halesowen ramblers 2023/24 Membership

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Whilst playing some golf last autumn, we mentioned to a friend of ours that we would like to walk Hadrian’s Wall at some point. Our friend, Barry, was really keen to walk it too, so, from that day forward, Barry kept asking us, on a near-weekly basis, if we had made any progress with our plans. We probably needed that push and so, in November 2023, we started the ball rolling with our plans. We persuaded Barry that we should complete the whole walk from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway, as he was thinking of only completing the middle section, that we should complete the official 84 miles in 6 or 7 days and that we should use a company to transport our luggage from accommodation to accommodation, so that we only carried a day-pack. Ok, we admit that is a pretty sanitised way of completing the walk, but some comfort and enjoyment in completing the task was our priority.

We had not arranged anything like this before, so, like most people nowadays, our planning started with a Google search. We found a fair number of companies who could meet our requirements and it soon became apparent that there was not a huge difference between them all, in terms of pricing structures and itineraries. We therefore looked in our diaries, found three windows of opportunity and sent enquiries out to four different companies. The choice of companies was deliberate – we chose two large, well established companies, one we thought was mid-sized and a small local company: Macs Adventures, Contours Holidays, Celtic Trails and Walk the Wall were the four companies contacted.

Like I said, in many ways, their itineraries and costs were similar, but we immediately liked the idea of working with the local company, especially as they were more than willing to customise the holiday to suit. So, Walk the Wall was out choice and an email was sent to the other three :- 

We have decided to use a small company, who are local to the wall and specialise only in Hadrian Wall walks, to arrange our adventure. If you've ever seen The Voice on BBC, then our decision was a bit like the contestant having to choose a coach from all four judges - you can't really go wrong with any of them, so you go with your gut feeling! So our decision is certainly no reflection on either yourself or your company. I can only therefore apologise and thank you for your response to our enquiry. I hope we really enjoy the challenge/get a great sense of achievement in completing the walk in May and will therefore want to do something similar again, in which case, we will certainly consider you again.

Keep ‘em sweet eh! 

Walk the Wall (walkthewall.uk) is a small company run by a husband and wife team, Gary & Tracey, who actually live in Wall. As such, they both have great local knowledge and advice. Aside from this, one of the reasons that we chose them was that you could specify a particular level of accommodation for your walk from their site, but we actually gave Tracey a minimum standard of accommodation and specified that we wanted to be as close to the walk as we could, at the end of each day. Tracey suggested walking West to East, rather than the more traditional East to West. The reasons Tracey gave were: 1. The prevailing winds are from the West, of course; 2. The views are better from the West; 3. Those views are better with the setting sun behind, rather than in your face; 4. You can visit some museums before walking the central section of wall, so get a better feel for the history and; 5. There are far more places to celebrate the completion of the walk in Newcastle, than there are in Bowness!!! Tracey also suggested 7 days actual walking, with a rest day to see the Vindolanda fort & museum after day 4. In hindsight, this was a brilliant suggestion. So, the customised itinerary suggested by Tracey, that we indeed agreed to, was as follows (D is their accommodation level) :

Tracey then provided a detailed information pack and maps for the walk. So, we drove up to Carlisle on Saturday 4th May, dropped our cases off at the first accommodation and parked our car to the rear of the Railway Station (£60 for the week), before visiting the sights of the town and returning to the first accommodation. Unfortunately, there are no buses from Carlisle to Bowness on Sundays, so a taxi (£30, with a very chatty Geordie driver!) was used to ferry us to the start point the next day. Having then completed the walk and spent the final night in Newcastle, we simply caught the train back all the way back from Newcastle to Carlisle on the Monday afternoon (after some further sightseeing) for the truly extortionate cost of some £3.75 each for our pre-booked tickets – what a bargain! For us, the whole itinerary and accommodation worked extremely well – I have simply copied the email I sent to WalktheWall on our return, with my thoughts on the different accommodations and some of our experiences, as it probably sums it up quite nicely :-  

The week started at the Court Guest House, Carlisle, where Jackie was welcoming, really friendly and knowledgeable, and the accommodation very clean and comfortable. As detailed in your information sheet, Jackie also recommended Alexandros, where we enjoyed an exceptional Greek meal.

Joss, Rebecca and their family then welcomed us to Florrie's. We felt like real walkers there - a modern take on a bunkhouse with a drying room to help with wet boots and waterproofs on our only rainy day. The communal bar and dining room had very much the feel of a ski chalet - well-cooked, wholesome food and the chance to mingle with fellow walker over a few drinks. Great packed lunches here too.

The Greenhead Hotel was very luxurious and the meals served there of a high standard too. The staff professional, whilst being really friendly and helpful.

The short walk to our next accommodation allowed us to take in an hour and a half at the Roman Army museum, which we thoroughly enjoyed and set up the next stage of the walk really well, where the wall is more visible.

Layside was pure class. A great location and we loved the food being brought out to the lodge. Kevin's food was cooked to perfection and well presented. Kevin and Sophie were welcoming, engaging, knowledgeable and helpful. The day of rest that you planned here really was most welcome and obviously allowed us to visit the amazing Vindolanda.

Battlesteads was probably our least favourite location. There was nothing particularly wrong with our stay there, it's just that we didn't feel that it was to the really high standards of the previous locations .......except for the beer! ….and the dark skies, where we missed Northern Lights!

Paula at Houghton North Farm is a real character and really made our stay there rather unique, in a good way. Lots of funny stories and not shy to give you some honest advice. Although basic, the room was clean and cool - we all slept really well there.

Our final destination at Motel One was a real surprise - a chic, modern, stylish model right in the heart of Grainger Town in Newcastle. Being only 6 or 7 minutes walk from both the Metro and Railway Station was great.

So, like I said in the beginning - thank you for planning and arranging an unforgettable week for us, it really was appreciated.

In the end, we actually walked 103.5 miles, with our ‘day off’ at Vindolanda and a couple of wrong turns!!! …. and the total elevation climbed over the week was 5688ft or 1733m. To quote Barry, he said “Don’t tell Leslie (that’s his wife, who he left behind at home), but it’s been one of the best weeks of my life!”