I'd highly recommend Peter as your guide to Hadrian's Wall. This was a key highlight of our trip. Our party of three made a day trip from London to visit Hadrian's Wall, an ambitious idea given the distance but we did it thanks to Peter, a former history teacher. We had a sunny, mild day in March 2017. Peter picked us up in his car at Hexham train station (itinerary: London King's Cross - Newcastle - Hexham) and zoomed us around Hadrian's Wall Country for four hours on a half-day tour. With our time limited, Peter showed us the most exciting sights and took us wall-walking. Peter knows the area. It was a pleasure for us not to drive these unknown roads ourselves. Throughout the driving and walking around, Peter delivered an entertaining, considered narrative of life and history in Roman Britannia. And he answered our questions. There is more to Hadrian's Wall than we knew. We learned much with Peter as our guide. He took us to two non-wall sites during the tour & we profited immensely from these visits. The Roman Army Museum was well-done and informative. The active archaeological site at Vindolanda was a huge surprise and blew us away. We bought tickets to both venues in a package deal recommended by Peter. Vindolanda is a fort somewhat distant from Hadrian's Wall but was more interesting in my opinion. Artifacts from Vindolanda can be seen at the British Museum in London. We found Peter in Rick Steves' England 7th Edition. Google "peter carney hadrian" and you'll find him. Happy travels!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
1005 posts
I found him in Rick's book too and he was excellent.
Posted by
Tucson
4183 posts
Another Peter Carney fan here. He's the best.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8913 posts
Thanks to reviews like yours my sister and I have booked him for a day this summer. We are really looking forward to learning about the wall. Thanks for sharing the good tips.
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3896 posts
Great information. Thanks for posting this.
Do consider writing a Trip Report of your England trip. We'd love to read what you did in London, favorite attractions, restaurants, hotels, and hear about any other side/day trips you took.
Posted by
1 posts
I have to "pile on" here. Four of us (couple + two 20-something children) just returned from a 10-day trip to (mostly - as you will see) London. We rented a flat in The City and planned to keep in and around London for the trip. But we ran across mention of Peter's services in one of Rick's books and knew that a one day break out in the country would be a nice refresher, so we booked with Peter well in advance (probably a good idea). He gave us great advice on logistics. He also suggested that we seek out the Vindolanda exhibit in the British Museum in London before that day if we had a chance. This was great advice, as there is a pretty deep tie-in between that exhibit and what you see with Peter, and having seen and read about the exhibit enriches the tour with Peter.
In the end, we took a 6:15 Virgin East Coast train from King's Cross Rail Station to Newcastle, where Peter picked us up at about 10am. As with others, after introductions he spent most of the drive out to the Roman Army Museum giving us background. He personally walked us through the museum, providing a lot of useful commentary. He then took us to Vindolanda and gave us a personal walkthrough of the entire site. Somewhere in there, we stopped for lunch. We then drove to several other locations on the wall, before making our way back to Newcastle for a 6:30pm train back to London. It was long day, but well worth it. The trip was fantastic, partly because we lucked out on weather, but mostly because Peter was a truly delightful, entertaining, and informative man. His knowledge of the subject matter is deep and his passion for it comes out in everything he says and does. At the end, all four of us agreed that we can't imagine touring the wall, at least for the first time, without him.
From a "value" standpoint, Peter gets extremely high marks. Even with first-class train tickets for four and Peter's additional fee for pickup in Newcastle, the trip was less expensive that either of the two all-day packaged tours we took while in London. If you happen to be in Northern England and can get there without that much expense, he qualifies as an absolute bargain. We got expert guidance tuned just for us, all day.
We unconditionally recommend this outing if you can swing it - even if you are "only" going to London, and even if it is raining cats and dogs. There are very few better ways to escape the crush and bustle, get some air, and learn a lot in the process.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2809 posts
Thanks for posting this. We have booked Peter for a day in September. Really looking forward to it.
Did you give Peter a tip, and is that customary for guides in Great Britain?
Posted by
14 posts
Are you able to provide how much this day trip cost please?
Posted by
Yorkshire, England
62 posts
Tipping is'nt customary for any service, guides included. If you are happy and want to offer a tip that's great but you don't have to and wouldn't be questioned if you didn't.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8913 posts
Just back from a terrific day getting an overview of the wall with guide Peter Carney. My sister and I both agree that this was a day and money well spent. I am extremely thankful to this forum for bringing Peter's guide service to our attention. A previous poster asked about price. We spent 125 pounds for a 7 hour personalized tour for the both of us. Peter is extremely helpful and interesting.