Backpacking Hadrian's Wall | A Classic British Adventure

In May 2023 we decided to hike Hadrian's Wall in an easterly direction from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend. The hike took 6 days in total and was a thoroughly enjoyable and mischievous adventure.
In our hiking packs we carried all of our gear including the tent which is a 3FUL Lanshan 2. The tent was excellent with plenty of room for 2 and we even managed to squeeze in a dog for a few of the nights as well.
Hadrian's Wall is one of Britain's many national long distance trails so is a real bucket list journey for hikers like myself. We were really pleased to complete the trek and had a great time doing so!

[@christophertrotter6446]

Great video Thoroughly enjoyed Will be taking in the challenge in the near future

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@neilholmes8200]

13:53 That hut was a lifesaver for me, I did my walk so long ago that chip and pin and contactless was fairly new and I hadn't passed any bank machines, so was running low on cash. Had about £3 left and was able to get plenty of snacks and a drink there. Lovely idea :)

[@neilholmes8200]

Did this (somehow) in 5 days from Wallsend to Bowness, lovely walk but I think I would have liked the extra day so I could spend more time at the museums on the way. Backpacked every night except one in Brampton when I stayed in a B&B because I was knackered and couldn't find the campsite haha

[@davidsjenkins281]

Great video keep up with the good work

[@neilholmes8200]

7:35 I feel for you, I did the Anglesey Coastal Path and on day one was crossing a small footbridge over a stream when my foot slipped and I ended up in the stream and drowned an expensive camera. Dried it out for several days and it came back online, but the back LCD screen never worked again. Just used the viewfinder!

[@gonnyjibson]

Ahhh its such a sad moment when that happens! I was really lucky that it survived as it was underwater fully submerged for a goof 2 or 3 minutes and it isn't waterproof rated at all!

[@lostlangley]

Nice video and big sigh of relief re: the drone. I'm so scared to fly mine over water and always hold my breath until it's back on dry land 😂 good call with Bagel too, that was a very responsible decision. Good dog owners!

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was sooo annoying as I was debating whether to fly it over the river for this exact reason, I should have trusted my instinct that it was too risky! I must have had it in cinematic mode which means it reacts very slowly to the controls so it was too late once it got close to the water 😭 lesson learnt! And thanks, we felt a bit mean going on without him but glad we didn't push him too hard as he definitely would have struggled more towards the end!

[@bioinaow800]

Hey, I really enjoyed your video, thank you for sharing. I'm training for doing this hike and was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing what kit you took? I've seen the tent you used really like that. Thank you.

[@The_New_Abnormal_World_Order]

I can't believe I've never ever been to Hadrian's Wall!!!!! I hope I get a chance to go soon!!!!

[@TheChrisallman]

Doing this walk in a couple of weeks, I'm a Geordie lad and no part of me can handle the idea of finishing in the shite hole that is Wallsend. I'll be pushing on to Tynemouth and making it a coast to coast with a slightly more picturesque end location to have a celebratory pint 🍺 Enjoyed the vid. Nice to see there's quite a few honesty boxes along the way. Wasn't expecting that.

[@gonnyjibson]

Yeah Wallsend did leave a little bit to be desired! I was somewhat surprised how much the museum didn't seem prepared for thruhikers (I had to ask where the stamps were and the person at the counter wasn't very enthusiastic about the fact we had completed it) but it didn't detract from the fact we had done it! We were originally planning to do the same and carry on to Tynemeouth as it looked a lot more picturesque but after our 42k day we were satisfied that we had done it! R.e. honesty boxes; there was a few on the west side of the trail but after Birdoswald it was only village shops and English Heritage sites so keep that in mind. Particularly between Houseteads and Chesters roman forts as there is literally nothing and on a hot day you are very exposed. We were very impressed with the staff at english heritage and how accommodating they were in regards to filling up our water bottles etc so you can rely on them, it was only the site at wallsend that wasn't so amazing.

[@TheChrisallman]

@@gonnyjibson thanks for the tips 👍🏻 Do you have your next long distance trail in mind? We did the Cumbria way through the Lake District last year and I couldn't recommend it enough. I preferred it to the West Highland way to be honest. This walk along the Hadrians Wall is serving as a bit of a warm up walk for us. We're doing the Tour du Mont Blanc in August and haven't done much long distance hiking since September when we did the Cumbria way so it's going to be a chance to test out some new gear before the TMB and let the body remember what it's like to walk all day.

[@gonnyjibson]

I'm actually heading off to do the Slovenia Mountain Trail in mid July so that will be my biggest one yet as I have 33 days to complete it in. Then I think I'm going to do the Snowdonia Slate Trail in Autumn as I love North Wales and know it well! I will definitly have a look into the Cumbria Way though, I also did the West Highland Way last year which I thoroughly enjoyed so if you recon it's better than that it must be good! Hope you have a great time doing the Tour du Mont Blanc, again not one I've looked into just yet but have heard it mentioned and it sounds amazing so will give it a Google!

[@pilgrimspassage8834]

Yeah its definately worth it, I did that last year albeit in reverse East to West 😃

[@dessiediamond7414]

Wonderful travel vlog. Thoroughly enjoyed, part of the UK I’ve never seen

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@PhilWaud]

Smashing, thank you. We did this about fifteen years ago and your video brings back many memories. There was only one trust shop then, its good to see that there are more now. Our last three days were in rain and it was awful! We camped on the village green at Wall, very surreal. There was a newly opened hostel, (at Heddon, I think), and it was so nice to have a long hot shower and just crash out for the night. The walk is great but its tedious at the start and end. Would give it another go. I like your content, so new subscriber here!

[@gonnyjibson]

Glad you enjoyed the video and it brought back some memories! Thanks for the sub 😁

[@SMillMT]

Can I ask what you guys did for filling up water and going to the bathroom along the way? I will be hiking in about a month and it would be great to hear from a fellow lady that did the hike. Such a great video, thank you for putting it together!

[@gonnyjibson]

Hello! Along the way there was the occasional campsite/cafe/pub/heritage site which usually had toilets and/or water facilities so it wasn't too much of an issue. Hope you have a great hike!

[@SMillMT]

@@gonnyjibson Thanks!

[@workinprogresssince1974]

This is on my bucket list. Would love to do this!

[@gonnyjibson]

You should go for it!

[@sofibuzzard7564]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video, not done this walk but it’s on the list! Can’t believe I’ve not done this bit of the UK, so informative, great drone content 👌🏼👌🏼

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks!

[@sararassner]

Great video and love your video style. Thanks for sharing!

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks very much!

[@alanwetherelt7155]

Enjoyed the watch a good insight into the walk

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks Alan, glad you enjoyed it!

[@debraoliver505]

Boy, you guys sure had it easy! I am in Florida and been watching several videos of people who have done the entire Appalachian Trail! You need to check them out. I think you have to be crazy to do the hike here but thousands have done it. One thing in common, you and our hikers seem to end up having to hike in a lot of rain!

[@gonnyjibson]

I've seen a lot of them! They ate very dedicated! I am starting the Slovenia Mountain Trail in a few days which will take me a month but that's probably my limit!

[@banksarenotyourfriends]

I live about halfway along the wall, and trust me the rain is often nicer than the baking sun when you're up on the fell tops above Haltwhistle! There's times on hot days when there's no wind and no shade and you just dream of a few drops of rain to cool you off 😂 Edit: lol, I should watch until the end before commenting. I'm glad the folks at Chesters helped you out. Good effort by all 3 of you!

[@gonnyjibson]

Sounds like we're not the only ones who have been caught out there then! I recon a no shade/water for x miles sign wouldn't go a miss!

[@banksarenotyourfriends]

@@gonnyjibson or an ice cream van! ;) All the best.

[@VascoMarreta]

Completed our walk last Friday, your video was very helpful. Cheers pal

[@gonnyjibson]

Awesome! Hope you had a great walk!

[@paulhicklin1318]

Great vid, thanks for sharing, might make this my first long distance walk.

[@gonnyjibson]

Glad you enjoyed it! I think thats a great idea, interesting scenery along the way and never too far from civilisation!

[@kopynd1]

before you make camp priority is to build a defence system first,

[@gonnyjibson]

Fortunately for this trip there was a robust one ready made by the Romans!

[@adriansandry2783]

Well done! I once walked Hadrian's wall end to end in 24 hours. My longest day walk ever. Of course we missed all the views at night. It was dry for us and of course it was lightweight as no tent etc. Again, well done you. What next?

[@gonnyjibson]

Wow that must have been intense! What a mission! I'm currently in Slovenia walking the Slovenia Mountain Trail so that's the current adventure 😁

[@JustinWhiting9]

Well done Jonny & Lara, good trail vid 👍 I did the HWP last year and my own videos. Had a great time! Subbed 👍 Justin

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks Justin! Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@The_New_Abnormal_World_Order]

I always assumed that Hadrian's wall was on the border between Scotland and England!! Only recently found out that isn't the case, LOL.

[@MrsKWheatley]

So sad to see Sycamore Gap x

[@gonnyjibson]

It is 😪

[@valleypioneer]

Great video! My mother wants to do this so I’ve been researching it. Looks like west to east is much better even if east to west ends with a more spectacular finish. Good luck in Slovenia!

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks very much! I think either direction has its pros and cons but I do think probably easiest West to East even if just from a logistical perspective! Hope you/your mother have a great time if you go for it!

[@johnrodgers2018]

Nice, I did hotels and BnB's when I walked it five years ago, didn't see any campsites then and didnt think it was an option.

[@gonnyjibson]

Yeah definitly an option but they aren't all right on the wall which is something to keep in mind! I doubt the hotels and BnB's are either though?

[@johnrodgers2018]

@@gonnyjibson a couple were, the Twice Brewed in was visible from the wall. But the rest were a 10 minute walk if I remember correctly. I am doing it again in 24 with my wife and camping is not an option with her :) , I doubt I will walk the wall again as there are so many other multidays I have scheduled, but if I ever do at least its an option now. thanks again for the upload

[@gonnyjibson]

Ah that doesn't sound too bad then! Glad you enjoyed it and have fun on your planned walks!

[@sharonhumphrey9129]

Hi really good video Im walking the wall on my own in a couple of weeks and the only thing worrying me is the cows!!

[@gonnyjibson]

Hahah I hope my video didn't make that worse! That field was the only one which we had to walk through that had cows in it really, the rest was just timid sheep! Hope you have a great time, let me know how you get on and if you need any tips 😁

[@stushikesandrides]

Great video you two, I just finished my hike on Saturday. I walked in the same direction as you but apart from the first stop I stayed in different places. I’ve yet start editing my film but im sure it won’t be up to this standard! Subscribed.

[@gonnyjibson]

Thanks Stu! Hope you enjoyed it and the weather held out for you? Looking forward to your video! Subscribed back 👍

[@stushikesandrides]

@@gonnyjibson I had weather a bit like you but a lot of camp sites were saturated from the wettest spring they’ve had in a while and the owners trying to get them recovered for summer season so I had to be flexible as well and look for alternatives, I ended up using a few bunk barns instead.

[@gonnyjibson]

@@stushikesandrides ah thats a bit of a pain! Probably better than sleeping in a wet field though!

[@PO-vu2em]

I'm walking the wall with my dog in a couple of weeks. 2 Questions ...... Did you have any real trouble with cows? and where did you get the dogs waterproof from? Thanks xx

[@gonnyjibson]

I wouldn't say we had much trouble, probably just that one encounter really where we were followed which I caught in the video but it didn't amount to anything. And I'm afraid I don't know where the rain coat was from, sorry!

[@AndyAdventuring]

Do you need reservations for these campgrounds? Or can you just walk up and pay? If the latter, generally what hours are available for payment (ie: what happens if you get to camp late for some reason)?

[@gonnyjibson]

I would recommend making reservations as some of the sites we stayed at had limited pitches, but I think in most cases, you could probably just walk up and pay. I think office hours will vary a lot for each site, we had really good signal for the majority of the route so you could always just call up if you're going to be late and see what they say. There aren't actually that many campsites so you will probably know where your going to be at the end of each day so booking ahead is fairly low risk, unless you drastically change your pace as we did on the last day!

[@robertwidger6888]

Why a pack on the front as well as the back?

[@gonnyjibson]

It was Lara's first time backpacking so she just picked up a second hand bag which was more for travelling than hiking really and had a 1+1 set up. Additionally, quite a few extra items were needed for the dog such as a towel/food etc so it was handy to distribute that a bit👍

[@mikebreen2890]

For me...too much road, too many damned midges that didn't respect the border. Much better walks to be had.

[@gonnyjibson]

Yeah the eastern section along the roads is a little bit taxing but I recon it is still a nice hike to tick off the list! Fortunately we were early enough to miss the midges but don't envy anyone who isn't!

[@mikebreen2890]

@@gonnyjibson Yea, it's not bad walk. Worth doing.

[@sylviasinclair9462]

Son did hike for charity not sign posted well..no snack shacks on route he took...followed hadrians wall path..took him centre Carlisle and bike route and roads ..not enjoyable experience especially with bad weather...campsites non existent too...if not jumping taxis

[@gonnyjibson]

Its a shame that he didn't have a good time! The weather makes a really big difference

[@goodyan4453]

Why kilometres?????

[@dermotleeson1348]

Been done hundreds of times on KZbin just getting boring now

[@pilgrimspassage8834]

What boring like your comment. Just dont watch it then you plum.........