 |
Anglotopia Podcast | Discussing UK British Travel, History, Culture, London, British Slang, and More!The Podcast for People Who Love All Things British Author: Anglotopia LLC
The Anglotopia Podcast is your deep dive into the rich and diverse world of British culture, hosted by Jonathan and Jacqueline Thomas, publishers of Anglotopia.net and Londontopia.net. Each episode takes you on a journey through iconic British television, captivating historical events, and essential travel tips, ensuring you experience the very best of the British Isles. Our engaging discussions feature important British guests and authors, covering everything from the latest trends and timeless traditions to hidden gems and popular landmarks. Whether you're a passionate Anglophile or simply curious about the UK, our podcast offers a delightful mix of insights and entertainment. Join us as we celebrate the charm, heritage, and unique allure of Britain, making every episode a must-listen for anyone who loves all things British. Language: en Genres: Places & Travel, Society & Culture, TV & Film Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
I Walked Hadrian’s Wall Coast to Coast — Here’s What It Was Actually Like – Blisters, Meat Pies & Beautiful Countryside
Friday, 16 October, 2026
Jonathan is finally ready to talk about it. After fifteen years of wanting to, a year of preparation and nine days of walking, he completed the Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail — coast to coast across the neck of England, from Wallsend in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west, following a line a Roman emperor drew across Britain nearly two thousand years ago. This is the full account: what it was actually like, what he learned, the glorious bits and the genuinely hard bits, and whether you should do it too. The honest version includes a first leg out of Newcastle that was frankly a disappointment — graffiti on every information board, burnt-out shopping trolleys, an industrial hum he recognized from growing up near the Indiana steel mills. It includes three cafés and leisure centers that turned out to be shut when he arrived starving. It includes a thousand-foot climb he's not sure he could have managed if he hadn't broken the first day in half, and a final fifteen-mile stretch across open marshland with no shade and cars passing at sixty that was, he says plainly, the hardest day of the whole thing. But it also includes the day that made the entire walk worth it: a tiny church alone on a hill at Heavenfield, sheltered from a ferocious wind by ancient trees, empty, silent, and one of the most beautiful places he has ever been. And a man in a lay-by whose entire job is selling two-pound cups of tea to walkers, who became his hero. And honesty sheds with kettles and PayPal QR codes. And a communal dinner with eleven strangers at a Lanercost B&B that he dreaded and which turned out to be one of his favorite evenings of the trip. And standing at the little hut at Bowness with Scotland in the distance, phoning his wife in tears. Plus the practical stuff: how the self-guided model actually works, why you will walk considerably more than 84 miles, why distance is a bad measure of difficulty, and what he'd tell you to do differently. 🥾 OUR SPONSOR: MACS ADVENTURE This episode is brought to you by Macs Adventure — the self-guided walking and cycling specialists who planned and booked Jonathan's entire Hadrian's Wall walk and made it possible. The self-guided model is the reason a walk like this is achievable for someone who isn't a hardened hiker. You walk at your own pace, on your own, but everything else is arranged: a bed booked every night along the route, breakfast included, and — the genuinely magic part — luggage transfer, so you leave your bag at reception each morning and it appears at your next stay while you carry only a day pack. You also get their app, which handles navigation, distance, pace, elevation profiles and a written briefing for each day including where to find food and facilities. There's a 24-hour emergency line if things go wrong. As Jonathan puts it: you still have to walk every hard mile yourself, and nobody carries you. But the logistics are handled by a staff of people who have done these walks themselves, and that is what makes it manageable. Hadrian's Wall Path — East to West — 9 days, 8 nights (the direction Jonathan walked) Hadrian's Wall Path — West to East — 9 days, 8 nights, with the prevailing weather and sun at your back Best of Hadrian's Wall Path — shorter options if you want the finest central section without the full coast-to-coast All Macs Adventure Hadrian's Wall itineraries Book one a year ahead if you can — there is a limited stock of accommodation near the trail, and Jonathan's was booked the October before he walked. Links The Trail Itself Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail — the official trail site Hadrian's Wall Path Passport — £6, stamped at points along the route, with the fee going toward maintaining the trail AD 122 Hadrian's Wall Bus — the seasonal bus along the central section, and a perfectly honorable way to skip a stretch SplashMaps — the fabric maps that also sponsored the walk, and which everyone along the trail admired East End — Newcastle & Wallsend Segedunum Roman Fort, Wallsend — the museum at the trail's eastern terminus, where you buy the passport Tynemouth Priory and Castle — English Heritage — the spiritual start of the Wall, even though the trail doesn't reach it Tynemouth Station Market — the antique and flea market in the railway station Heddon-on-the-Wall to Chollerford Wylam Waggonway — the old colliery waggonway, now a walking route through the woods George Stephenson's Birthplace — National Trust — the cottage on the Waggonway, worth a detour Corbridge Roman Town — English Heritage St Andrew's Church, Corbridge — the Roman arch scavenged into a Saxon tower St Oswald's Church, Heavenfield — the church alone on the hill, and the emotional high point of the walk Battle of Heavenfield — Oswald of Northumbria's victory, AD 633/634, after which he was later canonized The Central Section — The Best of It Chesters Roman Fort — English Heritage Carrawburgh / Brocolitia Temple of Mithras — English Heritage Housesteads Roman Fort — English Heritage — the largest fort on the Wall, and where Jonathan bought the stocking cap that saved his ears Winshields Crags — the highest point on the Wall, with its Ordnance Survey trig point The Twice Brewed Inn — the inn in the middle of nowhere, with its own brewery and stargazing Kielder Observatory — the major Northumberland observatory, further north in Kielder Forest Northumberland International Dark Sky Park Into Cumbria — Gilsland to the Sea Lanercost Priory — English Heritage — the ruin with a working church still inside it Abbey Farm House, Lanercost — Charlotte's B&B, the communal dinner, and the best night's stay of the trip Abbey Farm House photography workshops — Charlotte is an award-winning photographer Carlisle Cathedral — whose bells rang Jonathan out of town on the final morning St Mary's Church, Beaumont — said to be the only church built directly on Hadrian's Wall St Michael's Church, Burgh by Sands — where Edward I lay in state after dying nearby in July 1307 Bowness-on-Solway — the western terminus, and the little shelter where the trail begins and ends Coming Soon A series of roughly ten daily episodes recorded on the trail each evening, going much deeper into the day-to-day Anglotopia Friends of Anglotopia Club Anglotopia Store Takeaways The official distance is 84 miles. Jonathan's actual total was closer to 120. The gap comes from everything the trail map doesn't count: hotels that aren't on the route, walking into town to find dinner, a B&B half a mile from the nearest pub, and the two miles in Carlisle spent hunting for a restaurant that could seat him. If you're thinking "it's only 84 miles," adjust. Distance is a poor measure of how hard a day will be. Some of the shortest days — six or seven miles — were the most punishing, because of relentless climbing and descending. One of the longest was comparatively easy. Look at the elevation profile, not the mileage. Breaking the first day in half was the single best decision of the trip. The official day one is fifteen miles. Doing the first five on the afternoon you arrive in Newcastle leaves ten for the next day — and Jonathan is genuinely unsure he could have completed that day's thousand-foot climb otherwise. The first leg out of Wallsend is the least lovely part of the whole trail, and you should not judge the walk by it. Every information board was graffitied or damaged beyond reading. There was trash and burnt-out shopping trolleys. It's paved and easy but you can't see anything. It gets dramatically more beautiful after that — so keep going. Luggage transfer is transformative and you don't appreciate it until it's gone. Jonathan describes watching the van carry his bag past him on day seven and thinking only "stop, let me get in the truck." The morning after finishing, he instinctively rushed to pack for a transfer that no longer existed, and the luggage was suddenly his problem again. There is an entire economy of small kindnesses along the Wall, and it carries you as much as the logistics do. Tea vans parked in lay-bys. Honesty sheds with kettles, fridges, snacks and a tin for your money or a PayPal link. Ice cream vans in unexpected places. Jonathan's firm conclusion: the days with plenty of tea stops were dramatically easier than the days without, and that is not really about the tea. Stop when you can, and take the full hour. Jonathan found the afternoons after a proper sit-down were far better than the afternoons he tried to push through. The refreshment gets scarcer the further west you go, so never walk past tea assuming there'll be more. Learn to manage blisters before you leave. Jonathan had done a year of training but not enough long-distance walking to discover that he blisters at seven or eight miles, mostly on his left foot, which is a different size from his right. He had to learn the technique on the trail. Cared for properly — drained each night, aired out, dressed for the morning — blisters barely hurt. Cared for badly, they become open sores and a real problem. There is no prize for walking every step. Taxis are easy to find along the whole route, Uber works, and two buses cover the trail between them for about three pounds. If your body has had enough for the day, get on the bus — it is enough to simply be there doing it. Jonathan chose to walk the whole thing, saw the bus repeatedly and was tempted, but didn't. That was his choice, not a rule. The average walker Jonathan met was over sixty and doing this in retirement, which left him grateful to be doing it relatively young — and with a message for anyone putting it off. Stop waiting and just do it. You'll earn every view, and you'll never forget it. Soundbites "There's a slight madness to doing this walk. I'm an American — Americans are famously carbrained. Why would you walk somewhere when you could drive there? And that's kind of what made it worth doing." "I saw the luggage transfer van essentially take my bag past me, and all I could think is: stop, let me get in the truck and go with my bag." — Jonathan on day seven. "Don't let the lazy part of your brain tell you this sucks. Because it doesn't suck. It's hard. But it's amazing that your body can do this, and it's amazing you get to be in these landscapes." "You can sit there in the sanctuary and all you hear is the wind and the surrounding hills and silence. It was such an unexpected, peaceful place to have all to yourself. And I was like — this is why I'm doing this walk." — Jonathan on the church at Heavenfield. "I called my wife and said: honey, this was the perfect day. This was the kind of day I dreamed about since I set out to do this fifteen years ago." "In the back of the van was a full service tea shop. His job is he sits in this lay-by and serves tea to walkers. I cannot tell you how happy I was that this man was there to sell me a cup of tea. Two pounds. He was my hero that day." "It blows my freaking mind that this pub in the middle of nowhere in England has been brewing beer since long before America was in the glimmer of an eye of anybody." — Jonathan at the Twice Brewed Inn. "I saw a sign that said Carlisle 35 miles, and I realized I had to walk that 35 miles. If I was driving it would take 35 minutes. But no — it's actually going to take me two or three days. You start thinking about distance differently." "The wall is lined with small human kindnesses, and they carry you as much as the logistics do. There's an entire economy of businesses facilitating people doing this dream walk. That's a really beautiful thing." "I called my wife and said: I made it. I'm here. I made it the whole walk. And I literally broke down in tears. I'd been wanting to do this for fifteen years and I'd finally done it. My body let me do it." Chapters 00:21 "I'm Finally Ready to Talk About It" 00:35 Why This Episode Took Until October 00:59 What I Actually Did — Coast to Coast, 84 Miles, Nine Days 01:34 OUR SPONSOR — Macs Adventure, and Why the Walk Was Possible 02:39 WHAT IS HADRIAN'S WALL? — AD 122 and Emperor Hadrian 03:03 A Fuzzy Border and a Projection of Roman Power 03:45 The Trail vs. the Wall — Where They Diverge 04:34 WHY I DID THIS — Fifteen Years of Starting and Stopping 05:23 A Year of Preparation, Sponsors and Logistics 05:57 The Slight Madness of Walking Somewhere 06:09 "Americans Are Famously Carbrained" 07:03 HOW THE SELF-GUIDED MODEL WORKS 07:31 It Does Not Mean Camping 07:47 Quintin Lake Did It in Four Days — It Took Me Nine 08:00 A Bed Every Night, Breakfast Included 08:28 LUGGAGE TRANSFER — The Magic Bit 09:04 "Stop, Let Me Get in the Truck" 09:19 And Then Suddenly the Luggage Is Your Problem Again 09:38 You Don't Choose Your Hotels — And Why That's Fine 10:03 Book a Year Ahead 10:32 This Is the Overview — A Daily Series Is Coming 11:02 THE MACS ADVENTURE APP 11:44 Honest Framing — Nobody Carries You 12:34 THE WALK BEGINS 12:39 East to West or West to East? 13:41 DAY ZERO — Breaking the First Fifteen Miles in Half 14:16 Why Doing Five Miles on Arrival Day Saved Me 15:48 YOU WILL WALK MORE THAN 84 MILES 16:33 Closer to 120 — And Where the Extra Comes From 17:23 "It's Only 84 Miles" — It Is Further Than You Think 18:03 Exploring Newcastle, Then the Metro to Tynemouth 18:46 The Ruined Priory, the Bluff, and the Beach I Didn't Reach 19:05 WALLSEND AND SEGEDUNUM 19:20 The Hadrian's Wall Passport — £6 and the First Stamp 20:11 Skipping the Museum to Get Started 20:38 THE FIRST LEG WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT 20:59 Graffiti on Every Information Board 21:19 Trash, Burnt-Out Trolleys and an Industrial Hum 21:45 Walking Alone, and Meeting People Finishing 22:23 Were the Signs Bad? Not Really — They Were Damaged 22:47 Down the Zigzag to the Tyne 23:14 The First Shut Café 24:09 Into Central Newcastle on a Match Day 24:41 A Mile Uphill to the Hotel, and Nothing Left 25:31 Three Orders, Nothing Available 26:04 DAY TWO — Taxi to the Trailhead 26:35 Leaving Newcastle Behind 27:05 The Leisure Centre Was Shut Too 27:18 Rescued by a Lidl, and a £14 Picnic 27:43 Crossing the A1 Where I'd Once Driven 28:18 SUDDENLY, OPEN COUNTRYSIDE 28:35 Birdsong, and the Moment I'd Trained a Year For 29:06 The Wylam Waggonway 29:51 A 500-Foot Climb to Heddon-on-the-Wall 30:27 Self-Catering, and a Mile Each Way to the Pub 31:10 The First Pub Was Closing, So I Walked Further 31:26 Calling a Taxi, and Refusing to Walk Back Up 31:54 DAY THREE — Heddon-on-the-Wall to Corbridge 32:04 My First Real Sightings of the Wall 32:21 Squat, Mundane, and Buried in the Landscape 32:38 Third Straight Day — "Don't Let the Lazy Part of Your Brain Win" 33:17 Lunch at the Robin Hood Inn 33:41 My Pace vs. the Distances 34:02 THE PASSPORT SAGA BEGINS — I Forgot the Stamp 34:22 Too Exhausted to Notice Corbridge Was Lovely 34:51 DAY FOUR — The Perfect Day 35:27 Why I Needed This Day 35:41 Exploring Corbridge Properly 35:54 A Roman Arch in a Saxon Tower, and the Vicar's Pele 36:24 The Church to Myself 36:42 Taxi to the Trailhead, Then Steak and Ale Pie 37:00 Walking Into a Ferocious Wind 37:29 The Landscape Was Astonishing in Every Direction 37:46 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD 38:07 The Battle of Heavenfield, and Oswald 38:31 Leaving the Trail to Walk Up to It 39:10 Alone in a Church That Is Never Locked 39:30 Wind, Silence, and Centuries-Old Trees 39:47 "This Is Why I'm Doing This Walk" 40:16 Calling My Wife — "This Was the Perfect Day" 40:38 And a Bathtub, With Epsom Salts 41:10 English Paradise 41:21 DAY FIVE — The Picture Postcard Day 41:30 The Wall as Constant Company 42:00 The Most Incredible Walk I've Ever Taken 42:17 Chesters Roman Fort, Tea and Cake 42:48 THE TEA VAN HERO 43:32 The Days With Tea Were the Easier Days 43:46 Brocolitia, and a Second Tea Van 44:03 HOUSESTEADS — The Largest Fort on the Wall 44:30 People Walking on the Wall, and My Tutting 44:37 The Cold Became a Problem 44:47 Buying the Stocking Cap That Saved My Ears 45:00 Using the Wall to Steady Your Step 45:17 Seeing the Crag and the Lake in the Distance 45:51 Walking Through Tolkien 46:02 Natural Stairs Worn Into Vertiginous Hills 46:21 Wishing I'd Brought Walking Poles 46:43 SYCAMORE GAP 46:56 The Kevin Costner Robin Hood Connection 47:40 Felled in the Dark, and the Men Who Went to Prison 47:55 The Fenced Stump, and the Green Shoots 48:15 Emotional and Sad — But Still Beautiful 48:29 THE TWICE BREWED INN 48:44 The Middle of Nowhere, and an Observatory 48:53 A Dark Sky Reserve, and a Cloudy Night 49:15 Brewing Here Since Long Before America Existed 49:46 DAY SIX — Up to the Highest Point 49:58 Winshields Crags 50:26 The Trig Point, and Seeing for Miles 50:48 Earning Every Step of the View 51:26 Nowhere to Have Lunch, and Regretting No Packed Lunch 52:04 Arriving in Gilsland 52:18 A B&B in Someone's Home, and Another Walk to the Pub 52:48 THE MOST SUBLIME EXTRA MILE 53:08 Woodsmoke, Silence, and a Train Every Few Minutes 53:33 The Laundry Problem, Solved for £15 54:04 DAY SEVEN — Easier Is Relative 54:28 Walking the Railway Line, and Crossing a Live Track 54:51 Gilsland's Campaign to Reopen Its Station 55:09 THE LAST DAY OF THE WALL ITSELF 55:35 Swimming in Tea — The Honesty Sheds 56:12 "I Came, I Saw, I Blistered" 56:28 Blisters, Briefly 56:36 THE RAINIEST DAY 57:02 Soaked by the Time I Reached Lanercost 57:16 LANERCOST PRIORY — A Ruin With a Church Inside It 57:54 Tea in the Rain, Waiting for Check-In 58:14 Charlotte's B&B, and the Best Stay of the Trip 58:41 An Award-Winning Photographer Who Now Hosts Walkers 59:13 THE COMMUNAL DINNER I DREADED 59:44 Lasagna, and Eleven Strangers 01:00:14 Why It Became One of My Favorite Evenings 01:00:33 The Walk Is Isolating — This Was a Change of Pace 01:01:12 DAY EIGHT — To Carlisle, With No More Wall 01:01:21 Red Sandstone, and Why the Wall Didn't Survive Here 01:01:58 One of the Least Enjoyable Days 01:02:04 Sunburn, Abandoned Farms, and a Museum I Skipped 01:02:40 The Germans Who Said "Only Three More Hours" 01:03:04 Walking Into a City Again 01:03:23 Saturday Night in Carlisle With No Reservation 01:03:47 Two Extra Miles Looking for Dinner 01:04:00 "You Don't Look Like a Cheeky Boy" 01:04:29 THE FINAL DAY — Fifteen Miles to the Sea 01:05:07 Church Bells Ushering Me Out of Carlisle 01:05:40 Village to Village Through Farmland 01:05:51 St Mary's, Beaumont — The Only Church Built on the Wall 01:06:12 Sunday Roast at the Greyhound Inn 01:06:43 EDWARD I DIED HERE 01:07:07 The Final Seven Miles 01:07:15 Walking to the Edge of the World 01:07:33 The Marshland, the Road, and the Cars at Sixty 01:08:14 Sixteen Miles, Not Fifteen 01:08:33 THE END OF THE TRAIL 01:08:45 The Hut at Bowness-on-Solway 01:08:51 Someone Could Tell I Was Having a Moment 01:08:59 "I Made It" — And Breaking Down in Tears 01:09:31 And Still Having to Walk to the Hotel 01:09:47 Waking Up Done 01:10:08 THE BUS BACK — Three Pounds and a Revelation 01:10:46 Marvelling at the Automobile 01:10:59 Seeing the Bus and Not Getting On 01:11:14 LESSONS FROM THE WALK 01:11:29 Every Day Is a New Walk 01:11:59 You Earn a Dividend 01:12:23 Distance Is Not a Measure of Difficulty 01:12:39 Thinking About Distance Differently 01:12:58 Kindness and Community on the Trail 01:13:32 Gratitude, and a Nudge to Stop Waiting 01:13:54 Landscapes I Don't Have at Home 01:14:28 TIPS IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS 01:14:28 Don't Judge It by Day One 01:14:42 Taxis and Buses Exist 01:15:13 Stop for Tea — Always 01:15:37 Give Your Body a Chance to Recuperate 01:16:03 Feet First — Learn Blisters Before You Go 01:17:11 What to Pack 01:17:47 Get the Passport and Stamp It 01:18:04 Pace It — It's Not a Race 01:18:32 Let Macs Adventure Handle the Logistics 01:18:53 WRAP-UP 01:19:02 One Very Tired But Very Happy American 01:19:16 "Do It. Don't Wait." 01:19:27 The Cotswold Way Next? 01:19:29 Thanks to Macs Adventure 01:19:53 The Daily Series Is Coming Video Version
