We will be in the Hadrian's Wall area for two days with a BritRail pass but no car. While we would love to hike for a couple of days along the wall, we will have our 6 yr old with us and so feel that a day trip would be more appropriate this time through. We were hoping to stop somewhere from the train and walk to an interesting wall "spot" and hike for a couple of hours, visit a nice pub or some-such to eat and then wander back to the train. Hexham was recommended as interesting with good wall views. Can you walk to the wall from this train station? Would anyone recommend staying nearby for the evening or should we move along to Newcastle? Should we try for a different station? Thanks for any information on how to accomplish a short, unstructured meandering.

I saw a travel program once that indicated that in rural areas of the UK, travelers could ride with the mail delivery. I think that story was about northern Scotland (?) and I have no idea if the practice is continuing or if the border area is "rural enough" for this to be the practice. Perhaps some of our British members can add some information.

Bill

Not sure if it has the answer to your question but you might want to check out this trip report from PatrickLondon, Newcastle and Hadrian's Wall

The Roman fort ruin at Housteads is a good place to visit the wall. There is a visitor center and you can get a really good idea of the operation of the wall by the Romans. Bardon Mill (on the Northern rail line) seems to be the closest station to Housteads. This is about 12 (rail) miles west of Hexham.

Housteads is about 4 miles north of Bardon Mill.

Bill

We too are planning a trip to Great Britain and Ireland with no car. To visit the area near Hadrian's Wall, we are considering staying in Hexham or perhaps Newcastle. There is a Hadrian's Wall bus that goes along the route, and a number of walking options that vary from short and easy to longer and steeper. I got quite a bit of information very quickly by requesting brochures at www.hadrianswall.org (sorry I don't how to insert the link directly). Hope this is helpful.

Any thoughts you -- and other slow travelers -- have about seeing Great Britain by train and bus would be greatly appreciated. I expect to be posting some itinerary options and requesting more specific feedback shortly.

I need to correct the link I attached to my previous e-mail. I did figure out how to add the link but typed it in wrong. Correct link: Hadrian's Wall

Hope I did it correctly this time.

Thanks for your help! So far, it seems the Bardon Mill stop may be the best. It is 2.5 miles from Vindolanda. It looks like it is 4 miles to the wall itself. I found a good website at www.vindolanda.com. I am hoping we can get a ride from the trainstation to the wall. I guess I will see when we get there. If not, we will walk to the wall and back to the train- stopping at the Vindolanda snack shop for a break onthe way back. Eight miles is about as far as we would want to go with kids. If they are still up for it, we will wander the vindolanda site for a couple of hours. I will post how it went once we get back.

The railway line between Carlisle and Newcastle, and the bus service AD122 both run parallel to the Wall, but the bus a lot nearer.

I'd suggest taking the train to Haltwhistle, because the bus doesn't serve Bardon Mill railway station, but it does stop in Haltwhistle town centre and outside the railway station there. It's a good-sized town, so you have plenty of eating options, and you would get to see the most dramatic-looking bits of the Wall a lot quicker than coming from the west. By bus, it's only 20 minutes or so from Vindolanda and Housesteads.

Bear in mind, though, that where the Wall looks dramatic, it does so because it's fairly steep walking, especially for little legs. At Housesteads, you can go up to the Wall and play it by ear as to how far you walk, but once away from the museum, you will need footwear with some grip and ankle support, especially if the ground's wet. Prepare for all weathers!

I don't know your dates or itinerary, but you might be interested to know that the British Museum is having a big Hadrian exhibition from late July through late October, with lots of related activities, some for kids. It might be a good accompaniment to visiting the wall.

I forgot to add:

bus timetable: http://www.hadrians-wall.org/Plan_Public_Transport.aspx

train timetable: http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/timetables/200804/04.pdf