Northumberland: Hadrian’s Wall, Housesteads Crags and Housesteads Fort – Walks in England’s National Parks

Northumberland offers the peace and quiet you’d expect from a vast, rugged borderland, its trails often feeling like a far cry from some of our national parks’ honeypot sites. The national park encompasses arguably the finest sections of Hadrian’s Wall country, the Kielder Forest region and the Simonside and Cheviot Hills, so there’s plenty to explore.

This walk discovers probably the most famous section of the Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail, visiting the oft-photographed tree at Sycamore Gap, the cliffs of Steel Rigg, and Housesteads Roman Fort, one of the best preserved remnants of Roman rule. Oh, and then there’s plenty of original wall along this stretch too, as well as wide-ranging views across a beautifully bleak landscape.

From the Sill, cross the Military Road with care and ascend to Steel Rigg, where you join the Hadrian’s Wall Path. It’s easy to see why the defensive wall was built along such an escarpment; the gradients leading up to it would have been a huge disadvantage for any attacking force, let alone Steel Rigg’s sheer crags.

A dip in the scarp brings you to Sycamore Gap, an effortlessly charming and photogenic spot, immortalised in the classic 1991 film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The Wall Path continues alongside Crag Lough and onwards, tracing the crest of the escarpment to reach the remains of Housesteads Roman Fort, thought to have been built in AD 124. You can admire the ruins from the trail, or purchase a ticket from the nearby visitors’ centre to explore them closer up.

Not far beyond the fort, the route turns on itself and heads back parallel to the north of the escarpment and its wall. This gives you the opportunity to enjoy the views of the scarp and its various features, along with a real sense of the scale of Hadrian’s achievement. Once back at the western end of Steel Rigg, descend the path you came up on to return to the Sill Visitors’ Centre.