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Hadrian's Wall Path: Walking into History
Wouldn't you love to go on an adventure and find that it was more than what you expected? That’s what happened to Jane V. Blanchard when she walked the Hadrian’s Wall Path, and what she wants to share with you in the this book. Join her as she walks eighty-four miles across northern England, explore the sites and legends associated with this historical wall, and see if you too can journey back with her to the time of the Romans, the Brigantes (powerful Celtic British tribes) and the Picts (ferocious Celtic Scottish tribes).
Whether you enjoy trekking or armchair-adventures, Hadrian's Wall Path: Walking into History is an exciting journey. This book from the "Woman on Her Way" series takes you along the ancient Roman frontier between England and Scotland. Explore this World Heritage Site with more than 130 full-color photos and illustrations that display the majesty of ancient Roman engineering and the beauty of the Cumbrian and Northumberlain landscapes. Learn what Roman life was like more than 2000 years ago. Enjoy walking along this imposing monument with Jane V. Blanchard as she describes in a heartfelt way, the terrain, the culture, the challenges, and her personal growth and changes.
• Discover Hadrian’s Wall, what it encompasses, then and now.
• Learn about Roman life and what it was like living on Rome’s most northern frontier.
• Visualize the beauty of northern England through Jane’s vivid descriptions, photographs, and illustrations.
• Find out about the current English culture and lore.
• Understand why so many people visit sites along the Hadrian’s Wall Path.
"Hadrian’s Wall Path: Walking into History is a riveting, well-written chronicle of a hiking adventure across the English countryside. More importantly, it is what Jane Blanchard herself learns, that 'History becomes interesting, and it is coming alive.' Fortunately, she does this for the reader as well. I found the details to be illuminating and thought-provoking, yet simple and to the point. Some highlights of the adventure: Once Brewed, Twice Brewed; Nine Nicks of Thirlwall, King Arthur, “Bogle”, mizzle and all. Highly recommended!.” ~ Maryann Burchell, South Bay Publishing LLC
Hadrian's Wall Path is the second book in the "Woman on Her Way" series. These books describe Jane V. Blanchard's adventures on ancient European routes or primitive wilderness trails. Travel with her as she explores new horizons and venture with her into this world's premier historic, scenic, or cultural itineraries.
Whether you enjoy trekking or armchair-adventures, Hadrian's Wall Path: Walking into History is an exciting journey. This book from the "Woman on Her Way" series takes you along the ancient Roman frontier between England and Scotland. Explore this World Heritage Site with more than 130 full-color photos and illustrations that display the majesty of ancient Roman engineering and the beauty of the Cumbrian and Northumberlain landscapes. Learn what Roman life was like more than 2000 years ago. Enjoy walking along this imposing monument with Jane V. Blanchard as she describes in a heartfelt way, the terrain, the culture, the challenges, and her personal growth and changes.
• Discover Hadrian’s Wall, what it encompasses, then and now.
• Learn about Roman life and what it was like living on Rome’s most northern frontier.
• Visualize the beauty of northern England through Jane’s vivid descriptions, photographs, and illustrations.
• Find out about the current English culture and lore.
• Understand why so many people visit sites along the Hadrian’s Wall Path.
"Hadrian’s Wall Path: Walking into History is a riveting, well-written chronicle of a hiking adventure across the English countryside. More importantly, it is what Jane Blanchard herself learns, that 'History becomes interesting, and it is coming alive.' Fortunately, she does this for the reader as well. I found the details to be illuminating and thought-provoking, yet simple and to the point. Some highlights of the adventure: Once Brewed, Twice Brewed; Nine Nicks of Thirlwall, King Arthur, “Bogle”, mizzle and all. Highly recommended!.” ~ Maryann Burchell, South Bay Publishing LLC
Hadrian's Wall Path is the second book in the "Woman on Her Way" series. These books describe Jane V. Blanchard's adventures on ancient European routes or primitive wilderness trails. Travel with her as she explores new horizons and venture with her into this world's premier historic, scenic, or cultural itineraries.
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First published March 14, 2015
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About the author
Jane V. Blanchard
11 books53 followersJane V. Blanchard, adventurer, author, and public speaker, was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She lived in Hampstead, New Hampshire, twenty-three years before moving to Sarasota, Florida, where she now resides. In Florida, Jane became active in several organizations benefiting women and hosted a weekly radio talk show, Women Matters.
Jane loves the outdoors. She climbed her first mountain, Mount Washington, in 1974. Since that initial ascent, Jane has climbed twenty of the forty 4,000-foot mountains in New England. She started mountain bike racing at age 50; in 2002, she won second place in the Masters Division EFTA Championship Series.
In September and October 2011, Jane, now a sexagenarian, hiked the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain. As she walked, she talked with women from different nations. The book, Women of the Way, weaves these conversations with Jane's journey.
When Jane married in 1974, her husband, Dennis and she joked about creating a lifetime of memories to chat about when sitting in theirs rockers in old age. Jane is still creating memories, experiencing life as fully as possible, and looking forward to a long future.
Jane loves the outdoors. She climbed her first mountain, Mount Washington, in 1974. Since that initial ascent, Jane has climbed twenty of the forty 4,000-foot mountains in New England. She started mountain bike racing at age 50; in 2002, she won second place in the Masters Division EFTA Championship Series.
In September and October 2011, Jane, now a sexagenarian, hiked the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain. As she walked, she talked with women from different nations. The book, Women of the Way, weaves these conversations with Jane's journey.
When Jane married in 1974, her husband, Dennis and she joked about creating a lifetime of memories to chat about when sitting in theirs rockers in old age. Jane is still creating memories, experiencing life as fully as possible, and looking forward to a long future.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 11, 2016
In 2010, my wife and I spent a ‘long’ week on the Hadrian’s Wall Trail in late September and early October, stamping our Trail passports diligently and collecting our Hadrian pins to mark the achievement. Three years later, author Jane V Blanchard and her husband Dennis also walked the wall and this book is her account of their adventures along the Wall Trail.
They walked from West to East in August while we walked from East to West about 6 weeks later. We collected passport stamps and pins, she wrote a book about her walk along the wall. An online conversation comparing our experiences resulted in her sending me a copy for my enjoyment and possible review.
Jane and Dennis included the Wall Walk in a six-month, thirteen country hiking and biking tour. The Blanchards were equipped to potentially camp and did carry everything with them much of the time. We all relied upon the Cicerone Guide by Mark Richards, “Hadrian’s Wall Path: Two-Way National Trail Description”. The guide book is designed to aid walkers going either East or West on the Trail, but as Jane notes if you are traveling East to West (as my wife and I did) you start at the back of the book. (We actually didn’t mind that but your mileage may vary.) Which way you choose to walk depends upon a number of factors including whether you want to have the prevailing winds or the sunshine (and it does sometimes shine) in your face or at your back.
As the author makes clear there are numerous reasons for walking the Hadrian’s Wall Trail, including the history, the landscape and scenery, and the shared experience of walking itself. Although both ends of the trail are in part an urban pathway, the greatest length of the trail passes through farm and pasture land. Her discussion of clothing and equipment to carry is realistic and helpful. You will need to be prepared for both muck and mire in choosing your footwear. The prevailing weather of the British Isles will require you to be prepared with hats, coats, and rain paints as well. (My wife especially appreciated my old soldiers’ tip of carrying an extra pair of dry socks every day to enable you to replace your socks as necessary during a day’s hike.)
Reading along with the author as she recorded her experiences and shared the lessons learned with the reader, you read about issues not usually covered in guide books. For example, both of us found that while we carefully planned how far we would walk on the Trail each day we had not included the distance to be covered each day getting to the trail from our lodging and from the trail to dinner and our B&B each night.
Whether on the trail, in the pubs and restaurants, or in the museums, we and the authors alike enjoyed our encounters and interactions with the local population and with other hikers and travelers. And the one thing that you do want to do when you encounter those walking the trail in the opposite direction is exchange information on trail conditions so that they (and you) will know what to expect. One additional piece of advice, if like us you are not as experienced walkers as say the Blanchards, you will want to put together what you intend to wear and especially to carry and try it out on your local trails first, before you get to the Wall Trail.
Some points of contrast between our walk of the Wall Trail and points made by the author. Walking the Wall Trail was our goal, going as I described it ‘from pub to pub’ much as the old livestock drovers of the British Isles did in the past. We walked from B&B to B&B and traveled lighter on the Trail as one of the services moved our luggage from place to place. Because the Wall Trail itself was our main objective, it appears we did more advance research into the history of the wall and its surroundings and specifically planned a rest day at about the half way point to visit a number of the museums along the wall but then the Wall was the single entire focus of our walking trip. But the Wall Trail certainly offers a wide array of experiences as you encounter history of Britain and not just Roman Britain, varied animal life of all kinds including the wild and the domesticated, and finally the chance to meet and mingle with both other walkers and the many folks who live and work in the midst of this beautiful historic setting. By sharing their experiences on the Wall Trail, Jane Blanchard offers a great addition to the books you will want to draw on in planning in your own trip to the wall (whether in boots and rain proofs or from the comfort of your armchair).
They walked from West to East in August while we walked from East to West about 6 weeks later. We collected passport stamps and pins, she wrote a book about her walk along the wall. An online conversation comparing our experiences resulted in her sending me a copy for my enjoyment and possible review.
Jane and Dennis included the Wall Walk in a six-month, thirteen country hiking and biking tour. The Blanchards were equipped to potentially camp and did carry everything with them much of the time. We all relied upon the Cicerone Guide by Mark Richards, “Hadrian’s Wall Path: Two-Way National Trail Description”. The guide book is designed to aid walkers going either East or West on the Trail, but as Jane notes if you are traveling East to West (as my wife and I did) you start at the back of the book. (We actually didn’t mind that but your mileage may vary.) Which way you choose to walk depends upon a number of factors including whether you want to have the prevailing winds or the sunshine (and it does sometimes shine) in your face or at your back.
As the author makes clear there are numerous reasons for walking the Hadrian’s Wall Trail, including the history, the landscape and scenery, and the shared experience of walking itself. Although both ends of the trail are in part an urban pathway, the greatest length of the trail passes through farm and pasture land. Her discussion of clothing and equipment to carry is realistic and helpful. You will need to be prepared for both muck and mire in choosing your footwear. The prevailing weather of the British Isles will require you to be prepared with hats, coats, and rain paints as well. (My wife especially appreciated my old soldiers’ tip of carrying an extra pair of dry socks every day to enable you to replace your socks as necessary during a day’s hike.)
Reading along with the author as she recorded her experiences and shared the lessons learned with the reader, you read about issues not usually covered in guide books. For example, both of us found that while we carefully planned how far we would walk on the Trail each day we had not included the distance to be covered each day getting to the trail from our lodging and from the trail to dinner and our B&B each night.
Whether on the trail, in the pubs and restaurants, or in the museums, we and the authors alike enjoyed our encounters and interactions with the local population and with other hikers and travelers. And the one thing that you do want to do when you encounter those walking the trail in the opposite direction is exchange information on trail conditions so that they (and you) will know what to expect. One additional piece of advice, if like us you are not as experienced walkers as say the Blanchards, you will want to put together what you intend to wear and especially to carry and try it out on your local trails first, before you get to the Wall Trail.
Some points of contrast between our walk of the Wall Trail and points made by the author. Walking the Wall Trail was our goal, going as I described it ‘from pub to pub’ much as the old livestock drovers of the British Isles did in the past. We walked from B&B to B&B and traveled lighter on the Trail as one of the services moved our luggage from place to place. Because the Wall Trail itself was our main objective, it appears we did more advance research into the history of the wall and its surroundings and specifically planned a rest day at about the half way point to visit a number of the museums along the wall but then the Wall was the single entire focus of our walking trip. But the Wall Trail certainly offers a wide array of experiences as you encounter history of Britain and not just Roman Britain, varied animal life of all kinds including the wild and the domesticated, and finally the chance to meet and mingle with both other walkers and the many folks who live and work in the midst of this beautiful historic setting. By sharing their experiences on the Wall Trail, Jane Blanchard offers a great addition to the books you will want to draw on in planning in your own trip to the wall (whether in boots and rain proofs or from the comfort of your armchair).
April 11, 2015
This book was so much fun! Guidebooks can be boring and frequently outright wrong (as the author herself points out from her reliance on guidebooks on this trip), but this one not only leaves you with the feeling of having been along for the trip, it strives to provide accurate information and real time corrections to the misinformation published in other guidebooks about this path. I didn't even know about Hadrian's Wall Path before reading this book. But now that I have been introduced to it, I have learned that it is a scenic stroll through the ages that can be accomplished within the constraints of a working person's vacation time allowance. Also, unlike most guidebooks, there are moments of introspection and humor, as well as a hefty helping of back-story about the various events and structures along the way. It immerses the reader in the sights, sounds and smells along the path, just in case you are an arm-chair traveler like myself. Finally, this book is very well organized and it is evident that it was also well researched upon the author's return. Whether you plan to walk the wall physically or in your mind, this book is an enjoyable and educational read.
September 27, 2023
A quick and mostly enjoyable read, and for the price a reasonable introduction to the wall.
It's basically just a series of blog posts strung together. Sometimes the editing is wonky. There's a lot of silly stuff (inspirational quotes from Oprah Winfrey for example.) I was more than a little surprised that this couple seemed to be relying entirely on maps, guidebooks and people's directions. There's a hilarious bit about a side trip to pick up some ibuprofin which is at a store a "little bit" down the road. It turns into a two mile walk and when they get there the place is closed because of Sunday hours. Maybe in 2013 there was less information on Google Maps, but I have no trouble pulling up the location of that Tesco and its Sunday hours. Still it's good to be reminded of all the things that can go wrong from bad weather, to illness (husband has an unnamed malady for a couple of days), a lost credit card (for some reason they only had one) and an aggressive bull.
I was amused that while they were carrying all their belongings, they used the summer bus service to stay multiple nights in certain places and then to take the bus to be able to hike further ahead without their stuff. A lot cheaper I suspect than using the luggage carrier services.
Unlike an earlier review, this edition has great pictures in color. I have the book in the Kindle App on my phone.
It's basically just a series of blog posts strung together. Sometimes the editing is wonky. There's a lot of silly stuff (inspirational quotes from Oprah Winfrey for example.) I was more than a little surprised that this couple seemed to be relying entirely on maps, guidebooks and people's directions. There's a hilarious bit about a side trip to pick up some ibuprofin which is at a store a "little bit" down the road. It turns into a two mile walk and when they get there the place is closed because of Sunday hours. Maybe in 2013 there was less information on Google Maps, but I have no trouble pulling up the location of that Tesco and its Sunday hours. Still it's good to be reminded of all the things that can go wrong from bad weather, to illness (husband has an unnamed malady for a couple of days), a lost credit card (for some reason they only had one) and an aggressive bull.
I was amused that while they were carrying all their belongings, they used the summer bus service to stay multiple nights in certain places and then to take the bus to be able to hike further ahead without their stuff. A lot cheaper I suspect than using the luggage carrier services.
Unlike an earlier review, this edition has great pictures in color. I have the book in the Kindle App on my phone.
May 7, 2017
An easy read, but rather disappointing. Certainly not the depth of insight I was expecting from the blurb. The main point of interest was a few comments highlighting some differences between modern American life and the UK. The text was an uninspiring description of the couples' walk. Did we really need to know that their B and B owner drove them to a pub for a meal, or that one of them was ill for 2 days? The black and white photographs were poor quality
April 21, 2023
Really gives a sense of the romance of walking Hadrian's Way
Not only the historical and cultural aspects, but also some of the practicalities of the trip were covered in this account!
Not only the historical and cultural aspects, but also some of the practicalities of the trip were covered in this account!
April 25, 2021
A great armchair travel read that takes you into the Roman history of Hadrian’s Wall stretching from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend, the 144.8km path following this historical wall and the culture and life of the Roman soldiers on the wall dating back to 122AD with its many turrets and milecastles.
An easy read and enjoyable. I visited Hadrian’s Wall on my UK tour in Heddon-On-The-Wall and had lunch at The Swan in that little village. This truly sparked my interest and I recently completed The Conqueror Challenge as a virtual walk along the wall following the historical path with beautiful street views.
This book provided some additional history for me as well as some better ideas of the spots to visit along the way. I hope to walk this path one day, maybe with my dogs in tow.
An easy read and enjoyable. I visited Hadrian’s Wall on my UK tour in Heddon-On-The-Wall and had lunch at The Swan in that little village. This truly sparked my interest and I recently completed The Conqueror Challenge as a virtual walk along the wall following the historical path with beautiful street views.
This book provided some additional history for me as well as some better ideas of the spots to visit along the way. I hope to walk this path one day, maybe with my dogs in tow.
March 18, 2015
Some people know about Hadrian’s Wall, which the Roman’s put up in the 2nd century to form the northern boundary of the empire, but I suspect most of them have no idea what a sophisticated a structure it was, how important the Romans considered it to be, or how influential it has been in creating Scotland and England as they exist today.
During her account of walking the 84 mile path that follows the wall from Solway Firth and the Irish Sea to its eastern end near the North Sea, Jane Blanchard provides fascinating details about the building of the wall, the use of it, and the life of the troops that manned it. You even get a recipe for ancient Roman Army bread. It’s said to be delicious and there’s an intriguing photo of a ‘loaf’ newly baked.
Along the way you also get to meet the people, even the cattle and sheep who live along the wall today, and see the beautiful landscape of Britain’s north.
There’s crucial information for travellers too – for example, despite 250 + restaurants, pubs, etc. in Carlisle, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one open on a Saturday night - even McDonalds and KFC were closed by 7pm.
What most of us want in a travel book is to be part of the journey, and that’s what you get here. The many vivid, satisfying photos and diagrams, and the charming prose, won’t leave you envious at missing out on this tour, but with a feeling that you were there too.
Alan Conrad
www.shyhighway.com
During her account of walking the 84 mile path that follows the wall from Solway Firth and the Irish Sea to its eastern end near the North Sea, Jane Blanchard provides fascinating details about the building of the wall, the use of it, and the life of the troops that manned it. You even get a recipe for ancient Roman Army bread. It’s said to be delicious and there’s an intriguing photo of a ‘loaf’ newly baked.
Along the way you also get to meet the people, even the cattle and sheep who live along the wall today, and see the beautiful landscape of Britain’s north.
There’s crucial information for travellers too – for example, despite 250 + restaurants, pubs, etc. in Carlisle, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one open on a Saturday night - even McDonalds and KFC were closed by 7pm.
What most of us want in a travel book is to be part of the journey, and that’s what you get here. The many vivid, satisfying photos and diagrams, and the charming prose, won’t leave you envious at missing out on this tour, but with a feeling that you were there too.
Alan Conrad
www.shyhighway.com
August 11, 2017
Best book of the lot on Hadrian's Wall
Been reading a handful of books related to history of The Wall and hiking it. Some gave way too much history -- miles of minutia, so to speak. This one gave just the right mix of history, culture, and travel details in a delightful presentation. Tailored to the hiker, it broadly appeals to the spectator reader who is curious and may be enticed to take the hike one day. Jane is a trained technical writer, but her book is no hard slog. It is breezy, her story lightly carrying the reader easily and enjoyably over the 84-mile wall trek. If you get no other book on the Wall, get this one.
Been reading a handful of books related to history of The Wall and hiking it. Some gave way too much history -- miles of minutia, so to speak. This one gave just the right mix of history, culture, and travel details in a delightful presentation. Tailored to the hiker, it broadly appeals to the spectator reader who is curious and may be enticed to take the hike one day. Jane is a trained technical writer, but her book is no hard slog. It is breezy, her story lightly carrying the reader easily and enjoyably over the 84-mile wall trek. If you get no other book on the Wall, get this one.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews