The National Trail along Hadrian's Wall from coast to coast in its six sections: from Segedunum fort at Wallsend along the Tyne, over the crags of the central Wall by Steel Rigg and Birdoswald, to Carlisle and the Solway shore at Bowness.
Best season: May to October. National Trails recommends May to October, when the ground is normally dry and the buried archaeology is least at risk, the beds are open, the buses run and the trail passport is on sale (its season runs from Easter to the end of October). The trail is at its busiest in the main school holidays, from the end of July through August. The Solway marsh roads flood at high tides all year. Before you go
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Six sections, National Trails' own, each of about 18 to 27 km; it suggests 6 or 7 days. Steel Rigg and Walton have few beds of their own: they are about 0.7 km off at Once Brewed and about 2.5 km off in Brampton. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Stage 1: From Segedunum fort at Wallsend along the Tyneside quays and the Wylam Waggonway to Heddon-on-the-Wall: about 24.5 km on National Trails' route file (it publishes no section distances or times), 24.5 km on our line.
Overnight
Hotel · Hadrian's Barn
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse · Houghton North Farm
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A village on a hill above the Tyne, with B&Bs in and around it; the two below are under 1 km west of the village.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 2: Mostly along field edges with few gradients; here the Wall shows only as a ditch and ridges. About 25.5 km to the bridge at Chollerford.
Overnight
Hotel · The George Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A bridge over the North Tyne with a hotel. National Trails lists more beds a few kilometres off, round Humshaugh, Wall and Hexham, reached by the AD122 bus in its season.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 3: Onto the higher pasture of the central Wall to Steel Rigg: about 18.6 km on the route file, 19.5 km on our line. National Trails calls Chollerford to Birdoswald, 37 km over this section and the next, the hardest part of the trail: many short climbs and descents, and little shade. The beds at Once Brewed and Twice Brewed are few: book ahead.
Overnight
Hotel · Twice Brewed Inn
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse · Winshields Campsite and Bunk Barn
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The car park below the crags. The beds are about 0.7 km south at Once Brewed and Twice Brewed, and few for so busy a place: book ahead.
Stage 4: Over Winshields Crags, at 345 m the highest point of the trail, and Walltown Crags, by Gilsland and Birdoswald to Walton: about 27 km on the route file (26.6 km on ours), the longest section; many walkers break it at Gilsland or Birdoswald. At Gilsland a footbridge between the school and the railway has collapsed: follow the signed diversion through the village. Our line still crosses the mapped footbridges there. East of Walton the trail follows the road for about half a mile, from Dovecote Bridge to Hollybush cottage, not the riverside line in many guidebooks. Walton has few beds: most are in Brampton, about 2.5 km south.
Overnight
Hotel · Oakwood Park Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A small village with no stay of its own on National Trails' list: its beds for this section are in Brampton, about 2.5 km south, Talkin and Lanercost.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 5: Gently down over the buried Wall and its ditches to the Eden at Carlisle: about 18.8 km on the route file, 18.3 km on our line.
Overnight
Hotel · Cornerways Guest House
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel · Abberley House
Pick a date to check the season.
A city with a main-line station; the path passes by the Eden, about 0.5 km north of the centre. National Trails lists about twenty places to stay within 3 km.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Dykesfield to Drumburgh (stage 6, km 12): At sea level, it floods at high tides. Do not walk it from one hour before to one hour after a high tide of 9 m or more at Silloth: add one hour to the Silloth times in winter (GMT) and two hours in summer (BST). Notice boards at the Dykesfield cattle grid and at the east entrance to Bowness show the month's tides. Check a tide table for the day and cross in the hours around low water.
Port Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway (stage 6, km 21.3): At sea level, it floods at high tides. Do not walk it from one hour before to one hour after a high tide of 9 m or more at Silloth: add one hour to the Silloth times in winter (GMT) and two hours in summer (BST). Notice boards at the Dykesfield cattle grid and at the east entrance to Bowness show the month's tides. Check a tide table for the day and cross in the hours around low water.
Stage 6: Flat, along the Eden and the Solway marshes to Bowness-on-Solway: about 23.3 km. The A689 underpass north-west of Carlisle, between Knockupworth and Stainton, floods at times: if it is flooded, do not cross the road above it: retrace your steps, as National Trails says. Between Kirkandrews-on-Eden and Beaumont the riverside path is closed after a landslip into the Eden, its gates locked; our line follows the signed diversion on a narrow road. Dykesfield to Drumburgh and Port Carlisle to Bowness are at sea level and flood at high tides: check the tide before you set off.
Longest day: day 4, 7 h 10.
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are measured on each stage's mapped line by our route analysis (terrain heights and our hiking-time model, moving time only): no time is published for these stages.Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.
Where each stage ends, the 2026 and 2027 seasons the operator publishes, and how to book. Read from the operators' pages on 13 October 2026; each stage page shows the sources and the grade profile.
| Stage | Night at | 2026 | 2027 | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Wallsend to Heddon-on-the-Wall | Hadrian's Barn | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 2. Heddon-on-the-Wall to Chollerford | The George Hotel | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 3. Chollerford to Steel Rigg | Twice Brewed Inn | 2026 dates not published | not published | Book online |
| 4. Steel Rigg to Walton | Oakwood Park Hotel | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 5. Walton to Carlisle | Cornerways Guest House | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 6. Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway | Bowness House Farm | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
Loading the forecast for low point (-7 m) and high point (339 m)…
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (-7 m) and the highest point (339 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed |
| Stages rated good on typical weather | 0/6 | 1/6 | 5/6 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 0/6 |
| High point, day / night | 6°/0° | 6°/0° | 8°/1° | 11°/3° | 14°/5° | 16°/8° | 18°/10° | 18°/10° | 15°/8° | 12°/5° | 8°/2° | 6°/0° |
| Low point, day / night | 8°/3° | 9°/3° | 11°/3° | 13°/5° | 15°/7° | 18°/10° | 21°/12° | 20°/12° | 18°/10° | 14°/7° | 11°/5° | 8°/3° |
| Rain, mm | 119 | 102 | 85 | 67 | 73 | 80 | 91 | 105 | 90 | 119 | 121 | 128 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Possible | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible |
| Daylight | 7 h 45 | 9 h 39 | 11 h 44 | 14 h 02 | 16 h 05 | 17 h 19 | 16 h 52 | 15 h 04 | 12 h 50 | 10 h 37 | 8 h 28 | 7 h 14 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
There is no booking for the whole trail: book each night with its host. National Trails strongly recommends booking ahead, because beds fill quickly, and most of all in the main school holidays from the end of July through August. Its walking holiday companies page lists firms that carry bags and book the nights for you.
Dykesfield to Drumburgh and Port Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway, on the last section, are at sea level and flood at high tides. Do not walk them from one hour before to one hour after a high tide of 9 m or more at Silloth: add one hour to Silloth's times in winter (GMT) and two hours in summer (BST). Boards at the Dykesfield cattle grid and at the east entrance to Bowness show the month's tides. National Trails' route description, read 13 October 2026.
National Trails: route descriptionA footbridge between Gilsland school and the railway has collapsed, on the Steel Rigg to Walton section. A signed diversion goes through the village: follow its signs, not our line, which still crosses the mapped footbridges. National Trails' notice, read 13 October 2026, gives no date.
National Trails: Gilsland diversionBetween Kirkandrews-on-Eden and Beaumont, west of Carlisle, a landslip into the Eden has closed the riverside path until further notice, and its gates are locked. A signed diversion follows a narrow road, and our line takes it. National Trails' notice, read 13 October 2026.
National Trails: Kirkandrews to Beaumont diversionThe underpass below the A689 north-west of Carlisle, between Knockupworth and Stainton, floods again and again. If it is flooded, do not try to cross the road above it: retrace your steps. National Trails' notice, updated 27 April 2026 and read 13 October 2026.
National Trails: possible flooding of the underpassChollerford to Birdoswald, 37 km, is the hardest part, National Trails says: many short climbs and descents and little shade. Steel Rigg to Walton is the longest section, about 27 km. The trail passport, stamped along the way from Wallsend to Bowness, is on sale from Easter to the end of October. Use National Trails' own pages for the trail: its old separate website address now belongs to someone else. Read 13 October 2026.
National Trails: Trail InformationClosures and notices last checked 13 October 2026: National Trails: A689 underpass flooding · National Trails: the road east of Walton · National Trails: Gilsland diversion · National Trails: Kirkandrews to Beaumont diversion · National Trails: Hadrian's Wall Path notices (map, part 1) · National Trails: Hadrian's Wall Path notices (map, part 2) · National Trails: Solway tides. Check them again before you set out.
Getting there
Choose a stage or journey above to narrow the travel searches.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Newcastle has inter-city trains and National Express coaches. The start, Segedunum fort at Wallsend, is a 10-minute ride on the Tyne and Wear Metro from Newcastle station.
Nexus: Tyne and Wear MetroNorthern's Tyne Valley line from Newcastle to Carlisle stops at Corbridge, Hexham and Haltwhistle, 2 to 5 miles south of the Wall. The seasonal AD122 Hadrian's Wall bus links them with the Wall; National Trails says it runs daily, but we could not read its timetable: check it with Go North East.
National Rail: Hexham stationBowness has no car parking: National Trails asks walkers to arrive and leave by the No 93 bus. We could not read its timetable, so check it before you book your last night. Carlisle has inter-city trains and coaches.
National Trails: route descriptionTake your trip with you
Prepare each section while you still have a connection: the signal can be weak along the central Wall.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
National Trails gives 84 miles (135 km) in six sections, from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway, in 6 sections on our map. The guide's day planner offers a 6-day plan on the overnight stops, and you can choose your own nights.
May to October. National Trails recommends May to October, when the ground is normally dry and the buried archaeology is least at risk, the beds are open, the buses run and the trail passport is on sale (its season runs from Easter to the end of October).
Newcastle has inter-city trains and National Express coaches. The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
There is no booking for the whole trail: book each night with its host.
Yes: the whole route and every section, free, for a GPS watch or a phone. The guide also saves your plan for offline use in the app.
Closures we know of are shown on the days and sections they affect, in the day planner and on the stage pages. We watch 7 official notice pages (National Trails: A689 underpass flooding; National Trails: the road east of Walton; National Trails: Gilsland diversion; National Trails: Kirkandrews to Beaumont diversion; National Trails: Hadrian's Wall Path notices (map, part 1); National Trails: Hadrian's Wall Path notices (map, part 2); National Trails: Solway tides); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
Route & sources
National Trails describes the Hadrian's Wall Path as six sections, 84 miles (135 km) from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway, and publishes no stage times, nor a distance for each section: it suggests 6 or 7 days. Its route file measures 137.7 km. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 38791, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 137.8 km, cut at the six section ends; the section lengths on National Trails' route file are within 0.9 km of ours. Between Kirkandrews-on-Eden and Beaumont, west of Carlisle, the riverside path is closed after a landslip, and the line follows the signed diversion on a narrow road. At Gilsland the line still crosses the mapped footbridges between the school and the railway, where a footbridge has collapsed: there, follow the Gilsland diversion signs through the village, not the line. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so the short steep steps along the crags are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
National Trails: Hadrian's Wall PathMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation
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