Republication from Following hadrian

Image credit: Carole Raddato

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By Carole Raddato

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Hadrian’s Wall has long attracted hikers and history fans and is now the heart of an 84-mile-long (135 km) National Trail through some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside. Hadrian’s Wall stretches coast to coast across northern England, from Wallsend in the east to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast.

Three years ago, I set out to explore Hadrian’s Wall, following in Hadrian’s footsteps and of the Roman soldiers who once patrolled the empire’s frontier. Hadrian’s Wall consists not only of the visible remains of the Wall itself, but also of its associated forts, milecastles, turrets and earthworks. The sites of several Roman forts lie along the route including Segedunum at Wallsend, Chesters, Housesteads, Vindolanda and Birdoswald. Naturally, I visited all of them and I will certainly report on them in the future.

My walk began near the Roman Army Museum, close to Carvoran’s fort. After visiting this great museum -which gives you a rare insight into the daily life of a Roman soldier- I started to walk east along Hadrian’s Wall Path, all the way to Vercovicium (Housesteads, the best preserved Roman fort in Britain). This section covers a distance of around nine miles (15.5 km) and offers the most exciting walk of the entire Wall. It can be sometimes strenuous, but the views are magnificent and there are a number of well-preserved milecastles and turrets along the way.

This article contains a selection of my best photos, covering the Wall section from milecastle 42 to milecastle 37 (walking west to east).

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