Humshaugh to Twice Brewed
The route soon reaches Northumbria National Park and classic Roman Wall country with expansive views and undulating moorland. The route climbs steadily at first, past turrets and a Brocolitia Roman fort; it then becomes more steeply undulating on reaching the Whin Sill escarpment.
The views of open moorland, the South Tyne Valley, the Pennines and of the wall itself following ridges ahead are breathtaking. The route passes the well preserved Housesteads Fort and continues in a similar dramatic fashion to Twice Brewed and on to your accommodation.

Twice Brewed to Gilsland
Twice Brewed is a good place to schedule in a rest day so you have time to explore the Vindolanda or Housesteads Roman forts. The route continues to follow the escarpment, over rugged crags of Windshield, all equally as impressive as the previous section. It then passes the remains of Great Chester’s fort and the Roman army museum and continues on to the pretty villages of Greenhead and Gilsland.

Easy

Of the National Trails trails we cover, this is the easiest. The route covers rolling countryside and moorlands, but not mountains. Many people with limited walking experience have completed this route.

Terrain:  Rolling moorland & agriculturalland up to 350m

What’s it like underfoot? Pretty good. Well maintained paths throughout, although sections can get a bit muddy in wet weather .

How Much Up & Down? Numerous short steep climbs, but they never last that long.

Signposting: Good.

Navigation: Pretty straightforward. Well defined paths, and good signposting.

Good accommodation and friendly hosts are an essential part of any holiday. We understand this and go out of our way to find the best. We put a great deal of effort into hand picking our accommodation and matching it to individual customer requirements. As well as visiting the accommodation ourselves, we ask all our customers to complete a short evaluation on each night’s accommodation, which then gives us an insight in to the day-to-day operation, and lets us spot any potential issues before they become a problem.

We use a variety of accommodation, including small country house hotels, guest houses in market towns, bed and breakfasts in farm houses, country cottages and Victorian town houses. In selecting the accommodation we look for helpful, friendly hosts with good quality, characterful accommodation close to the trail. For example, over the course of your trip you might stay in a village inn, a bed and breakfast in a converted barn, a Victorian guest house, on a working farm, and in a Georgian hotel.

We always try to arrange ensuite accommodation, i.e. rooms with their own bathrooms for each night of your stay. However, in some of the more remote locations accommodation is limited and occasionally we may have to book rooms with shared bathrooms for one or two nights of your holiday, (especially if the booking is made at short notice), but we will always let you know if this is likely to be the case.

General travel information on the Hadrian’s Wall area will be in your holiday pack including train and bus timetables where available.

Detailed instructions on getting to your first night’s accommodation by car, or on foot from the nearest train or bus station, will also be included in the holiday pack on individual accommodation maps.

To view train times please visit www.qjump.co.uk where you can also purchase tickets in advance. For information on bus timetables please visit www.traveline.info

If you require car parking whilst walking this route, we can usually arrange for you to leave your car either at the start or end locations of the route. You can return to your car by public transport or taxi - please contact us for detailed information.

Getting There:
By Air: Newcastle International Airport has its own Metro station (you will need some change for the ticket machine). The journey time from the airport to Newcastle Central Station is around 20 minutes. From Central Station you take the train to Hexham (half hour travel time), then taxi to Humshaugh (about £12 - 15) or by the AD 122 bus to Chollerford roundabout (near Chester’s Fort).
By Public Transport: Take the train to Hexham, then either a taxi to Humshaugh (about £12 - 15), or by the AD 122 bus to Chollerford roundabout (near Chester’s Fort).
By Road: Take the A69 to north of Hexham, then the A6079 to Wall, and the B6318 to Chollerford roundabout.

Returning from Gilsland:
Taxi from Gilsland to Haltwhistle (nearest train station) approx £12. There is a list of taxi companies in your holiday pack.