Hadrian's Wall Path : National Trail

by Mark Richards, Helen Richards

The essential guidebook to walking the 84-mile Hadrian's Wall Path. One of the UK's most visited National Trails, it runs the length of the Roman Wall from Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria to Wallsend, Newcastle.

The trail is presented here in 10 stages, with suggestions for five and eight-day itineraries. It is suitable for beginners, although a reasonable level of fitness is required if doing it as a multi-day walk. The route is described both west to east and east to west, and the guidebook also features extensions to Maryport on the far west coast of Cumbria and to South Shields on the east coast.

This full-colour guidebook contains a wealth of information on the history of the Wall, and a range of practical information for walkers, from accommodation and itinerary planning, to details on public transport and refreshments. A separate map booklet of 1:25,000 scale OS maps shows the full route. Clear step-by-step route descriptions in the guide are illustrated by 1:100,000 OS map extracts. The route description links together with the map booklet at each stage along the way, and the compact format is conveniently sized for slipping into a jacket pocket or the top of a rucksack.

Genres: Travel, Reference, Nonfiction, Archaeology, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

There are multiple authors with this name in this data base. This one is Mark^^^^Richards.

Mark Richards' transition from full-time farmer to full-time outdoor writer has been a gradual one. In 1973, with the direct encouragement of Alfred Wainwright, he wrote his first walking guide to the Cotswold Way. Since then he has indulged his pleasure in exploring rural Britain by creating a range of walking guides.

In 1980 he began his three-part guide to the Peak District for Cicerone Press, and in 1987, with Chris Wright, wrote a guide to walking around the former county of Westmorland. This book sowed the seeds of a dream, to be fulfilled some 14 years later, when he and his wife moved to Cumbria. Here he developed a passion for the finest of all walking landscapes, held within and around this marvellous county. Mark has written a Cicerone guide to Great Mountain Days in the Lake District and, after many years of dedicated research, completed his Lakeland Fellranger series of eight guides covering the entire region in 2013.

Now living in what was once the Barony of Gilsland, Mark is also close to Hadrian's Wall, enabling him to renew a fascination first kindled when he prepared a guide to walking the Wall in 1993. He has also published a guide to the Wall for Cicerone.

Reviews

[Raphaël]

Read and walked ✅

[Karen Sutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this 'in quaratine' and found just following along so enjoyable. First time I've ever read a guide book cover to cover as pure entertainment. However, as a result, I have convinced my husband and daughter to do this with me in 2022 (if we've tackled Covid-19 by then), so I will have fun planning the trek in my mind.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this little book. I read it before and after I was walking the wall plan how far I wanted to walk each day and to remember the journey. Lovely little facts about history- that's why we walk the wall. I coupled this with the Cicerone "map booklet" (which I bought in Carlisle) and these were the only two books I bought to get me from coast to coast.

[Paul Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent detailed guide to walking Hadrian's Wall - in either direction.
Full OS 1:25000 map book as well.

[Jesse Hofman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een beetje oud, maar mooie beschrijvingen en bewoordingen + herkenbare fenomenen. Ook mooi geïllustreerd.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually received my copy of this guide as part of the package sent to me when I booked a holiday to ‘walk the Roman wall’ in 2010. The author, Mark Richards, has been writing such walking guides to the public footpaths and trails of the UK since the 1970s, many of them available from the same publisher, Cicerone. At seven and a half by four inches, this particular volume is a good size for outdoor and trail use, a virtue further enhanced by a plastic cover that helps to protect the book from the elements.
The author presents the 85.5 mile trail in 32 stages, individually ranging in length from 1 to 4.3 miles. This offers users of the guide great flexibility in planning or actually executing their walk as these can be grouped to approximate almost any desired walking distance. Each segment chapter includes extensive illustrations and maps, of which the strip maps for each walking segment are extremely helpful. The book is principally focused on walkers traveling from East to West on the path, but each chapter includes a short description of how that chapter’s segment of the Path would look if walking it from West to East.
A clear bonus for users of this guide are the several appendices which include a bibliography of recommended take-along reading, sources for various useful maps, a route summary, and contact details for accommodations, museums, and related specialty travel service firms. One final appendix actually offers advice and guidance for the traveler who might chose to follow the Wall via the AD122 Hadrian’s Wall Bus.
There are many useful, informative, and helpful guides for those interested in ‘walking the Wall’ – but I believe that those interested will find it hard to beat this one for completeness, compactness, and utility. Happy trails.

[Bud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guidebook was supplied by our hiking company as we walked Hadrian's Wall. It includes a map booklet and a description of the sights along the way including background and history. Indispensible for anyone walking the Wall.

[Paul Gallear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps not the best book to read cover to cover, but it is undoubtedly a good resource for those walking Hadrian's Wall.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walk completed in this time, from west to east. A very helpful guidebook.