Walking the Best of Hadrian's Wall

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Dorothy Crossan, 17/09/2023

I like Headwater a great deal. The staff are very friendly and helpful. I like going on solo self-guided walks and I feel I can do that with the support of Headwater staff. Things do sometimes go wrong, eg i get lost, or there's an issue with a hotel. In such cases I've found the staff genuinely want to help me, not just because it's their job, and they will make sure I'm ok and everything is sorted out.

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Paul Meier, 03/09/2023

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Nigel Goodwin, 18/07/2023

Great walking on what is an amazing piece of history

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Mrs LEE-APPLEBY, 25/04/2023

I would thoroughly recommend the ‘Highlights of Hadrian’s Wall Walk’ as offered by Headwater to anyone looking for an interesting, moderate walk lasting less than a week including travel days. The landscape was more varied than I was expecting, with amazing views from the Sill, delightful pockets of woodland and lakes and rivers. We spent a bit of time exploring Vindolanda, Housesteads, the Roman Army Museum and the Sill Discovery Centre which added to the interest.

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Miss Kumar, 15/04/2023

Walking Hadrians Path was an excellent holiday but I think the 2 rating is too low. There were some parts that were difficult to walk and scrambling is not a 2 rating. I could not get a taxi to take me to Lanercost on Day 2 for the start of the walk. Other clients have said the same thing but nothing addressed. It was the goodwill of the Blenkinsopp hotel owner that saved the day. The Blenkinsopp staff are amazing as is the hotel and food esp. Carol's lamb roast. It is remarkable that guests are put in the George Inn esp. given previous feedback. The hotel is tired, my room was dirty and the staff are not welcoming. I realise location (Corbridge) might be the essential factor, but I wonder what is being done to incentivise the George to make much needed improvements. I received a Day 1 briefing but for the sake of 10mins, I am not sure what the point was. Going over the literature that I had already read didn't seem fruitful. Overall a positive experience and great walking holiday.

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Mr Taylor, 09/04/2023

I would recommend this holiday on basis that the selected itinerary and choice of accommodation which was excellent

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Mr Lewis, 07/04/2023

Excellent walking break though you do need a reasonable level of fitness as its long and tiring at times with lots of ascents. Hotel choices over all were well above expectations to the point that the worst accommodation was more within our expectations for a walking break. All instructions were very clear and easy to follow. You can book with Headwater with a level of confidence.

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Miss Adnitt, 04/04/2023

Fantastic walk along Hadrian’s wall. Beautiful scenery throughout . Very easy to follow the route via the route notes and waymarks . Accommodation was comfortable and friendly. The walking was just about right - challenging enough to be enjoyable but totally achievable . We used trains and taxis at the start and end and that was very easy. If you want to visit the museums it might be worth putting in an extra night as would be tricky to fit all that in with the walking; we were happy just to walk . Highly recommend and good price

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Mr Thorne, 26/09/2022

great experience

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Mr Rugg, 11/09/2022

This was a lovely trip. The notes for the walk were excellent - very helpful. This a walk so worth doing even though it was quite taxing in parts.

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Mr Powell, 09/09/2022

The holiday and value for money was let down by the George Hotel experience

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Dr Calman, 21/08/2022

Excellent walking and grand countryside. Luggage transfer worked perfectly. Walking notes were spot-on. The choice of itinerary, start and end points were excellent for public transport. I took the advice of some of your reviewers and stayed an extra night at Twice Brewed to visit the museums (Vindolanda, Chesters, Housesteads) on a non-walking day (AD 122 bus) and was glad that I did. Vindolanda alone took over 2 hours and I could have stayed longer. I allowed time at the end to visit the Roman Town and museum at Corbridge - an excellent finale to the week. Some of the walking was challenging but the lengths of the stages were well managed and this 76-year-old enjoyed herself very much. Hotels were well chosen (the food at Greenhead and at Corbridge was excellent) but although The George at Chollerford is stunningly situated and I had a lovely modern room, management was woefully absent and food was awful. The weather was perfect. I had a great holiday. Thankyou Headwater!

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Mrs Adams, 06/08/2022

The hadrians wall holiday is well thought out with extremely detailed route notes and with accommodation in all the right places . The scenery is stunning , and the food in all but one of the pubs was good . We stayed two nights at twice brewed in order to be able to take part in an excellent star gazing event and also to visit vindolanda. The baggage transfers worked really smoothly . The AD 122 bus ( every two hours along the route ) was really helpful for getting around . The only thing I can say is that the taxi to

The start of the first days walking was expensive … but there is no other way of getting there ! Also , the stay at the George hotel was decidedly substandard : grubby rooms, weedy garden, food not great , broken shower . I would want to stay somewhere else really .

Thanks headwater for a great holiday .

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Mr Holroyde, 16/05/2022

Everything went well, service, help from Headwater, notes etc. The only thing as a group was why we were put in the Hadrian Hotel, rather than the George Hotel. Whilst the Hadrian hotel is good, its no longer geared to walkers, with their expensive evening taster menu and slightly further off the walk. We found it odd walking the extra 1.5 miles to this hotel, as we passed the George Hotel. The breakfast at the Hadrian's was excellent. We did talk to the staff who explained some of the history with Headwater, but going forward I would have thought we should have stayed at the George, particularly as we booked over a year ago.

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Mrs Barber, 19/04/2022

Hadrian’s Wall is England’s greatest ancient monument, a unique defensive structure that defies belief, and to walk so closely alongside it for four days is an absolute privilege. It is in many places a challenging walk because the Romans did not try to build round the major crags and contours through which it winds. The atmosphere the Wall generates, of looking north and imagining the possibility of imminent attack, is present throughout and further enhances the whole experience. This is greatly increased by visiting the museums along the route, especially Vindolanda and Housteads, though we would strongly recommend going to these a day before setting out on the journey rather than at the end of a strenuous day’s walking. This holiday was splendidly organised for us by Headwater, the walking notes were excellent, the arrangements for leaving and picking up our car worked well and despite some variation in the quality of the hotels, we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

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Dr WILSON, 07/09/2021

Headwater's choice of start and end points for the Hadrian's Wall walk were absolutely spot on. This, combined with the West-to-East direction of travel definitely gave this an advantage over others. The hotels were very welcoming and of a high standard. We couldn't fault any of the arrangements. The guide notes and maps were easy to follow and very comprehensive - especially when pointing out Roman remains that might otherwise have been missed. Our friends had to postpone this trip and we are extremely happy to be re-booked to do it all again with them. We are also looking to see which other walking trips we can book with Headwater as we have been so impressed with everything.

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Mrs MUNRO, 30/08/2021

We found getting taxis problematic. We struggled but did suceed to get a taxi from Twice brewed to Greenhead but with 24 hours notice, the greenhead hotel was unable to get ys a taxi to Lanercost for the 1st days walk, for which we had prebooked tickets at the priory. Luckily your helpful agenr was able to find us a taxi but it was £30. I think this taxi in particular should be part of the included arrangements.

We took tge bus back to the car rather than another difficult and expensive taxi ride.

I would recommend 2 nights ar twice brewed as we did not have time to see Housesteads at all and rushed Vindolanda.

I found day 3 walking exhausting and the times optimistic for an over 60s moderately fit woman. We used the bus for the last part of the walk.

Day 1 was the highlight

The Angel Inn is quite noisey and id recommend investigating other eating options in Corbridge.

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Mrs HOSKINS, 16/08/2021

This holiday exceeded our expectations

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Mrs DUFFIELD, 16/08/2021

A great week. We have to mention the Star Gazing at Twice Brewed which was great. Walk notes were very accurate and easy to follow. A well needed holiday enjoyed by everyone.

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Ms SHARMAN, 10/08/2021

A walking holiday packed with historical sites. Advisable to pre-book taxis and evening meals.

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Mr GOLDINGAY, 24/07/2021

Extremely enjoyable walking, with lovely pubs to stay in at the end of each day. Food in the hotels at the end of each day was good, with the Hadrian Hotel in particular standing out as excellent.

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Mr JENKINS, 21/07/2021

An excellent walking holiday with a lot of variation each day in landscape and history.We spent an extra day(and night) at Twice Brewed to enable us to visit Housesteads and Hexham at leisure using the AD122 bus and fitted in Corbridge Roman Town and Aydon Castle by arriving early on Day 1. It was not as easy obtaining a taxi for 9-9.30 am from Greenhead to Lanercost Priory on day 2 as explained in the Information Notes. We managed to get one but the cost was £18. Having to leave our car at Twice Brewed rather than at Corbridge was a great advantage. However, we managed to avoid the suggested use of a taxi at the end to get us from Corbridge back to Twice Brewed at the price of £40 by using a No.10 bus to Hexham and then an AD122 bus to Twice Brewed as advised by a local taxi firm! As we have bus passes, this was a free option!Because of the number of places of interest to visit and the length of the walks,the preliminary research done proved very beneficial.Baggage transfers excellent

Headwater response:
Thank you for your holiday summary, it is great to see you had an excellent holiday with us. We appreciate the additional advice you have offered - very beneficial to our team and future customers. Thank you for choosing Headwater for your UK break in 2021.
Headwater Customer Service Team

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Ms GRAVELL, 19/07/2021

An amazing privilege to travel this ancient route and see the remains and ruins of the Vindolanda, Housesteads and Chesters forts, as well as the impressive roman town at Corbridge. (It's worth joining English Heritage, as this repays itself by the time you have also visited these sites as well as the medieval Lanercost Priory and Aydon Castle.)

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Mrs SMITH, 27/06/2021

A wonderful walk that takes in the best of Hadrians Wall with plenty of time to see various sites along the route. The walking is very varied each day so no chance of getting bored of the scenery. The Hotel(s) service and food was a genuine pleasure to experience at the end of the day. A most enjoyable holiday.

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Mr INGHAM, 26/06/2021

The Hadrian's Wall walk was excellent - beautiful scenery, lots of history and good weather. The routs was easy to follow and the walking well within our capabilities. Two Brewed is on the Pennine Way and the Hadrian's Wall Way and was quite crowded. The Angel in Corbridge felt under staffed at times and was also busy. This would be less of a concern when COVID was not around.

Price wise, which acknowledging hotels are keen to recoup losses from the last 16 months, we felt there were some issues in respect of charges and the quality offered. This was particulalry so in respect of The Angel.

Headwater response:
Thank you for taking the time to share your holiday experience with us. It is lovely to read you enjoyed your time away with us. Thank you for your comments regarding price and quality, our Programme Manager is in receipt of your feedback and will look further in to this matter.
Headwater Customer Service Team

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Mrs WILSON, 21/06/2021

Lovely holiday walking Hadrian’s Wall organised by pleasant and efficient office staff. We even had some sunshine as an added bonus! Hotels all good but bag transfers arriving late was very annoying after long days walking. Value for money questionable overall. Had to get own taxi to start our 5 days (£45 Corbridge to Greenhead). Then charged £30 for taxi from Greenhead to Lanercost. Suggest others shop around taxi firms and book in advance. Admission to Roman sites also additional cost. We ate in the hotels in which we stayed. All very good apart from the Angel Inn which was just ok. Suggest book a different restaurant in Corbridge. We booked with Headwater as it gave us a sense of security in these uncertain COVID days. Some room for improvement though!

Headwater response:
Thank you for your holiday summary, we are very pleased to learn you enjoyed your time on holiday with us. We are sorry to learn of the luggage arriving late, we have addressed this with our baggage handling company and we have sent you a private message with a more in depth explanation. Thank you for your feedback, it is only through our customer feedback that we are able to continuously improve our product.
Headwater Customer Service Team

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Mr BALDWIN, 31/05/2021

Though pretty gruelling (for two old men at any rate), it was a wonderful experience. The Headwater organisation from start to finish was superb and all the arrangements with hotels etc went very smoothly.

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Mrs Bartlett, 20/09/2020

We had very enjoyable holiday despite the restrictions