I recently spent a week at Haydon’s Lodge. We were a group of English and German people – it was a hiking week with ‘Anglo German Walks’ which is usually a fairly equal number of English and Germans who hike and communicate with each other, doing various activities in the evenings. We stayed at Haydon’s Lodge which is very convenient for exploring the Wall and the countryside around it. There are superb panoramic views, especially from Hadrian’s Wall.
The Lodge where we stayed was very welcoming, cosy and warm. There is a small bar, a pool table and an old music machine for choosing and playing old time records. The food was always excellent, including an enormous breakfast if you wished it, with lots of choice. One must choose and order each meal previously. Our hosts who run the Lodge were friendly, fun and helpful, and did a good job of looking after us all. I shared a bedroom with a German lady and an Austrian lady. The bathroom was modern, clean and spacious, and the beds very comfortable. There were TVs in every room and a wi-fi connection. The Lodge is situated in the countryside but is close to Haydon Bridge where there are shops. The view from my bed was very nice. The history of Hadrian’s Wall is very interesting and on our free day, I visited a Roman Soldier Museum and Vindolanda Fort which is a working archaeological site. Here we had a guided tour around the Roman town, which was extremely interesting and brought the town alive for us – with the smells and the sights and sounds depicted. There are several more Roman sites to visit around this area, so Haydon’s Lodge is situated in an excellent place to explore. I can fully recommend this Lodge for location, welcome, comfort and very good meals. I understand that ‘Anglo German Walks’ will stay there again next year. After we left, the Roman Gladiators were booked in! They reenact events at certain museums. Pity I missed them! Oh, and there are plenty of interesting hikes starting from the Lodge or from a short bus drive away.
Friendly and good fun and do an excellent job of looking after us all.
