Date: Sunday, 26 July 2026
Day: 2
From: Newcastle To: East Wallhouses
Start Walking: 727am End Walking: 200pm Walking Time: 5h37m
Distance (Planned): 22km Distance (Garmin): 26.8km
Ascent: 348m Descent: 258m
Progress: 35.8/138km
Weather: Grey and soggy to start. I even had to wear my rain coat for a couple of hours! Sprinkling on and off for the rest of the day, but no jacket required. I got off very lightly.
Stayed At: Robin Hood Inn
General Comments:
• I put my hand up here and admit that I was really only guesstimating today’s planned distance. I looked at the guidebook and as I was starting and finishing mid-stage, I just made as wild guess and came up 4.8km short. 🙃 It could have been worse.
• In light rain, I made my way down from my Newcastle hotel, met the river, turned right and headed west.
• The path hugged the river for about the first 15km and the scenery changed from remnants of old heavy industry, new industry, factories, offices, busy multi-lane roads to a long stretch of suburbia.
• It took over 10.5km to get out of city and the suburbs, and 12.5km to get onto a dirt path. My feet were getting weary of all the hard surfaces.
• The upside is that there was a steady stream of hikers on the path. About 25-30 people heading eastwards and about 6 people heading West like me. It was quickly obvious as to which walking direction is the most popular.
• I was thrilled to see my first real stretch of the Wall at Heddon-on-the-Wall. I am told there is a lot more waiting for me ahead, but today it was a bit of a thrill.
• The wheat fields and open paddocks gave me a much needed sense of space, but the constant road noise and traffic did detract somewhat. Maybe I have been spoiled by the Coast to Coast Path? I have been told it gets better and quieter.
Top Tips:
• Footwear: With all the hard paved/asphalt surfaces of the last couple of days, trail shoes would be ideal.
• Services: There are a couple of cafés and pubs along the river, and in Heddon-on-the-Wall.
• Signage: the signage has been excellent today and I only needed to check the AllTrails app a couple of times.
Have a good week ahead…
Life...one big adventure 
Mmm.. I would have been tempted to get a bus out to Heddon-on-the-Wall and avoid all that ugliness of the outer city limits, but I realise that you prefer to start at the beginning and end at the end of a trail. Are you carrying your backpack this time? And have you pre-booked accommodation? It would be interesting to know where you are staying.
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You know me well, Jude. I like to do the whole thing – the good days and the bad. It’s all part of the experience. And Yes, I pre-booked all my accommodation around 12 months ago to make sure I could get the ones people were recommending. Tonight I’m at the Robin Hood Inn. There’s also an amazing company called Hadrian’s Haul who do the luggage transport. Their service has been great so far.
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Yes, this is the boring bit. It gets much better, don’t worry! xx
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Oh good, thanks for the confidence boost. Xx
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The big question is have you run out of tuna and if so. What’s the next best choice to stop the hunger? 😉
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I regret to advise that I still have two sachets of tuna left!😅😅 Plus some dehydrated peanut butter and Vegemite! That should power me back across England.🚶♀️🚶♀️
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Vegemite, nah, marmite all the way 😉
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Oh dear, I think you just ruined a beautiful friendship!😄
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🤣🤣🤣
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Looks like this walk will be super interesting Mel. I notice on the highway signs that as well as Newcastle, Hexham and Morpeth are listed. Confirmation that we are not very original over this side of the world! Hope the weather gods continue to be kind to you. x
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Yes, it’s all a bit deja vu when it comes to place names. It really flags our English roots, however the countryside couldn’t be more different. Looking out the window, it’s a blue sky day ahead. Great for me, but not for everyone’s gardens and farms. They are starting to use the ‘drought’ word in the media. Xx
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I know my eyesight is going, but that first picture after the Hadrian mural looks like a cow standing on the fence about to step off!
Nice to actually see the wall. The Husband and I went looking for it once when we were in the area, but we couldn’t find it!
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Unfortunately the locals have been a little too efficient repurposing the stone from the Wall. The upside is that there are a LOT of magnificent stone buildings about the place.😄
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Unfortunately, the locals have been a little too efficient repurposing the stone from the Wall. The upside is that there are a lot of magnificent stone buildings about the place. 😄
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