Travel from Keswick to Hadrian's Wall

Have you reached out to Peter Carney? He's guiding my son and I in November.

Thank you for replying so quickly.
How can Peter Carney be reached?

Here is a link to his website: https://www.hadrianswall-walk.com/

Have you tried Carol Donnelly- https://www.greatguidedtours.co.uk

If doing it independently, do so on the Monday.

Bus to Penrith, train to Carlisle, train to Haltwhistle, bus AD122 from the station to all points along the central tourist section of the wall.

There are other ways to do it but that is the one most likely to suit the forum.

The buses start running far earlier than you will want to be up and run until 9pm.

Maybe lunch at the Twice Brewed Inn.

Getting there on public transport will take about 2.5- 3 hours each way, whereas driving is closer to an hour, so I would definitely try to get on a tour if possible. Twice Brewed Inn as mentioned is a good place to stop and I also like Milecastle Inn. For me, the best parts are between Gilsland and Chollerford, and I would try to see Vindolanda and if you have time the Roman Army Museum. Hexham Abbey is also very nice if you can fit that in.

If you get the connections right then by public transport should normally be about two hours from Keswick to Haltwhistle.

45 minutes to Penrith Rail station by bus every half hour, 15 minutes on the train to Carlisle, then 30 minutes by train to Haltwhistle,

The sweet point is hitting the connection into the AD122 bus, or the 681 to the Roman Army Museum and Birdoswald.
It is do-able. I've done it many a time from West Cumbria, which is a longer and more infrequent travel time.

Carol Donnelly is the official guide for the City of Carlisle- she or her team do the various city guided tours, when they happen, also infrequent guided bus tours from Carlisle to the wall.

Another expensive option is a Mountain Goat private tour- same price for 1 to 16 people so may not work for you

Thank you so much everyone.
I'm following up on the information everyone has listed.
~Susan

I was struggling to find this earlier - this is the list of blue badge guides in Cumbria -

https://cumbriatouristguides.org

I’ve visited Hadrian’s Wall from the Lake District before, and it’s not the easiest day trip without a car — the sites are spread out over a long stretch of countryside.

If you can arrange a private driver (local taxi companies sometimes do a flat rate), that’s the most practical way. My personal favorites were Housesteads (great views), Vindolanda (ongoing excavation with a fascinating museum), and Chesters (smaller but right by the river).

For lunch, the George Hotel in Chollerford or a pub in Hexham works well.

Without a car it’s trickier, but the AD122 bus between Hexham and Haltwhistle connects several key sites. You’d just need to get from Keswick to Hexham first.

In short: a driver makes it simple, but with some planning public transport can work too.

I agree with the post above, but wanted to caution against lunch at the George Hotel. We stayed there for a few nights while walking the wall. The taxi driver who took us there, when seeing where we were staying, warned us about the food. We thought, how bad could it be? Then when we checked in we saw multiple people coming up to reception to complain about their food! I'd never seen anything like it before. Needless to say we didn't eat any of our meals there. There are, however, many nice places in Hexham (plus it may give you an opportunity to visit the abbey).

Chesters Fort may be the least well known of the major forts, yet it is the best preserved Roman Cavalry fort in Britain with the best preserved bath house and the best preserved treasury. There is also a walk taking you to some of the other nearby Roman sites including planetrees where an 8 foot wide wall sits on a 10 foot base, due to a change in building plans.
Close by there is the simple and isolated Heavenfield Church- part of the story of St Oswald, and the site of the 7th century Battle of Heavenfield between the Northumbrians and the Welsh (the Kingdom of Mercia).
You can also get to Chesters on the #680 bus from Hexham, headed for Bellingham.

Peter Carney is the best. He will pick you up at either the Newcastle or Carlisle station, guide you along the wall's sights, and drop you off at the end of the day back at your train station. Hadrian's Wall is problematic if you don't have a car. Peter is the best solution for those who don't/can't drive.