Wallsend to Heddon on the Wall
The path starts by the Swan Hunter shipyard, famous for building such illustrious ships as the RMS Mauretania and RMS Carpathia, as well as the naval ships HMS Ark Royal and HMS Invincible.
Before starting the walk some walkers choose to visiting the nearby site of the Roman fort of Segedunum as it offers some historical context for what they are about to undertake.
Most of this section runs through urban areas, including through the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, where the recently redeveloped Quayside area has an almost continental feel with many cafes and bars. There are also spectacular views of the 6 bridges over the Tyne with the most renowned being the iconic Tyne Bridge itself.
From the Quayside the walk progresses along the banks of the Tyne to the western end of the city. It then passes through Newburn, home of the Hadrian and Border Brewery where Andy and Shona Burrows brew, amongst many excellent ales, the incomparable Tyneside Blonde.
There are occasional glimpses of wall remnants during the city section.
After Newburn the path leaves the river and moves north a little, through open countryside to Heddon on the Wall with Heddon meaning ‘hill where heather grew’.
This is where you’ll see the first proper piece of the Wall itself with a 220m section of the well-preserved broad-gauge wall.
The Wall was built initially in broad gauge, (the original specification when building began about AD 122), being 10 Roman feet (2.96m), before it was reduced to 8 Roman feet (2.37m) to increase the speed of construction. Here you’ll also see a late medieval corn-drying kiln cut into the core of the Wall which shows one of the many ways in which its ruins were exploited by people living along its line.