Hadrian's Wall & Northumberland National Park: History, Forts & the Best Walks

Hadrian's Wall crosses the narrow neck of northern England from the Tyne to the Solway Firth, and in its wildest central section it rides the crest of a long, dark ridge of rock high above Northumberland's moors and loughs. To the north stretch the hills of the Northumberland National Park, designated in 1956.

Why Hadrian's Wall Country Is Special

There is nowhere else in Britain where you can walk beside a Roman frontier through such grand, empty countryside. Between Housesteads and Steel Rigg the wall dips and climbs along the cliffs of the Whin Sill above Crag Lough, exactly where its builders placed it nearly 1,900 years ago.

The Northumberland National Park is one of the least visited and most tranquil in England, and together with Kielder it forms one of the largest areas of protected dark sky in Europe.

The History of Hadrian's Wall Country

The wall was begun in AD 122, after the emperor Hadrian visited Britain, to mark and guard the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. It ran for 80 Roman miles, about 73 miles, from Wallsend on the Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway, with small forts called milecastles every Roman mile and larger forts along its length.

Housesteads, the Roman Vercovicium, is the most complete Roman fort in Britain, with its barracks, granaries, commandant's house and famous latrines still clearly laid out on the hillside. Nearby Vindolanda, a fort just south of the wall, has yielded the Vindolanda tablets, wooden writing tablets that are among the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain, including a birthday invitation from one officer's wife to another.

The wall became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and it is now part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site. The Hadrian's Wall Path national trail, opened in 2003, follows it for 84 miles from coast to coast. At Sycamore Gap, a much-loved sycamore that had stood in a dip in the wall for well over a century was cut down in September 2023.

What to See & the Best Walks at Hadrian's Wall Country

Visit Housesteads Roman Fort (English Heritage and National Trust) and Vindolanda with its Roman Army Museum nearby (check opening times). Then walk the wall from Steel Rigg to Housesteads, past Crag Lough and Sycamore Gap, one of the finest short walks in England.

Further north, the Cheviot Hills and the remote valleys of Coquetdale and the College Valley offer quiet walking, and Kielder Water and Forest, beside the park, have a fine observatory for stargazing.

Wildlife at Hadrian's Wall Country

The moors and loughs are home to curlews, lapwings and black grouse, and Kielder Forest is one of the strongholds of the red squirrel in England. Feral goats roam the Cheviots. Please keep dogs on leads near livestock and ground-nesting birds.

Gardens, Countryside & Antiques near Hadrian's Wall Country

See the Northumberland National Park and Hadrian's Wall Path listings. The Pennine Way shares the wall between Greenhead and Housesteads before striking north over the Cheviots.

For gardens, Belsay Hall Quarry Garden and The Alnwick Garden are within an easy drive, and the coast is covered in our guide to the Northumberland Coast.

Hadrian's Wall Country Through the Seasons

Spring brings curlews back to the moors. Summer is the season for walking the whole trail. Autumn colours the woods of the Tyne valley, and the long, dark winter nights are the best time for stargazing.

Getting to Hadrian's Wall Country

The Tyne Valley railway between Newcastle and Carlisle stops at Hexham, Haltwhistle and Bardon Mill, and in summer the AD122 bus runs along the wall.

Hadrian's Wall Country: Questions & Answers

How long is Hadrian's Wall?

80 Roman miles, about 73 miles, from Wallsend on the Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway. The Hadrian's Wall Path national trail is 84 miles.

What is the best section of Hadrian's Wall to see?

The central section between Steel Rigg and Housesteads, where the wall runs along the crags above Crag Lough.

Our Advice

Our advice: Walk the wall from Steel Rigg to Housesteads in the morning, see the fort, then go to Vindolanda in the afternoon to meet the people who lived here.