Hadrian’s Wall and Hadrian’s Cycleway projects

National Lottery and LEADER European funding are the latest organisations to provide funding in the form of grants to support Hadrian’s Wall Projects.

The £1.17m from the National Lottery grant will enable experts at Newcastle University to work with community volunteers to help protect, preserve and interpret Hadrian’s Wall.

A LEADER grant of £48,362 will enable Sustrans to improve the popular Hadrian’s Cycleway.

This grant will be used to create new signage with the aim of attracting more cyclists and promoting local attractions and businesses along the route which takes cyclists 174 miles from Glannaventa Roman Bath House in the West to Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum at South Shields on the East coast.  The route follows much of Hadrian’s Wall and gives cyclists the opportunity to take in many world heritage sites including Lanacost Priory, the Roman Museum in Senhouse, Vindolanda, Housesteads and Chester’s Roman Fort.

This investment alongside the newly opened Sill will help to contribute towards the growing visitor numbers to the area which is great news for local businesses and the rural economies of Northumberland and Cumbria.

The Evening Chronicle recently reported “that Northumberland National Park Authority’s award-winning Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre… welcome more than 170,000 visitors in its first 12 months … more than double the expected number.”

Our taxi company Ecocabs has seen a year on year increase in all aspects of transport for visitors to Hadrian’s Wall.

Our taxis, people carriers, minibuses and mini coaches have been busy taking visitors from the region’s train stations to the wall; transferring walkers from the wall to their accomodation; transporting bikes and cyclists to the beginning of their cycling adventure; and providing cycle packages for the region’s most popular routes.

As a local transport business based in Hexham we welcome the investment in the region and are encouraged by the increasing number of visitors.  We’re proud of the many beautiful and impressive visitor attractions our region has to offer and love that we have the opportunity to play a part in helping the increasing numbers of people from around the world coming to visit some of the truly amazing sights.