Description: I'm not a big history buff, but whilst on a mini break in Northumberland, it would have been a terrible shame if we had not visited the very famous remnants of Hadrian's wall, the best preserved parts of which remain in the county of Northumberland, although the wall, in its day, stretching 73 miles went as far as the eastern shores of Cumbria.

Even those, like me, who don't count history as one of their favourite topics, would be impressed by this feat of engineering that is still standing (in some parts) 2000 years after it was built by the Romans. This wall devised by Hadrian was to act as as frontier, keeping the Scottish 'Barbarians' out of the England.

Prior to visiting Hadrian's wall, we had picked up a very good tourist map in a local tourist office, and we were glad we had, as there really is quite a lot ot get your head around, and if you were to do everything on offer, you would really need to set aside a lot of money, or rob a bank! It certainly isn't a cheap day out, but you can still see the best bits within a budget.

Hadrian's wall is signposted very well on the road from Newcastle Uopn Tyne to Hexham, and there are many different turn offs. We had been advised to get onto the old 'military road' that, for the most part, is in parallel with the wall. This old military or Roman road, is a bumpy affair, so don't be expecting a long straight open road. Those who are cycling or walking with find themselves climbing and descending rather frequently. To get onto this road, we decided to take one of the turn off's before Hexham, near Heddon on the Wall. This military road runs through beautiful countryside, which when the sun is shining, is quite spectacular. This is a dangerous road too however, and we were told that there had been many accidents on it, due to the many hidden dips.

We decided that once we had got onto the military road, we would head for the Northumberland National Park Centre at Once Brewed, which is at the further end of the main points of interest along the road. Sites are very well signposted along the road, so there is absolutely no trouble in finding it. We arrived at the relatively small car park of the Once Brewed Visitor Centre, where we noticed that although it was free admission, there was a car park charge of £3. We didn't mind so much however once we found out that this car park ticket was transferrable to the other car parks at the sites along Hadrian's wall. Inside the visitor centre, was a lovely helpful lady who was very knowledgeable about the area, and answered many of our questions, pointing oru the highlights to us, one of which was Sycamore Gap, which was used in the filming of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves in the 90's. We wouldn't even have been aware of this apart from the lady, and certainly wouldn't have been able to locate it ourselves, as even the tourist map, doesn't have it marked.

I am only going to review the two areas of Hadrian's wall that we visited. Each of the sites along the wall are individually priced, and most of which are around £5 per adult, with some concessions available. So, if you were to see all the sites along the wall, and pay that at each point, you can see why it is a costly affair, with car parking on top of that. We chose to visit Steel Rigg, which although signposted along the road, is not marked on the tourist map and information, as well as Housesteads, which we were recommended to visit.

The road to Steel Rigg, is practically opposite to the road that leads to Once Brewed. After travelling up a steep windy hill, you come to a limited car park at the top, although there is an overflow car park in the neighbouring field, and your transferrable car parking ticket applies.

Since the weather was so nice that day, albeit it got a lot cloudier as the day went on, there were crowds of people at every destination, many of whom were walkers. The lady at the visitor centre had given us a more detailed map that showed up the location of the Sycamore Gap which was aimed at walkers. We parked the car, and headed for sycamore gap. Now, if you are unfit or have breathing difficulties, walking to sycamore gap really is not advisable, as the main way to get to Sycamore Gap is over at least three rather steep hills, that although are stepped, are steep in places and not for the faint hearted. I was five months pregnant though still in reasonable fitness and I managed it without too many problems, although good footwear is a must. Once you reach Milecastle, you can breathe a sigh of relief, as you are practically at the gap. You may wonder why people like us want to visit this Sycamore gap, apart from it being in a film, but it is also a rather pretty place to walk to, as there is a rather large Sycamore tree perched right beside a well kept part of Hadrian;s wall, and I suppose it just is a rather strange place to have a tree, but yet it a lovely little gap between the hills and the tree is positioned perfectly in the middle. Now, there are many hardy walkers who would hardly stop at this gap and continue on their walk, but we found that did us, and then we turned and took a flatter way back to the car (albeit with the last little bit on the steep road to the car park), that the lady in the visitor centre had told us about. It was a much easier walk, and I suppose it could be used to go to Sycamore Gap both ways, for those not wanting to climb up and down or don't have good footwear. Obviously as you walk along you are getting to see Hadrian's wall at its best, as the wall is extremely well preserved at this point, and you really appreciate the thickness of the wall, in comparison to other stone walls you see in the surrounding countryside.

As it was getting to lunchtime, we returned to the visitor centre, where there was a handful of picnic tables, and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the sunshine.

After this, we headed for Housesteads Roman Fort, which is back along the road. At this venue, is a much larger car park, with a kiosk, shop, toilet and further picnic tables. Admission to Housesteads is over £5 per adult, and you pay at the entrance to the Roman Fort rather than at the car park area. To get to Housesteads, it is short walk (although it is uphill) to the admission office from the car park, where there is also a very interesting little exhibtion about the wall. Housesteads is actually the best preserved fort on the wall. When we paid our admission, we were shown a guide that we could buy, but you really don't need this, unless you love history, as everything around the ruins is labelled telling you what it is. As you approach the first of the ruins, your admission ticket is checked and then you can stroll around the very well kept ruins, where remmants of a Roman hospital, gate entrances and even latrines are easliy viewed. I have to admit, that I have visited Roman ruins before, and these are one of the best example of a ROman fort that I have seen. If you are member of the National Trust of Englsh Heritage then your admission to all these places is free.

All in all, it would be very very easy to spend a whole day or even two at Hadrian's wall, particularly is you are willing to walk along part of the wall. To really appreciate the wall itself, going on even a short walk, really allows you to get up close to it, and see its depth and the sheer labour that went into building it. I would recommend Steel Rigg and Housesteads if you time is limited and your budget restricted. If you have neither issue, then there is plenty to stop off at along the way, that will keep you thoroughly busy!
Close