I spent an excellent day with friends in Hadrian‘s Wall country, in Northumberland yesterday.
The weather was just about perfect for walking, warm but not too hot, although we did consume a fair amount of liquids throughout the walk.
We started off at Housesteads Roman Fort. Now the others didn’t spot it at first but read what was on the sign above. Any idea what a Pay & Display toilet is all about? No I didn’t either.
It’s a fairly long walk from the car parking area up the hill to the fort itself, however, a lot of work has been done to ensure the paths are even enough to push a buggy on, though there is plenty of safe open space for children to run around on the way up the hill.
Reaching the top of the hill, your first port of call is the museum area. It’s not that big but has some useful information in the displays that give you an overview of the fort its background, how it came to be found by archaeologists gone by etc. The museum is also where you pay your entrance fee.
Money saving tip: If you’re a member of the National Trust, entry is free!
Much of the site is covered by the exposed ruins, however in one or two places there are some quite steep drops so make sure you keep a close eye on the children. Also, don’t be tempted to rush your visit. There are plenty of things to see and discover if you look for them and the signage around the fort will give you a good insight into how these people lived. Of course some will go the extra mile to get that insight.
Having spent some time at Housesteads learning all things Roman, we moved on to Steel Rigg.
I had never heard of this place, but was reliably informed it was well worth a visit and the view from the car park was pretty impressive to say the least.
Our route was to take us along the top of the cliff, past the lake in the distance and heading east along the wall, back towards Sycamore Gap.
Of course nothing in this life is free and to get these stunning views we had to pay with blood, sweat and tears. Ok I exaggerate little there but certainly plenty of one out of the three with plenty of huffing and puffing too. Though one of the group did earn the name Cragg-hopper as she skipped up the hill.
Our ultimate goal on this part of the walk was to reach an area on the wall known simply as Sycamore Gap.
It’s a gap in the landscape with, erm……. ok no prizes for guessing a Sycamore Tree.
Now that doesn’t particularly sound impressive does it, until you actually see it. Oh, and if you are thinking it looks a little familiar, but you just cannot quite place the memory. Well perhaps you should take another look at Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and all will become apparent. A group of Australians we bumped into at the gap were not quite convinced after they were told, but one of the party managed to persuade the others they were not being subjected to some tourist trap trick.
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