Hadrian's Wall Tours

Award-winning guided tours

There are some places in the world where history doesn't feel like something that happened a long time ago. Hadrian's Wall is one of them. Built in 122 AD, 73 miles of stone stretching coast to coast across northern England, and much of it still standing nearly 2,000 years later. Our small-group Hadrian's Wall tours depart from Edinburgh and London, putting you on the ground at one of the ancient world's most remarkable landmarks, with a driver-guide who knows the history inside out.

What you'll discover on a Hadrian's Wall tour

The most dramatic and best-preserved sections sit in Northumberland, where the wall climbs and dips across volcanic ridges with views stretching for miles in both directions, and where you start to understand why the Romans chose this particular line to mark the edge of their world.

Our Hadrian's Wall tours take you to the sites where history comes to life. At Housesteads Roman Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the barracks, granaries, and even the latrines have survived nearly 2,000 years intact. At Vindolanda, archaeologists are still actively digging, and the writing tablets unearthed here, personal letters written by soldiers stationed at the wall, rank among the most remarkable discoveries in British history. A driver-guide who knows this landscape and its stories makes the whole thing come alive in a way a guidebook never quite manages.

Why did the Romans build Hadrian's Wall?

Emperor Hadrian ordered the wall following a visit to Britain that apparently convinced him the northern frontier needed securing. The official line was that it would separate the Romans from the barbarians to the north, the Picts and other tribes who had no intention of joining the empire. The less official version is that the Romans had tried and failed to push further north, and a wall was a more dignified solution than admitting defeat.

It took around six years to build, constructed by three legions of Roman soldiers working in sections from east to west. When complete, it stood around 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide, with a fort every five miles, a milecastle every Roman mile, and watchtowers in between. The wall wasn't just a barrier, though. Around 9,000 soldiers were stationed along it at any one time, drawn from across the empire, from modern-day Syria to North Africa, and their traces are still being uncovered today.

What's included on a Hadrian's Wall day trip?

Our Hadrian's Wall day trips cover the wall's most spectacular and historically significant sections, traveling in groups of no more than 16 passengers on a comfortable mini-coach. Depending on which tour you choose, you'll visit Housesteads Roman Fort, walk stretches of the wall where it's best preserved, and have time to explore at your own pace.

For those who want to go deeper, our multi-day tours of Hadrian's Wall combine the Roman frontier with Scotland's most spectacular landscapes, weaving two thousand years of history into a broader adventure across the Borders and beyond.

Take a look at our full range of Scotland tours and England tours to find the right one.

Can you walk Hadrian's Wall on a tour?

You can, and it's one of the highlights of the day. We include walks along the best-preserved sections where the wall climbs dramatic ridges across the Northumberland countryside, with views that make it clear why this line was chosen. The walks typically cover one to two miles at key sites, enough to feel the scale of what the Romans built without turning the day into a hike. Sturdy shoes with good grip are recommended, as the terrain is uneven in places. Your driver-guide will always let you know what to expect before you set off.

Hadrian's Wall tours from Edinburgh and London: Getting there

A Hadrian's Wall tour from Edinburgh takes around two hours by mini-coach, heading south through the Scottish Borders before crossing into Northumberland. It's a journey worth paying attention to. The landscape shifts from the lowland farmland around Edinburgh to the open moorland of the Borders, and by the time the wall comes into view, you've already traveled through a thousand years of contested territory.

A Hadrian's Wall tour from London heads north through England, a longer journey that gives you a different perspective on the wall's strategic importance, arriving from the south just as the Roman legions once did. Both routes are designed to maximize your time at the wall itself, rather than just getting there and back. Driving yourself is possible, but the best sections are spread across a stretch of road that requires local knowledge to navigate well, and parking at popular sites can be limited. Our tours from both cities depart from the city center, and full details are available at our Departure Points page.

Why tour Hadrian's Wall with Rabbie's?

Hadrian's Wall deserves more than a quick look from a coach window, and that's exactly what a small group tour gives you. With a maximum of 16 passengers, we travel in mini-coaches that can pull over where the wall is at its most dramatic, and reach sections that larger buses simply can't access. Our driver-guides know this landscape and its stories well enough to make two thousand years of history feel genuinely close, which is harder than it sounds.

We also care about the places we visit. By keeping group sizes small, supporting local businesses along the route, and contributing to environmental and community projects, we do what we can to look after the sites that make these tours worth taking. Have questions? Take a look at our FAQs or get in touch.

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