What is this 5-day itinerary?
Five days is the Hadrian's Wall Path with the middle joined up. From Chollerford you walk Housesteads, the switchback and Windshields Crags before Gilsland, so the hard ground and the long day are the same day. Heddon-on-the-Wall still ends the paved Tyne, and Carlisle still comes before the marshes. It is the fast week.
Read the Hadrian's Wall Path guide for the whole trail.
Will this 5-day split work for you?
- Fit walkers who want the fast week, with Housesteads and Windshields inside one day.
- The trail body allows 6 or 7 days for an experienced walker. Five joins that middle.
- A first long trail fits the 7-day better. Five asks for the switchback on the same day as the walk out of Chollerford.
Fitness & effort
You need to be fit enough for a long day that includes the switchback: short climbs, little shade, and Windshields at 1,131 ft (345 m) before the day is over. The Military Road the day before is steady and long in its own right. Navigation stays simple, the acorn posts, with a map worth carrying and weak phone signal in the middle. The Solway can flood on the last morning. Five days has no easy day in the centre to recover on.
Your 5-day route on the map
Guidebook direction
Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway in 5 days
East to west, Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway, the way the official guidebook is written. On-trail distances from our geometry. The walk from the path to the door is not included.
| Day | Stage | Distance | Overnight / destination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Wallsend → Heddon-on-the-Wall | 14.7 mi (23.6 km) | Heddon Lodge |
| Day 2 | Heddon-on-the-Wall → Chollerford | 16.4 mi (26.4 km) | George Hotel (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 3 Longest | Chollerford → Gilsland | 20.6 mi (33.1 km) | Dacre House (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 4 | Gilsland → Carlisle | 18.3 mi (29.5 km) | Carlisle Station Hotel | Sure Collection by Best Western (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 5 | Carlisle → Bowness-on-Solway | 15.5 mi (24.9 km) | Hadrian's Wall Path Finish |
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Day 1
Wallsend to Heddon-on-the-Wall
14.7 mi (23.6 km) ↑ 290 m (950 ft) ↓ 230 m (750 ft)
Segedunum, then the paved Tyne through Newcastle: quayside, Baltic, bridges, and the ribs of coal boats in the mud when the tide is out. Stephenson's cottage is half a mile off the Wylam Waggonway. Heddon is the first village. Five days leaves this start whole. The day that gets joined to the crags is the one after Chollerford.
Example stay Heddon Lodge
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Day 2
Heddon-on-the-Wall to Chollerford
16.4 mi (26.4 km) ↑ 440 m (1,450 ft) ↓ 460 m (1,500 ft)
General Wade's Military Road, the B6318, with the Wall under the tarmac. Field edges, the ditch to the north, a low ridge in the fields, and traffic for company. Little climb, and a long steady walk all the same. Chesters is at Chollerford. Sleep there properly. Tomorrow holds Housesteads, the switchback and Windshields before you reach a bed.
Example stay George Hotel (opens in a new tab)
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Day 3 Longest
Chollerford to Gilsland
20.6 mi (33.1 km) ↑ 1,080 m (3,550 ft) ↓ 1,020 m (3,350 ft)
The day this plan is built around. After Chesters the pasture rises, the Vallum shows, and the switchback begins, tougher than it looks and with little shade. Housesteads is on the escarpment. Windshields Crags, 1,131 ft (345 m), comes later, and from Walltown a clear day shows Scotland and the Solway. Greenhead has food. Gilsland is the bed, a long way after the high point, so start early and carry more water than you think.
Example stay Dacre House (opens in a new tab)
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Day 4
Gilsland to Carlisle
18.3 mi (29.5 km) ↑ 370 m (1,200 ft) ↓ 470 m (1,550 ft)
Easier ground, and you will feel yesterday in your legs. Birdoswald is the fort just on from Gilsland, Hare Hill is the last standing Wall walking west, and then the line is a ditch, a ridge and a little woodland. The Eden takes you into Carlisle. There is no Brampton night on five days. Villages along this stretch are small, so eat in Gilsland before you leave and keep the afternoon free.
Example stay Carlisle Station Hotel | Sure Collection by Best Western (opens in a new tab)
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Day 5
Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway
15.5 mi (24.9 km) ↑ 200 m (650 ft) ↓ 200 m (650 ft)
The marshes, after two long days. The Eden leads out to the Solway, Scotland across the water, barely a climb, and the route description asks you to take it slowly. Dykesfield to Drumburgh floods, and so does Port Carlisle into Bowness-on-Solway, on a Silloth tide of 9 metres or more. Allow an hour either side and check before Carlisle. The King's Arms has the last passport stamp.
Finish Hadrian's Wall Path Finish
Cross-check: National Trails route description . The walking on this page follows that description. Distances on the cards are measured on our line.
Weather behind you
Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend in 5 days
Same nights, starting at Bowness-on-Solway. The weather usually sits behind you, and the crags face the other way. The last walking day ends at Wallsend.
| Day | Stage | Distance | Overnight / destination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Bowness-on-Solway → Carlisle | 15.5 mi (24.9 km) | Carlisle Station Hotel | Sure Collection by Best Western (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 2 | Carlisle → Gilsland | 18.3 mi (29.5 km) | Dacre House (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 3 Longest | Gilsland → Chollerford | 20.6 mi (33.1 km) | George Hotel (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 4 | Chollerford → Heddon-on-the-Wall | 16.4 mi (26.4 km) | Heddon Lodge |
| Day 5 | Heddon-on-the-Wall → Wallsend | 14.7 mi (23.6 km) | Wallsend |
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Day 1
Bowness-on-Solway to Carlisle
15.5 mi (24.9 km) ↑ 200 m (650 ft) ↓ 200 m (650 ft)
Check the tide before you leave Bowness. The path through Port Carlisle, and the marshes back toward Drumburgh, can flood on a high tide. Then the flat estuary, Scotland behind you, and the Eden into Carlisle. Little climb. The city is where the buried Wall takes over from the shore.
Example stay Carlisle Station Hotel | Sure Collection by Best Western (opens in a new tab)
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Day 2
Carlisle to Gilsland
18.3 mi (29.5 km) ↑ 470 m (1,550 ft) ↓ 370 m (1,200 ft)
The Eden takes you out of Carlisle, then field paths and the buried Wall, with a little woodland. Hare Hill and Birdoswald come at the end, so the last standing stones and the fort close the day. The crags start once you are through Gilsland. The walking stays gentle until then.
Example stay Dacre House (opens in a new tab)
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Day 3 Longest
Gilsland to Chollerford
20.6 mi (33.1 km) ↑ 1,020 m (3,350 ft) ↓ 1,080 m (3,550 ft)
Windshields comes early, the highest point on the trail, then the switchback and Housesteads, with those short climbs now mostly descents. It is still a long day, and still exposed. Greenhead is the food stop. Chesters waits where the high ground gives way to the Military Road.
Example stay George Hotel (opens in a new tab)
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Day 4
Chollerford to Heddon-on-the-Wall
16.4 mi (26.4 km) ↑ 460 m (1,500 ft) ↓ 440 m (1,450 ft)
Chesters is behind you as you turn onto the Military Road. The Wall stays under the tarmac, so follow the ditch on the north side and the ridge in the fields. Farm edges, few climbs, and the road never quite leaves you. Heddon is the last village before the path drops into Newcastle.
Example stay Heddon Lodge
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Day 5
Heddon-on-the-Wall to Wallsend
14.7 mi (23.6 km) ↑ 230 m (750 ft) ↓ 290 m (950 ft)
The Wylam Waggonway comes first, with George Stephenson's cottage half a mile off, and then the path turns to pavement. Newcastle arrives as the quayside, the bridges, and the Baltic. The day ends at Segedunum. If the tide is out, the ribs of the old coal boats are in the Tyne mud.
Finish Wallsend
5-day itinerary FAQ
Why is five days harder than six?
Six days sleeps at Once Brewed, so the switchback and Windshields are their own day. Five walks Chollerford to Gilsland in one go, and that day holds the crags. The trail body tells an experienced walker to allow 6 or 7 days.
Where do I eat on the long day?
Greenhead, between the high crags and Gilsland. There is little before that once you leave Chollerford, and a bright day on the switchback has little shade. Carry water, and start early enough that Windshields is not a rush.
Does the finish flood?
Yes, it can. Between Dykesfield and Drumburgh, and between Port Carlisle and Bowness-on-Solway, a Silloth tide of 9 metres or more covers the path. Stay clear for an hour either side. Check before you leave Carlisle.
Can I download a GPX for the 5-day Hadrian's Wall Path?
Yes. Open this itinerary in the planner (free, no account). Download a full-route GPX or per-day files for Garmin, Komoot, or your phone. You can export the preset unchanged or edit overnight stops first.
Personalise this itinerary
This 5-day itinerary is ready as it stands. Open it in the planner to keep these stops, or change where you sleep, then download the GPX for your watch or phone.
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