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​The WildWall Signature Series

The WildWall Signature Series of tours offers the legendary WildWall experience from the Lindesay’s Wallside home, amidst one of the most spectacular Great Wall landscapes — Jiankou. 

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“EXPLORE THE MOST REMOTE PARTS OF THE GREAT WALL … For almost a quarter of a century, Great Wall expert and author William Lindesay OBE has been running China’s most immersive Great Wall tours out of his own rural farmhouse north of Beijing…” — from lonely planet.com

“These weekend-long escapes explore the wild Jiankou section of the Wall, and involve spectacular sunrises and fascinating field lectures.” —from lonelyplanet.com

“A WildWall Weekend at the Lindesays’ is just like visiting good friends in the countryside.” — One of the first WildWall guests, from Canada, circa 1999.

“William, I cannot thank you and Qi enough for the most amazing weekend! We are profoundly thankful for the experience you provided for us all — from the food, the hospitality, the history and stories to the most epic, glorious hiking … it was beyond my expectations. — Our most recent party of guests over the weekend of Nov 29-Dec 1, 2024.

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The Options

This series of tour options, of differing lengths, is headed by our flagship ‘WildWall Weekend’. We’ve been offering this Friday-evening to Sunday-lunchtime epic since 1998. Participants are an eclectic mix of inbound travellers and China-based expats. The series has recently been expanded to include the options of a ‘WildWall Week’ , ‘WildWall Overnight’ and ‘WildWall Day’ ….

WildWall at The Barracks

 

The Great Wall is all around you at The Barracks. It’s overlooking you, from the Wall-tipped ridge lines; it’s surrounding you, in photographs and maps that adorn the rooms; it’s sweeping you along its east-to-west length — in the documentaries that we’ve made for you; it’s enlightening you as we recount episodes of our family’s myriad encounters with it. Welcome to the WildWall Weekend.

 

The WildWall Weekend

 

Starting with a pickup from a central location in Beijing late on a Friday afternoon, guests are transported ‘back in time’ by minibus or sedan car, to our base at the foot of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall built in the late 1500s. 

 

During the drive to The Barracks (which varies from between 90 and 120 minutes), you’ve have moved from a city of 23 million on the pan-flat edge of the North China Plain to a valley below the Great Wall in the Yan Mountains …

 

 

WildWall Weekend Summary

 

  • Tour starts and finishes in Beijing, with pickup and drop off;

  • Group tour, typically made up of several travellers (singles/couples/families) from various places, meeting as strangers and leaving as WildWall friends;

  • From Friday afternoon at approx 3.30 pm to Sunday at approx 2.30 pm

  • Tour is all-inclusive and covers everything — transport (90 km from/back to Beijing; two nights’ accommodation; full board (2 x dinners, 2 x breakfasts, 2 x lunches, in-between meal snacks); tea and cookies on the Wall, free-flow fresh WildWall coffee, teas, local beer; one glass of wine pp. on Saturday; unlimited supply of mountain mineral water; at least two morning hikes of approx 10 km / 4-6 hrs’ walking each; sometimes a Saturday afternoon shorter hike; Wall-related stories and China talk throughout the weekend; two documentary screenings — EVERYTHING!

  • Priced at USD 650 per person;

  • Guests take part at their own risk;

  • William Lindesay’s books available to those who want to read the whole WildWall story!

 

WildWall Weekdays (at The Barracks)

 

The WildWall Weekend format tour is possible on weekdays for at least 2 guests. This service, with content as above per the WildWall Weekend, is priced at USD 850 per person. NB: At least two guests must take part.

 

 

WildWall Overnight (at The Barracks)

 

Designed for guests who are on a tighter travel schedule, the WildWall Overnight is an intense 24-hr escape. The faster moving tour includes the two epic WildWall Weekend hikes— one hike on arrival during the afternoon of Day 1, the other hike at dawn on Day 2. 

 

  • Tour starts and finishes in Beijing with pickup at 11.30 am on Day 1 and drop off at 2.00pm on Day 2;

  • Two hikes, afternoon of Day 1, Dawn on Day 2;

  • All inclusive tour, covers transport, all meals (1 x dinner, 1 x breakfast, 1 x lunch) , hot drinks and local beer, snacks) accommodation; documentary screening in the evening;

  • Priced at USD 650 per person (NB: at least two guests must participate).]​

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