With nearly two thousand years of history and heritage to be discovered, Hadrian’s Wall is one of the most popular UK touring routes offering opportunities for long distance hikes as well as exploring some fantastic destinations. An added advantage is the fact that the route passes through a major national park with International Dark Sky accreditation ensuring that you can see the stars in the night sky without any light pollution at all.
This is an extremely beautiful area with spectacular scenery. Imagine vistas of heather covered moors, green fields and hills dotted with sheep. The weather can change quickly, with mists rising or rain clouds appearing. This is a route created on the orders of one man – the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the first century AD. Visiting Britannia (as it was known then), he decided that this area would mark the northernmost boundary of his empire. Soldiers were ordered to build an 80-mile stone wall up to 20 feet high stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea. It took 15,000 men nearly six years to build. So strong and careful was its construction that much of the wall still remains today and it is possible to still follow the exact line of the wall from coast to coast. Hadrian’s Wall is without doubt one of the masterpieces of ancient construction as it marches across moorland, up rocky crags and over hills making an almost straight line across the country.
When traveling the entire distance of Hadrian’s Wall from the Atlantic to the North Sea, the journey begins at Bowness-on-Solway in North West Cumbria, although a network of Roman milecastles did continue further on (minus any wall!) for another 26 miles to the town of Maryport. Driving east along the A69 enables you to follow the route of the Wall as well as visiting the key sites like Chesters, Birdoswald, Housesteads, Vindolanda and Corbridge. There are nearly thirty places along Hadrian’s Wall where the remains of forts, turrets, milecastles Roman towns, and even specialist museums focusing on the world of the Roman Army can be found.
Birdoswald tells more than just the story of life on Hadrian’s Wall – it also shows how the site has adapted over the years to create a fortified manor house capable of coping with the problems of the infamous border ‘reivers’. Even as late as the sixteenth century, this area of the border between England and Scotland could be extremely dangerous to travel through or to live in. You can explore the manor house, see the Roman remains as well as strolling along the Wall itself.
Historic mile castle along Hadrian’s Wall route in Hexham. [Photo/Angela Youngman]
Housesteads Fort is awe inspiring and it is no surprise to discover that it provided author George RR Martin with the inspiration for his “Wall” in the Game of Thrones novels. Built on an uphill slope beside Hadrian’s Wall, it was home to hundreds of legionaries. Large sections of the fort have been excavated and you can easily follow the outlines of the roads and buildings within the fort. Building No 8 is nicknamed the Murder House since two bodies from Roman times were found hidden under the floor. The views from Housesteads across the surrounding countryside are spectacular. You can follow the line of the wall in either direction for miles, and all around are vast swathes of open moorland mostly inhabited by sheep.
Vindolanda is totally different to any other site along Hadrian’s Wall, partly because it was also a major town as well as a fortress. Work has been underway excavating the site at Vindolanda for over twenty years – and it is known that there is enough archaeology still remaining on the site to keep them busy for another hundred years or more! The site has already revealed countless unique discoveries such as a 2,000 year old wooden toilet seat, a toy sword and the Vindolanda tablets which contain the earliest known letters written by a woman in Roman times, along with a fantastic range of correspondence from soldiers including pleading letters home requesting thick socks! Visitors can explore the site, talk to the archaeologists working on the excavation and spend time in the museum. The museum contains a vast range of artifacts like shoes, boots and jewelry.
Corbridge, close to the modern day town of Hexham, was a busy town and supply base for the various forts and mile castles along Hadrian’s Wall. Exploring the extensive remains of that Roman town, it is very easy to imagine just what life was like for the soldiers, their families and the numerous merchants who provided the services they needed. The Museum contains the stunning Corbridge Hoard of Roman armour, workshop contents and trinkets such as wax writing tablets and papyrus.
Just north of Hexham is Chesters Roman Fort which is the most complete cavalry fort in the UK and would have housed a 500 strong garrison. This is particularly noteable for the sheer size of its bathhouse which even today is a great place to relax for a while given its location against the wooded banks of the River Tyne.
Towns like Carlisle and Hexham are great places to spend a little time doing some shopping or discovering fascinating gems such as Hexham Old Gaol. This is believed to be the oldest purpose built prison in the country. Nowadays it serves a much more cultural purpose in the form of a museum. Newcastle upon Tyne is one of the UK’s most vibrant cities, with numerous theatres, art galleries and museums. One of its most iconic sights is Antony Gormley’s massive Angel of the North standing high on a hill above the city.
Worth considering en route is the opportunity to take advantage of memorable experiences such as those offered by Wild Dog tours. They provide unusual guided walks led by a Roman Centurion and a Chieftain of the Brigante tribe across sections of the Wall. Fun and informative, it definitely dispels any myths about life on the wall. As Wolf Dog’s Gambax (a Roman Centurion) explains, “ We want to dispel the myths. Ordinary Roman soldiers didn’t wear scarlet – it was too expensive. There was a motley collection of warriors here. This was a dangerous place, more like that of South and North Korea today. The Wolf Warriors based here followed just one order – attack and kill. Once unleashed, they did not stop until all the enemy were dead. General Agricola complained about the ‘wretched little Britons’ but they were the best guerrilla fighters in the world.”
The Hadrian’s Wall Country website offers a range of potential itineraries along with details of various camping and RV parks such as the Stonehaugh Campsite on the edge of Wark Forest in Northumbria.
When following Hadrian’s Wal,l the main touring route is the A69 between Newcastle & Carlisle as this runs parallel to much of the Wall. As you drive along the A69, the wall is almost always visible. The route itself is clearly signed with a Roman helmet symbol. The only part of the journey posing problems for cars towing caravans is on the approach to the Atlantic coastline, as this part of the route involves a narrow winding local road.
For transatlantic travelers the nearest airports are Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle upon Tyne all of which connect to hubs like Orlando, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Newcastle upon Tyne offers the closest link as it is just 26 miles from the South Shields Roman fort that guarded the entrance to the River Tyne, on the edge of the North Sea. Travelers preferring to use Leeds or Manchester face a much longer drive, but can combine Hadrian’s Wall with an exploration of the Lake District or the beauties of the Yorkshire Dales. It is in fact, possible to undertake a circular route from Manchester or Leeds traveling up one side of the country, follow Hadrian’s Wall across the country then back down the other side of the UK.
Destinations, Hiking Trails, History, International, Museum, Travel