Hadrians Wall, England

Last weekend saw an amazing spectacle here in the North east As part of a series of events being held this year, beacons of light were lit at 250 metre intervals along the length of Hadrian’s wall . The gas beacons were situated at the locations of the original milecastles and turrets that once guarded the wall. The spectacle was amazing and reminded me just how lucky I am to have a world heritage site right on my doorstep! The wall. ************ Hadrian’s wall was the brainchild of the emperor Hadrian .Hadrian came to Britain in 122 A.D at a time when the great Roman Empire was starting to ... more

The Emperor was gravely concerned. His visit to Britannia in 122 A.D. had not gone entirely well. In fact, many among the more troublesome barbarians of the Northern tribes declined to be counted as part of his empire. To minimize this threat from the North and to bolster flagging morale among the legionnaires, Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of an 80-mile-long defensive wall, extending from Wallsend at the mouth of the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Today ~~~~~~~~~~~ Ninete en hundred years later, remnants of Hadrian's Wall have endured as ... more

There have been two accounts of Hadrian’s wall on Ciao already (one in 2004) so I won’t be covering what has already been said. This review is aimed at those who might wish to walk, at least partially, the route of this ancient 80 miles long edifice. Believe me, the views from the Wall are absolutely astounding and they’re well worth the blisters - so read on! WHAT IS HADRIAN’S WALL? This monument is the physical barrier erected by the Emperor Hadrian around 122 AD, to separate Romanised Southern Britain from the ‘Barbarian’ North. Until the late 19th century it was believed that the Emperor ... more

I walked the wall with my partner at the very beginning of April this year. The National Trail is 84 miles from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway. However as we live in Newcastle we felt that we would gain nothing from walking from Wallsend to Newcastle, so we started from Heddon on the Wall. We took six days to walk from Heddon on the wall to Bowness-on-Solway; and we were carrying full sacks. We stayed mainly in Bunk Houses, spending one night in a Youth Hostel, and the other in a Camping Barn. The first day we got the Hadrian's wall bus from Newcastle to Heddon on the wall. The Hadrian's wall ... more

In AD 122, the Imperial Roman army were kicking arses in Northern Africa, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Greece, not to mention humbling the mighty German army on the Rhine and the formidable Boadicea in England. They were unstoppable with their well-drilled army and modern methods of warfare. Unstoppable that is until they reached the river Tyne, a little known river in northern England. Thinking they had little to do to subdue these black and white painted heathens, they sent out legion after legion to capture local chiefs and bring them under the heel of Rome. Imagine their surprise ... more