Hadrian's Wall
Fastpacking Hadrian's Wall
Route
Hadrian’s Wall footpath is a 135km coast to coast route stretching across Northern England from Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria on the west to Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne in the east. Travelling to these two points on the coast would have stretched the trip beyond the short weekend I had available, so I cheated and shortened the route. The new route was 106km long with a total ascent of 1885m, from Carlisle Castle to Newcastle’s Millennium bridge with a night camping in Haltwhistle inbetween.
Kit
Sleeping
- Tent – Z packs duplex
- Sleeping bag – Rab ascent 500
- Mat – cheap ebay foam mat trimmed to size
Food and drink
- Sawyer mini water filter
- Snacks and dehydrated meals
- Vango compact stove
- Propane 230g
- Lightweight pan and mug
Clothes
- Salomon bonatti jacket
- Salomon gloves
- Montane allez micro fleece hoodie
- Montane prism jacket
- Buff, leggings, WP trousers, microfibre towel
Other
- Garmin in reach mini
- 20,000 mAh battery bank
- LED Lenser SE07R head torch
- Ultimate direction 35l fastpack
- Hoka Torrent 2 shoes
Day 1
Distance – 43km
I took an early morning train to Carlisle and plodded over to the Castle for a scenic start with the appetising smell of the McVitie’s factory leading me in the right direction. I enjoyed being back as I had had a memorable few months in the hospital here whilst a student.
By chance, I was running the same route as the ‘Rat Race – The Wall’ Ultra marathon. I only realised this when I arrived at the castle and saw them packing away the start line. They had an hour head start on me and I wondered if I would catch them later on in the day.
The first 25km were easy running through small villages via fields and tracks. The perk of fastpacking is you can go at your own pace, take in the scenery and stop for refuelling in little cafes along the way. The last chunk of the day was running through rolling hills, alongside Hadrian’s Wall. The views and weather were stunning and my legs felt strong. I caught up with the runners from the race and obviously blended in as I was offered food and drink at checkpoints and snapped at by photographers hiding in bushes to the side of the trail.
Night 1
It was only as I arrived at the campsite that I realised how hungry and dehydrated I was. I rehydrated with a few cans of coke, a dandelion and burdock and a chocolate Magnum before refreshing myself with a warm shower. I set up camp at the top of the slope and then proceeded to try and protect the chafed areas of my back with some zinc oxide tape. Little did I know the pain this would be to peel off in a days time.
I’m still in awe of how brilliant and roomy this tent is for a meagre 400g. Unfortunately, my sleeping mat didn’t provide the same comfort and I could had a very uncomfortable night. I had about an hours sleep, partly due to the mat, but I also haven’t worked out how to calm my body down after a long day on the trail. This ended up with me lying looking up at the sky through the transparent ceiling of my tent with adrenaline coursing through my veins. I gave up trying at about 0430 and set off for the next leg to Newcastle.
Day 2
Distance – 63km
I was glad to have started so early with such a long day ahead. With my coffee still warm in my belly I came across the famous sycamore gap, which was beautiful, especially with not a soul in sight.
The next 20km continued along the rolling hills of Hadrian’s Wall. I didn’t stop besides to refill my water from streams with the Sawyer filter (which is great but not quick) and once to vault a fence and escape from a herd of angry looking cows.
A friend ran me in the last 30km. It was slow work on tired legs but enjoyable all the way and with a great sense of achievement running along the river Tyne into the heart of Newcastle.
Lessons learnt
- Drink and eat more on the trail
- Reduce pack size and weight
- I hope this will also reduce chafe
- Work on getting a good nights sleep after a long day on the trail