Last stop: Northumberland and Hadrian's Wall

Mardee, I want to recommend a guide for Hadrian’s wall, Peter Carney.

https://www.hadrianswall-walk.com/
It is an investment to hire him for the day, but the value received far exceeds the cost. He is a retired history teacher who knows every inch of this area. He provides transport as he tailors the day to your interests. He showed my sister and myself the most interesting sections of the wall to walk on later days and taught us about what we were seeing. Vindolanda really came alive covering it with him.

We stayed at a B and B which is no longer in business. We did find Haltwhistle a convenient location.

Commenting as a reminder to follow. We're throwing around the idea of a week or two between York and Bamburgh for next Fall.

If you are coming from Yorkshire, do Durham on the way. It is a very compact city and easily walkable.
There is plenty of choice for parking in the city - see ideas here. The Sands, Riverwalk, Prince Bishops Shopping Centree or Walkergate would work.

The Cathedral is the must see place. You can also do guided tours of the castle which is one of the University Colleges. If you have time, there is also Crook Hall Gardens which now belong to the National Trust . They are about 15-20 minute walk from the centre of the town. They are delightful gardens and also have a good view of the cathedral. With an early start, you can probably managed to see most of Durham in a day and then head north.

If you choose a fairly central location like Rothbury or Alnwick, you can cover everywhere from there. Both are attractive small towns with a lot of character. They also have a reasonable choice of accommodation and eating places. Alnwick has the castle and gardens (as well as Barter books, the largest second hand book shop in the country and on many tick lists). There is also Warkworth with its ruined castle, but that is a lot smaller, but does have some good cafes!

That would save having to relocate. If you were wanting two locations, I would suggest Hexham, Corbridge or Haltwhistle for Hadrian's Wall and then possibly Seahouses for the coast, Bamburgh, Lindisfarne (check safe crossing times!) and Berwick upon Tweed. I’d do a two night split for Hadrian’s Wall and three night split for the rest.

I, too, think you need a 2:3 split for the wall.

Everyone seems to stay in Haltwhistle, for the wall. For it's size Hexham has surprisingly little accommodation. But I think Corbridge (about 3 miles east of Hexham) would suit you, especially as you have the car, so aren't trying to work around the much reduced AD122 bus. And you have The Valley Indian Restaurant on Corbridge Station.

Essentially Day 1 is Durham then driving up to Corbridge.

Day 2 is the wall.

Personally I would favour Rothbury for you to stay in for the other 3 nights. It is a really nice little village, surprisingly good for accommodation and eateries.

And, of course, as if the programme is not already overloaded there is Cragside and Brinkburn Priory there.

Get to Rothbury from Corbridge up the A68 to Otterburn, then to Elsdon, and down the Coquet Valley past Thropton to Rothbury. A very nice journey.

The other way is A68, across to Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, then across country to Morpeth and the A1.

If the tides to Lindisfarne don't work on your dates Billy Shiels runs a high tide landing trip from Seahouses.

Is there no way you can change your flights to open jaw, returning from EDI?

We loved Durham, the cathedral was amazing.

We saw Hadrian's Wall, or what is left of it at Haltwhistle. You can see Vindolanda and a nice museum.

I'm going to put it here, rather than scroll way back. On your way from the Peak District to Yorkshire you could stop off in Halifax to see the grade 1 listed Piece Hall at Halifax.

It is one of the most spectacular market places (for want of a better word), a powerful symbol of the old textile industry of Yorkshire.

I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I was on one of my eccentric routeings today from Leeds to home, and passed it as I transferred across Halifax in 15 minutes flat, and a light clicked on in my mind. But I have been there several times in the past.

I've been down the Settle line so many times in the last few weeks that I was putting a bit of variation in!

Just left the wall , yesterday , after a three day stop . We stayed at The Howard Arms in Brampton which was really wonderful . We have a car , so access to points in the area was easy . For us , Vindolanda was a highlight . Heavy on the history and detail , right up our alley . Writing from The Cairngorms .

Carol, I remember you talking about Peter Carney on a few other posts, so I will definitely visit his website and contact him. Thanks so much!

wasleys, stopping at Durham along the way sounds perfect - thanks! And thank for the links for parking ideas. I really want to see the cathedral! And of course the castle and I love the idea of a guided tour. Crook Hall Gardens sound lovely, too! I must admit that I really like the idea of just one base. I hate having to pack up and move after only 3 nights and then after 2. I'm used to driving a lot here in Duluth - I have to drive for 20-30 minutes in any direction to get anyplace. 😊 So I might think about that - thank you for this and all the ideas!

geovagriffth, thanks for the info! All of it, including the museum at Vindolanda sounds like it would be great!

isn31c, thanks so much, Stuart, for all of those places that sound so inviting. I must admit you had me at the Valley Indian Restaurant! 🤣 And you ask a very good question about whether I can change my flight. My answer is: I don't know. I used Flying Blue miles for a RT ticket from MSP to LHR, but the flight is actually on Delta as a Code Share, and the hop (return only) from LHR to AMS is on KLM. But the more I think about it, the more I think it's worth a shot. I'll try calling Flying Blue over the next couple of days and see if they're able to change it for me. I don't mind paying a bit extra - it would definitely be cheaper than having to go back to London. So I will get back with you on that. And thanks for the info about Piece Hall - that sounds fascinating!

steven, lucky you! Thank you for the info on your lodging. I will check that out. And also thanks for the info on Vindolanda. I love the name enough to go there just for that. And I will have a car so that's good to know. Enjoy the Cairngorms!

Durham is one of my favorite spots in England.

Enjoy a meander along the river path, tour the cathedral, shop in the market hall and have a pint at The Olde Elm Tree.

If possible catch the episode of Inspector George Gently which filmed in the Cathedral.

On my Seymour Travels tour last May we stayed 2 nights in Hexham at the Beaumont and did the wall from there. Over 2 days we did Lanercost Priory, Birdoswald, walked along the wall at Cawfield Quarry, walked ON the wall at Housesteads (but did not go in the fort area there, bypassed it to the left to walk on the wall), stopped at the Temple of Mithras at Carrawburgh. We spent a good bit of time at Vindolanda.

We moved on to Alnwick for 4 nights and 1+ to Barter Books! Excellent coffee and a neat place BUT you can go down a rabbit hole here as I had to restrain myself from buying because I knew the books would be heavy on the way home! We stayed in a small hotel in Alnwick but I'm not sure if it's open to just groups. I can find the name if you decide to stay in Alnwick. The good thing about staying here is that you can park and spend most of a day at Northumberland Castle if you are staying in town. The castle is very neat as is the Garden area (separate admission) including the Poison Garden (can only enter on a tour which starts from the Poison Garden gate). Some really good restaurants here. I had an Indian meal that was terrific. Most of the crowd seemed to be locals from the way they were greeted by staff and others in the dining room. From there we easily went to Lindesfarne, Craster (for a short coastal walk to Dunstanburgh Castle), stopped by Belsay House and Quarry Gardens and made a quick stop at Preston Tower which is one of the local "Pele Towers". If you want to do a boat ride out to the Farne Islands (or as mentioned above a water landing at LIndesfarne) you can go out of Seahouses which is a neat little seaside town.

You know how much I loved this area!! Are you going to do a night in York at the end before you return to London? That is a good place for a car drop and to catch a train southbound.

Claudia, thanks for the tips! Durham sounds wonderful and I will definitely check out that article.

Pam, thank you for that abundance of excellent information! Yes, I know how much you loved it here - sadly, I won't have Mark Seymour with me, but will do my best! Seahouses sounds really interesting - thanks! You know, I didn't think about staying at York at the end. I was planning to go there while I was in North Yorkshire, but what you're saying makes a lot of sense. I need to start thinking about booking my rental cars so I will keep that in mind when I do. Of course if I can convince Flying Blue to change my ending city from London to Edinburgh, I won't have to worry about that. I will keep you all posted on that.

York is a pretty walkable city so it would be easy to see after you drop the car. I do NOT know how easy the car drop there would be...last time I did that was ummmm...let's seeeee....1986??? hahahah!!

The Howards (as in the Howard Arms at Brampton) were and are the Earls of Carlisle- they still live at the nearby Naworth Castle.

You can actually stay there, I have no idea how much that costs, but can't imagine it would be remotely cheap.

And Castle Howard, in Yorkshire, is their other modest residence.

It depends how you define best, but traditionally the Howard Arms was regarded as THE best pub in Brampton. If in Brampton you must visit St Martin's Church with it's stunning collection of William Morris stained glass open all day, each day. And a quick drive up past the Cemetery to St Ninian's old Church is worth it- when I was last there you just collected the key from the adjacent farmhouse.

You should also visit the Capon Tree- a Jacobite memorial (one of a number of Jacobite memorials in the area stretching down over 20 miles to the south of Penrith at Clifton- but that is a whole different trail!!).

The Moot Hall, in the centre of town, now has the TIC. Originally it housed prisoners of Oliver Cromwell.

You really, really haven't got time for it, but on the road out of Brampton towards Alston the Earl of Carlisle had extensive coal and lead mining interests, there is still a lot of that to see and explore.

Much more than Romans here.

There is a Capon Tree cafe in Brampton as well.

https://englandsnortheast.co.uk/

Mardee, I am closely following this part of your trip planning and taking notes on everything everyone is suggesting! I especially want to see how you break up your days in this area and the bases you choose. Can’t wait to hear more about your plans and ultimately your incredible upcoming trip!

Also, Claudia, thanks for the link you shared! Cool! I’m now adding another British crime drama to check out!

Mustlovedogs, Inspector George Gentley is an extremely well done series. Love Martin Shaw. One of my favorite UK cop/detective series. Right up there with Foyle’s War, Broadchurch, Vera and Inspector Frost.

Enjoy.

Adding to Stuart`s comments about St Martin's , The stained glass there is stunning and the designs were created by Edward Burne - Jones , one of The Pre - Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts designers and painters of the late nineteenth century. The square floor plan of the building is also unique , designed by Phillip Webb . A short drive from there is Lanercost Priory , a fourteenth century ruin , a result of Henry The Eighth's dissolution of the monasteries. Also ,well worth a visit .

This is now going well away from what Mardee possibly has time for, but is for general reference.

Anyone with a car visiting Birdoswald and that part of the wall could until recently have stayed at the Gilsland Spa Hotel, although I understand it is currently closed and for sale. But there are other places to stay in both Gilsland and Greenhead, There is wonderful forest walking if you continue up the road past the Spa and the little Church with it's idyllic riverside location.

But also up there is RAF Spadeadam. It played an important role in the Cold War- with ballistic missile testing in the remote countryside (the Blue Streak Missiles) and is believed to have been one of the launch sites in the event that WW3 had happened.
It is still an important base for training in electronic warfare.

In the area just north west of Brampton there is a very large area of land which was used for peat extraction until the last decade, and had an extensive network of narrow gauge railways- rather like the well known Bord na Mona in the Irish Republic.

Anyone who has been to Lanercost and the roman remains at Banks can then continue up to Bewcastle. This was another Roman outpost (which Hadrians Wall visitors rarely get to), but also has one of the most important Anglo-Saxon crosses surviving. It is as important as the Ruthwell cross in the Scottish Borders.

I suggest to anyone interested that they do this trip at the end of their time on the wall then continue from Bewcastle on to Newcastleton in Liddesdale. This is an elegant planned village, which begins a totally new journey in the land of the reivers, and the start of a different route up to Hawick and into the Scottish Borders.

This is the kind of an area where you need a really good guide to show you the multi faceted history of the area. Locals like me can only show you so much on 'paper'.

The journey on from Newcasteton to Hawick looks like a 1 hour drive through nowhere, but there is a lot of hidden history to see on that drive alone.

York is a pretty walkable city so it would be easy to see after you drop the car. I do NOT know how easy the car drop there would be...last time I did that was ummmm...let's seeeee....1986???

Pam, I'm not too long behind you. I was last there in 1996. :) But do remember parking in the car park outside the city at that time, and some places do have parking available.

Stuart, wow, if I was going to splurge, I would be splurging on Naworth Castle! The bathtubs alone are worth it!!! I decided to request a quote just for sh*ts and giggles. :-) I'll let you know how much it would be.

And Castle Howard, in Yorkshire, is their other modest residence.

Ha ha, yes, modest indeed! I toured the place back in 1996 and really enjoyed it, especially the grounds and gardens. I still remember all the peacocks roaming around. So I think I will go back there for a visit. Thank you for all the other bits of info on places to see! Brampton sounds wonderful; especially St. Martin's and the William Morris stained glass. And I love old churches! And thank you for all the additional stuff about the places I won't have time to see, lol!! Seriously, I will try to make time if possible. Bewcastle looks very interesting and I would love to see that, along with some of the other places you mentioned. Thank you!

ramblin' on, thanks for the link!

Mustlovedogs, once I finalize my itinerary, I will be back with a full post detailing where I'm going, how long I'm staying and where I'm staying. Hopefully in the next few weeks. I'm going out of town in a few days for a week to visit family but once I'm back, I should be able to get everything narrowed down!

steven, thank you so much for the additional information about St. Martin's and also Lanercost Priory. The history sounds fascinating and I definitely look forward to seeing that.

Correction,

Ruthwell is of course in Dumfries and Galloway, not the Scottish Borders. My excuse is that I was trying to dash out to an unplanned meeting I had suddenly been called to, while in the middle of writing the above post.

Mardee,

If you wanted to stay in a Castle then Langley Castle in Allendale Town is a possibility. It's a bit further south than is ideal but perfectly within reason. And it is actually affordable- especially when compared to London or Edinburgh prices- same price as the HIE at Heathrow for example for rooms in the grounds. That is where having a car wins out. The castle is pretty much unreachable by bus.

"Over its long history the castle has seen some turbulent times. At the turn of the 18th century the castle was owned by James the 3rd Earl of Derwentwater. James and his brother took part in the Jacobite risings of 1715 and were executed at the Tower of London. The castle was confiscated by the Crown and its administration passed to the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich in London. In 1882 the castle was bought by Cadwallader Bates who restored the building. In 1986 the castle was converted into a luxury hotel."

One of the other towns which is never mentioned on the forum but is ideal for the wall is Haydon Bridge. It is actually on the train line as well but for whatever reason doesn't get the tourists, probably because it is not served by the AD122.

" This is now going well away from what Mardee possibly has time for, but is for general reference. "

Perhaps so , but it's just this sort of information that expands the myriad possibilities of travel to different and often distant places .

Stuart, I'm not so interested in staying in a castle as I am in the amenities. Naworth) Castle interested me because of the enormous bathtub (I love my baths)! 😊 I will check out Langley Castle, though. Allendale is a town that's on my list of possible destinations.

steven, I wholeheartedly agree.

Yes, Steven you are correct! I have only been to Grassington, but all this great advice is making me want to tour this area sooner rather than later.

Tammy - Northumberland has still to be discovered by many tourists. They rush through on their way to Scotland and don't know what they are missing. It has ruined castles and abbeys, some wonderful churches, stately homes, great gardens, amazing beaches (although the North sea can be cold) boat trips to the Farne Islands, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne reached by a tidal causeway, some delightful small towns with a wide range of accommodation choices, as well as some of the best walking in England. There is Hadrian's wall, the North Tyne with Kielder Forest and Water, the Cheviot and much much more. You can also extend your stay into the Borders, another area ignored by many tourists but again full of interest with a lot to do and see.

I was going to pitch in with info based on our trip in Northumberland 12 years ago, but everything I'd have said has been said by others. Durham Cathedral is one of my favorites in Europe (and the Gently episode is very good). Vindolanda is an excellent site and the museum fascinating, including letters between the Roman soldiers stationed there and their wives on the continent. It's a few miles south of the wall. We also liked Housesteads, but I'm sure there are other comparable sites at the wall itself. Hexham has a beautiful old church with a Saxon crypt, if time allows. We missed Lindisfarne because the tides were wrong, but I hope you'll be able to get there. We weren't as thrilled with Alnwick Castle or Bambergh Castle as many others are, though Bambergh's setting on the North Sea is spectacular.

I'd think two bases would make sense for this area, and as many days as you can manage without having too much stress with the homeward departure. If you can't switch the flight to depart from EDI, do you need more than one night in London or at LHR before flying from there?

Dick, thank you for your thoughts! At first I was thinking I could do just one base, but the way everything is laid out, I think you and the others are right in that I need two bases. With regards to timing, I arrive in Northumberland on the 17th and MUST be back in London at the latest by April 24th, which would mean dropping off the rental car, then spending the day on the train and probably heading right to the LHR hotel so I can fly out very early on the 25th. That would give me 7 nights up north.

I'm a little nervous about pushing it that much, but I could split the difference; spend 3 nights in Northumberland and 3 nights around Hadrian's Wall, then leave for London on the 23rd, which would give me one night in the city and the last night at the HIE at Terminal 4. So maybe that would be an option and would give me one more night.

I still haven't called Flying Blue yet to see about changing the flights but will soon. I'm packing up right now for a week in Cincinnati to visit family, and taking a short break from the packing. :-)

I don’t want to throw a wrench in your plans but I might plan to be back in London 2 nights ahead just to give yourself a cushion in case of train strikes. Of course you could go with the current plan and then if a strike is called for your travel day change at that point.

Good point, Pam. Thanks! Of course, if there was a train strike, I could just hang onto the car an extra day and drive it down to London. Not the most fun thing in the world to do though. I was going to call Flying Blue today to see about changing the ticket to EDI, but I just ran out of time with everything going on and leaving for my trip tomorrow. I’ll call them when I get back. That would be the best solution.

Have you thought about flying into/out of Newcastle? Plenty of connecting flights via Heathrow, AMS, CDG, DUB. No need to traipse all the way to London - locals wouldn't do that.

I'm not sure if Mardee saw my post about the car hire office for Enterprise and their associate companies which is at Newcastle Central Station.
From there, on strike days, both Lumo and LNER are running really quite good services on strike days.
And the National Express Coach Station is only just round the corner from the Railway Station if all else failed- 5 services a day to London. The Coach Station is fine by day, but rather bleak at night, not one of their best. I'm there at 5.30am tomorrow morning and won't be hanging round.

Stuart, I did not see it until now. But hopefully no strikes. That said, I will keep watching and seeing what happens just in case.

Mardee,

If there is a strike you may have to pivot 2 weeks out and return the car to Newcastle, rather than Carlisle.

On an Avanti strike day there are no trains from Carlisle, but on a LNER strike day there are trains from Newcastle (LNER and Lumo).

There are also 2 day buses (at 1120 and 1320) and a night bus on National Express Carlisle to London, and a daytime Flixbus. The night bus takes you to Heathrow non-stop (arriving at 0530, so you would have to arrive 21 hours early). [there is an unconfirmed rumour that the night bus will not run after the end of March]

Also re Plymouth to Liverpool train day-
I think there are trains even on a strike day Plymouth to Birmingham, but if it is an Avanti/LNWR strike day there will be no train service north of Birmingham.
If that happened you would have to buy new tickets to travel on the non striking Transport for Wales Birmingham to Chester (direct), then either the new hourly TfW Chester to Liverpool Lime Street direct train via Liverpool South Parkway, or Merseyrail Chester to Liverpool James Street or Liverpool Central. Central is just a few blocks from Lime Street.

Given that there are Advance tickets BHX-Chester I can't make my mind up whether to advise you to book that route when TfW bookings open in a few weeks time (at 1522 from Birmingham New Street).

The other option would be either Ply-Liv on Nat Ex (3 buses a day, change at Birmingham) or Nat Ex from Birmingham Digbeth to Liverpool.

Last year I persuaded a forum member to buy a National Express Senior Coachcard as an insurance policy against strikes. On a Tuesday (Ply-Liv) there is a £15 flat maximum fare any distance (if booked up to 3 days ahead). On Friday to Monday or blackout days on the midweek £15 flat fare there is 1/3 off all fares. In a few weeks time I have a £15 flat fare Penzance to Carlisle as an example.

Although that member never encountered strikes she was happy that she had that kind of NatEx self insurance policy in place and did not regret buying what became just a souvenir.

Hmmmm, a lot to thing about. I will refer back to this and figure out what to do. Thanks so much, Stuart!

One additional thought: if I had to return the car at Newcastle, would I still be able to get a ticket to Oxford via Birmingham? Or would my ticket from Carlisle to Birmingham still be effective? SInce it was LNER's fault, so to speak?

One additional thought: if I had to return the car at Newcastle, would I still be able to get a ticket to Oxford via Birmingham? Or would my ticket from Carlisle to Birmingham still be effective? SInce it was LNER's fault, so to speak?

In a word, no. You would have to apply for a refund on CAR to OXF (which is usually very swift), and buy a new ticket from NCL to Oxford. Looking 2 weeks today (so at the notice a strike would give you) that is between £55 and £65 with a railcard, and there isn't a way to 'split the ticket' to reduce that. In fact NCL to Birmingham is dearer than NCL-OXF via Birmingham!! On a strike day I would not want to be playing with split tickets- I would want an end to end single ticket.
If they withdrew Advance tickets on a strike day, as they might, then NCL-OXF with railcard is £116.

Without being political the fault would not be that of the train company. It would be the union who are striking.

The CAR to BHX/OXF ticket would be valid the previous day and several days after the strike, but that's not much use to you. It is also valid on 'any reasonable route' but via NCL is not by anyone's definition a 'reasonable route'.

I forgot you are going to Oxford next. I thought it was Heathrow next. Senior moment of mine. Both the Nat Ex buses from Carlisle to London call into Birmingham for potential rail connections to Oxford. The 1120 bus has a connection to Oxford, changing at Milton Keynes Coachway (not Birmingham).

We had fervently hoped the spectre of rail strikes would be over by now.

We all travel differently but personally if it happened I personally would book a NE bus ex CAR at 1120 as swiftly as my fingers let me. Or you, being used to long drives, might even choose to drive down to Oxford and turn the car in there. Yes I know there would be an extra drop off fee. But you know you will get there.