The #1 Guide To The Coast to Coast Baggage Transfer
The Coast to Coast Baggage Transfer article we have put together below is aimed at helping you choose between the various business who offer their services on the popular Coast to Coast trail stretching 190 miles from St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay. To find out more information on the Coast to Coast visit our walk page here.
Many popular long distance trails in the United Kingdom are now supported with Baggage transfer, which opens the trails up to individuals of all abilities, rather than hardened backpackers or lightpackers.
With any of our articles, we encourage you to contact the companies we suggest to see which works for you.
Ok! Here are our pick of Coast to Coast baggage transfer companies.
Sherpa Van provide luggage transfer services on a number of long distance walks, either as part of their excellent accommodation booking services, or as a stand-alone service.
Sherpa Van offer an online booking element to their business making it particularly easy to make arrangements without having to pick up a phone, or to-and-fro with emails. The online system does require some tedious inputting of details in order to share your accommodation information for each day of bag movements required. However you have the assurances of booking with a well regarded business who employ local drivers to move your bags.
The terms of their Coast to Coast Baggage Transfer are as follows:
£9.45 per bag per movement A minimum of £25 per booking A minimum 1 bag for walks duration with a maximum of 20 kg per bag A £25 non-refundable deposit is payable at checkout If you only need 1 – 2 moves please contact the office for pricing
A fitting name, for a business who specialise in moving bags. If you are looking for a luggage transfer business who know the trail well, and can provide an unparralelled service on the Coast to Coast walk then look no further than the Coast to Coast Packhorse.
Of course packhorses would be a slow way of moving bags, and likely the prices would be higher. So instead your bags are moved by able bodied drivers and their trusty vans.
In addition to providing baggage transfer, Coast to Coast Packhorse also offer the following:
Passanger Transfers, Car Parking, guided and self-guided cycle tour packages (including GPS and bike hire), running tours, again both self guided, and guided and of course walking packages.
The terms of their Coast to Coast Baggage Transfer are as follows (copied from their website).
Excellent working relationship will all accommodation hosts Regular as clockwork and fully reliable Tags and labels sent out to you in advance Excess baggage storage and delivery to final destination Prices for walkers from £10.00 per move OR £140 for up to 16 moves (whichever is lower) If booking less than 24 hours before first transfer – £11.00 per move
Lake District Baggage transfer are a new business, started in Late 2020. We did a piece about them here.
They offer baggage transfer on a number of routes, including the Cumbria Way, Cumberland Way, Eden Way, and all versions (cycling, walking & running) of the Coast to Coast walk.
The terms of their Coast to Coast Baggage Transfer are as follows.
Prices from £24.00 (£12.00 per bag) Maximum transfer distance per bag, per day is 30 miles Bookings made within 24 hours of pick up are subject to a 10% surcharge Maximum weight per bag is 20kg
Hadrian’s wall is a feat of engineering like no other. It is world UNESCO site and features some of the most beautiful landscapes in the North of England. The path starts in Bowness-in-Solway and finishes in Wallsend in Newcastle covering 85 miles. The path itself follows the original Roman wall and covers beautiful hills, farmland, riverside trails, and plenty of the beautiful and staggering wall itself.
For my hike I opted to start in Carlisle and finish at Newcastle train station as it made sense logistically, however meant I only covered 66 miles of the 85. The sections I missed were mainly road walking and a bit of river walking but made no real difference to the overall trail and in my opinion, are worth missing out.
I completed the walk in November 2021 in a total time of 46 hours and 30 minutes.
Day 1
I started the trail in beautiful sunshine, taking a steady walk out of Carlisle and down the river following the signposted pathway. The scenery was beautiful from the onset but was a little tough on the feet fairly fast as it was just road walking. After about 5-10 miles the trail led into some farmland and it was plain to see by how straight the path was, it was following the wall at this point and the landscape had scars from its construction. The wall itself wasn’t really visible at this point and most of the stone was presumably stolen for farms and maybe the Priory not far from there.
As the day went on, the Autumn chill was present and with the speed, I was going I soon found myself running short on water. The water situation was quite a problem for the whole trail as the farmland just seemed to contaminate any water sources I could have used.
As I headed through Walton, I had some beautiful views south towards Cross fell and looked forward to heading into some hills and getting to see the wall proper.
Hadrian’s wall really comes into its own around the 30-mile mark and soon joins with the Pennine Way. It was beginning to get a little dark by the time I hit some of the main sections of the wall, but I scored some awesome photos and spoke to cool people along the way. I carried on cruising along into the night and soon found a place to pitch near Walltown Crags about 10m from the wall itself. Once pitched I sorted some food out and had a little wander around taking in the scale of the wall. In the dark, it was easy to see what type of challenges the Roman soldiers must have faced patrolling the wall.
I finally went to sleep around 10pm and slept really well until about 5am.
Day 2
I made myself a drink and headed into the fog, visibility was very poor, and I was left with the damp morning air surrounded by thick fog and my own thoughts. I plodded along keeping a straight path next to the wall and past sheep (at one point I thought a sheep lying down was some type of bear, luckily it wasn’t). I chose a spot for breakfast in one of the old roman towers which seemed like a good shelter from the wind. I quickly made my breakfast, brushed my teeth, and carried on my way. I reached Cawfields lake where I was able to fill my water bottles back up as they were getting desperately low. I spotted someone in the distance at this point ascending the hill towards Thorny Doors and was determined to catch up.
After ascending the hill I managed to catch up to the person I spotted earlier and spent my time chatting to him and we hiked along together. Turns out he was walking The Pennine Way solo which is quite a challenge in November I would imagine. We walked along, barely getting a glimpse of Sycamore Gap due to poor weather and visibility, but the company was great. Eventually, we parted ways and he went North into Kielder, I fantasized about joining him in his journey North but didn’t have the time.
As I headed East the weather began to clear and I saw some daunting-looking hills in the distance and knew I would have to ascend them at some point. I managed to get some good visibility at one of the old Roman Villas and spent a little bit of time exploring the ruins before carrying on my journey, I was still awe-struck at the scale of Hadrian’s Wall.
I was hitting around the 50-mile point of the journey now and nearing Chollerford where I hoped to score a pub meal or something of the like. Unfortunately, I was out of luck but a few miles further down the road in the fading light, I had spotted the Robin Hood Inn on the Hiiker app. I hoped this would be open and thinking of a nice cold pint and some good food spurred me on to crush the 5 miles or so to my destination.
I was in luck and scored an awesome burger, 3 pints of beer and 2 pints of coca-cola which quite honestly bloated me to no end and made me feel quite sick. Luckily, I would burn it off fairly soon.
I headed East and hoped to pitch up near Whittle burn reservoir so carried on with my journey in the cold. It was getting late, and I was walking next to a busy road. I eventually arrived at the reservoir and lucked out as there was a bird watching shelter that I took full advantage of or so I thought…
At around midnight I was woken a loud bang and a 4×4 revving its engine, I had a lookout of the window and spotted a guy breaking the gate to the reserve open and the driver of the 4×4 wheel spinning into the grounds. At this point, I was just thinking why do people behave like that. I hoped I would be sharing the shelter with some bird watchers. Turns out I was wrong!
3 guys got out of the vehicle and began having a loud chat about setting fireworks off whilst the 4th proceeded to fire rockets into the sky. I could hear the wildlife in the area and all of the birds screaming in a fit of panic as their tranquil night had been broken. The next part came fairly quickly with one of them saying they were going to fire loads of fireworks into the shelter so they could have a bonfire. At this point I was quite frankly scared out of my mind but decided to don my head torch and go to the door, luckily this worked as they must not have expected anyone to be there and they left without even a word. This experience was the worst I have ever had whilst out hiking!
Day 3
I didn’t get much sleep but cooked some breakfast about 4 am and set on my way towards Harlow Hill which was only about a mile away. I carried on to Heddon on the Wall and scored some snacks from the garage there as well as a drink which boosted my morale for the last part of the journey.
I descended through a golf course and hiked along the beautiful River Tyne speaking to the dog walkers along the way and reflecting on my journey. The path became boring quite quickly as it was just a path walking near the road for the most part. Eventually, I reached Newcastle and found my way to the train station where I had decided before the walk to end my journey.
I found Hadrian’s wall walk worth doing but I think the middle 30 miles where there are hills are the only worthwhile sections as all the sights happen here and the parts before and after are simply paths across fields and next to roads which really take it out of your feet.
I hope you enjoyed the blog and wish you all the best out there.
A well-waymarked, and super accessible route from both directions, the Hadrian’s Wall Path is a great place to start for new long distance hikers, but has loads to offer the more experienced.
The path features plenty of delightful villages that welcome walkers into the walker-friendly B&Bs and Inns. There is an abundance of wildlife on the route and the obvious Hadrian’s Wall, and its various museums and attractions on the way make for some interesting excursions.
Distance: 84 miles / 135km Start: Newcastle Finish: Bowness-on-Solway Duration: 4-7 Days
Itinerary
For most experienced walkers, and those with legs strong enough to take multiple back-to-back days of up to 15 miles I recommend the 7 walking day itinerary below. It stops in some of the best overnight locations, such as Chollerford and Gilsland where you will also find some extra interest in relation to the wall itself.
All distances are approximate, and the itinerary below is credited to Contours Walking Holidays.
Day
From
To
Miles
Km
1
Wallsend
Heddon-on-the-Wall
15
24
2
Heddon-on-the-Wall
Chollerford
15
24
3
Chollerford
Once Brewed
12
19
4
Once Brewed
Gilsland
8
13
5
Gilsland
Walton
8
13
6
Walton
Carlisle
11.5
18.5
7
Carlisle
Bowness-on-Solway
14.5
23
Please make note of the following helpful points:
Accommodation in many small villages on long distance routes is often limited, for busier trails, such as the Hadrian’s Wall Path booking ahead is essential.
The last stretch of the walk from Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway is a hard slog along long open tracks and very different to the hilly terrain in the middle of the route.
Accommodation in Heddon-on-the-Wall is limited.
Accommodation
The Hadrian’s Wall Path has a great selection of accommodation to meet a range of budgets. Wild camping is not permitted by law in England and Wales, however, if you are careful, you will find enough spots to camp out for the night on the path. B&B’s, Inns, and hotels are abundant, both near the trail, and using short taxi or bus transfers.
As this a busy trail booking ahead is strongly advised if you wish to stay in accommodation close to the trail.
Hostels
There are approximately 10 hostels on the path, most of which are within walking distance from the route, and well-spaced out. For budget travellers, a combination of campsites and hostels (for hot showers and mixing with walkers) is often a good choice.
Campsites
Campsites are available but spaced out, with some being set away from the trail which adds to your daily milage. Booking ahead, like any of the accommodation options here is strongly advised.
Hotels, Inn’s and B&B’s
There is an abundance of Hotels, Inn’s and B&B’s on the trail. However the latter part of the trail as you travel from Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway is now almost without good accommodation.
Walkers often choose to get the bus back into Carlisle finishing the walk, and for easy onward travel the following day.
Getting to and from the trail
Details coming soon
Guidebooks & Maps
Details coming soon
Trail Merch
Have you finished the walk, and want to remember your time on the trail? There really is no better way to remember your walk than with a Trail Print from Distance Hiker. Each trail print supports us into growing this website.
If you are planning on camping, staying in hostels or bunkhouses while you travel along the Hadrian’s Wall Path over 5 days, this article may not be for you. However, if you are looking for a luxury walking holiday experience along the Hadrian’s Wall walk 5 days itinerary you have come to the right place!
This 5 Day, 6 Night itinerary mixes up challenge with comfort. Take on the Hadrian’s Wall Path, with a daily average mileage of 16 miles, meanwhile, stay in some of the finest accommodations along the route.
I suggest breaking up the route with a few rest days, especially around Gilsland at the halfway mark.
The Itinerary
Travel to Newcastle and enjoy your first nights stay prior to walking Day 1: Wallsend to Heddon-on-the-Wall – Approx 15 miles Day 2: Heddon-on-the-Wall to Chollerford – Approx 15.5 miles Day 3: Chollerford to Gilsland – Approx 20 miles Day 4: Gilsland to Carlisle – Approx 19 miles Day 5: Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway – Approx 14.5 miles Onward travel from Bowness-on-Solway
In More Detail:
Travel to Newcastle and enjoy your first nights stay prior to walking
Your first night in Newcastle, with enough forward planning leaves you with a large array of rooms and hotels to choose from. Some are excellent, and some not so. However, you are here for excellence – unique experiences in unique, beautifully presented accommodation.
When in Newcastle, I suggest visiting the Sidney Grove Hotel. This uniquely furnished Scandi-Brit decor hotel oozes quality, charm and city chic. Expect continental or English breakfasts, good links into the city center and en-suites in all rooms.
Walk from Wallsend to Heddon-on-the-Wall
Heddon-on-the-Wall lacks higher-end accommodations and leaves you with a good, yet a not-quite-boutique selection of accommodations. However, we have you covered.
For your stay in Heddon-on-the-Wall, I recommend Close House, which is an 18th Century Mansion (the photo below is the restaurant). The accommodation is outstanding, with marble tiled bathrooms, 24-hour concierge service, separate lounge areas and beautiful grounds to enjoy.
Walk from Heddon-on-the-Wall to Chollerford
James & Emma who run The Coach House Bed & Breakfast has done an excellent job of renovating a period property into a modern accommodation that retains its charm. Big bay windows, spacious room, all with ensuites and subtle yet somehow bold furnishings help to create an excellent accommodation option for walkers wanting to stay in the Chollerford area.
Walk from to Chollerford to Twice Brewed
I wasn’t kidding when I promised a boutique list of B&B for your Hadrian’s Wall Walk. Check out Ashcroft Guest House in Haltwhistle, a short transfer from Twice Brewed, This former Victorian Vicarage rests in 2 acres of grounds and looks over the South Tyne Valley.
The B&B boasts luxury accommodation with elegantly furnished rooms, comfortable beds and a 5 star rating and Visit Britain Gold Award.
Walk from to Lanercost to Carlisle
Ok, I admit that picking a boutique hotel/B&B in Carlisle was tricky. Honestly, I struggled to find a quirky small B&B which is obviously independently owned and had the charm I was seeking. However, I found Willowbeck Lodge, which offers 5 en-suite rooms, 2 with corner baths and each overlooking the B&Bs own lake! The Rooms are wonderfully furnished and the B&B itself is full of interesting architecture and modern charm.
Walk from to Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway
Sadly Bowness-on-Solway has struggled to attract and retain B&Bs over the last few years. Many walkers simply stop here for a celebratory pint before heading back to Carlisle for onward travel.
