”
Mrs Boon, UK
“Everything was painless, the information provided was up to date and correct and everything was attended to promptly.”
Dr Campbell, Australia
“Well planned and good pace for the walk.”
Dr Susmel, USA
“A lovely route with fantastic views and very good accommodation.”
Mr Corfield, UK
“It was amazing, from beginning to end! I enjoyed it thoroughly.”
Ms Blanco, Canada
“The two sections we walked were stunning and others who were walking the whole of Hadrian’s Wall said that these were by far the best sections.”
Mrs Beard, Australia
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