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Open Hadrians Wall Trek Charity Challenge 2009 |
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Charity:
Open Events |
Challenge:
Hadrians Wall Challenge |
Dates:
24/09/2009 -28/09/2009 |
Deposit:
£
125 |
Minimum
Sponsorship: £
1000 |
Grade:
Moderate |
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The Roman Emperor Hadrian began the wall in AD 122 to prevent military raids on Roman Britain by the marauding Scottish tribes to the north and to improve economic stability in Britain to the south. It also marked the frontier of the Roman Empire of its day.
A significant portion of the wall still exists, particularly the mid-section, and for much of its length the wall can be followed on foot. It is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern England and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
The wall originally went from Newcastle all the way across the country to Bowness on Solway. The last few miles at the ends of the wall are now largely missing as to the west of Carlisle it was built of turf and has been replaced by a flat road and in Newcastle, it was used predominately as a construction material for newer builds! For this reason we have discounted these 2 stretches.
We have chosen the best of the walking where the scenery is at its most remote and picturesque, the wall is most in evidence and there are more roman ruins. We have therefore put together a 2 and a half day trip which will be challenging and beautiful walking.
Snacks will be given out in the morning to see you through to lunch. At lunch you will be given snacks to see you through to the end of the walking day. Dinner each day will be in the hostel. Lunch each day will be on the road.
Although the original wall was constructed starting in the east and moving west, the prevailing winds go from west to east. In an area as wet and wild as northern England, it is therefore important to travel with the weather rather than against it.
ITINERARY
Route: Carlisle to Brocolitia Roman Fort, 59kms, 1661 ascent, 1629m descent
Arrive Thursday evening. Dinner is not included in the price to give you the option of whether to join us or not and have some flexibility on travel options and times. The accommodation is in a youth hostel situated close to Hadrian’s Wall. This route is 3 nights and 2 and half days of walking with options on the 2nd 2 days for easier walking avoiding the steep ascent and descent of the crags
Trek Day 1: Friday
Carlisle to Birdoswald, 29kms, 386m ascent, 288m descent
Summary – 7.5 hours walking including snack stops
Breakfast, meet the guides and welcome briefing. Start walking from hotel to Carlisle Castle where we will start the walk officially.
The route takes you along the River Eden’s edge all the way out of Carlisle. You pass villages with names such as Walltown, Old Wall etc but there are no signs of the wall in the early stages of the walk. Eventually we leave the flat lands, moving away from the river and into the countryside proper always following the Hadrian’s Wall Path. We start to cross fields and the countryside becomes more undulating and the villages more picturesque. We have lunch in the village of Walton where you will find the Centurion Inn. Many of the stiles in this area are gated stiles which have 1-2 steps up to a small gate.
The walk gets hillier and we cross small rivers, lots of farm land, a few stiles and wonderful views. There is an optional additional walk to the wonderful Lanercost Priory which adds in just a couple of kilometres. Just at the entry to Banks is where we see the first vestige of the wall – a few metres worth. On our exit we finally see stretches of the wall, a turret and the remains of a signal tower. We continue on our walk until we reach Birdoswald Fort, which in Roman times housed over 1000 soldiers, and our finish destination.
Trek Day 2: Saturday
Birdoswald to Once Brewed, 18kms, Ascent 740m, descent 645m
Summary – 8.5 hour walking including snack stops
Coach to Birdoswald to start the walking where we left off the night before. The section of Wall to the east that we will do today, is the longest continuous stretch visible today. From here we make our way past more roman remains and into the spa town of Gilsland. It is after this that we are really aware of the Vallum (the massive southern trench the Romans used as a secondary defence) as we walk through it and to one side of it on several occasions. We pass the remains of Thirlwall Castle and then lunch at Walltown. From here we really hit the steeper areas as we summit crag after crag with the vestiges of milecastles and turrets along the way. We cross the site of an old Roman camp at Cawfields before we hit the rolling crags again with uneven terrain as we shadow the wall as it follows the contours up and down, and steep drops on one side.
We finish our day at Once Brewed National Visitor centre in the middle of the Northumberland National Park. Coach back to the Hotel and evening meal.
Trek Day 3: Sunday
Once Brewed to Brocolitia Roman Fort, 12km, ascent 535m, descent 696m
Summary – 3.5 hours walking including snack stops
We take the coach back to the National Visitor Centre at Once Brewed and walk up to the start of the path again. As we once more resume the steep ascent and descent of the crags we come across Sycamore Gap, made famous in Kevin Costner’s Film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, where it should have been in Sherwood Forest! We pass Housesteads Roman Fort remains and then climb up to our highest point of the day at 327m.
A couple of kilometres after this and we leave the higher ground behind as the wall is replaced by the road and the Hadrian’s Wall Path principally follows the route of the vallum. We pass another milecastle before encountering the ruins of the fort at Brocolitia. Here we will celebrate the end of our challenge at this 2000 year old remain.
Coach transfer to a celebratory lunch near the hostel.
TERRAIN
The majority of the walk is on rough pastureland. On the flatter areas there are also gravel paths, worn tracks, flag stones and concrete slabs. Some of the walk is also on tarmaced road. On the steeper routes, up the crags, this may involve almost scrambling with steep uneven terrain on worn grass, dirt or mud (depending in the weather), protruding rocks, laid steps of flagstones or imbedded rocks to protect against erosion. Both of the latter can become slippery in the wet.
There are numerous stiles on the route and 99% of them are unavoidable. The kissing gates are small but easily managed. The ladder stiles are numerous and of varying sizes – they can be slippery when wet. There are also many “rock stiles” where the wall has protruding rocks at various intervals to be used as steps to get you over the wall. There are only a handful of the “normal” narrow stiles which have narrow planks of wood.
WEATHER
Cumbria and Northumberland can have beautiful days of clear blue sunshine. However, 3 days of such would be miraculous! It is more likely that we will have rain at some point during the trip. Everyone must therefore have adequate clothing for all weather conditions. The principal equipment necessary will be boots, walking poles, waterproof tops and bottoms, day packs to carry kit in and snacks, water bottles or camelbacks. See full kit list.
Price per person
£450
Price includes
- Medics
- Guides at a ratio of 10 participants to 1 guide
- Tall Stories staff
- Accommodation in a YHA
- Full board and snacks (not including dinner on night of arrival)
- Support vehicles
- 2 different routes each on day 2 and 3 to allow those less fit or able to still complete the walk
- Coach transfers to beginning and from end of trek each day
Price does not include
Drinks with meals, personal insurance, travel to Carlisle
Option 1 – Fundraising Target: You will agree to raise the minimum fundraising target of £1000. You will pay the non refundable deposit of £125 to us at the time of registering for the event. You will then need to send all fundraising to your chosen charity. 8 weeks before the event, we will invoice the charity for your tour costs (£450 less the deposit of £125, i.e. £325), therefore you should ensure that you have raised in excess of this amount by this time. Every penny over this amount will benefit your charity (if you raise £1000, £675 will go to your charity).
Option 2 – Self payment: You will need to pay the cost of the event, £450, directly to us. This is due in two instalments. The first is a £125 non-refundable deposit along with your registration form when you sign up for the event. The second is the final balance of £325 due 8 weeks before departure. 100% of your fundraising, whatever the amount, will go to your chosen charity. Our recommended minimum sponsorship is £675 for this event, payable directly to your charity.
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More Information
Sarah Leach
sarah@tallstories.co.uk
0208 939 5225
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Downloads
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