• England Guide

  • Introduction to England
  • Weather
  • Things not to miss
  • Getting around
  • Entry requirements
  • Money
  • Public holidays

• Explore England

  • Kent and Sussex
  • Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire
  • Oxfordshire, the Chilterns and the Cotswolds
  • Bristol, Bath and Somerset
  • Devon and Cornwall
  • East Anglia
  • The West Midlands and the Peak District
  • The East Midlands
  • The Northwest
  • Cumbria and the Lakes
  • Yorkshire
  • The Northeast

• Cities

  • Bath
    
  • Birmingham
    
  • Bradford
    
  • Brighton
    
  • Bristol
    
  • Cambridge
    
  • Canterbury
    
  • Carlisle
    
  • Chester
    
  • Chichester
    
  • Durham
    
  • Ely
    
  • Exeter
    
  • Hereford
    
  • Lancaster
    
  • Leeds
    
  • Lincoln
    
  • Liverpool
    
  • London
    
  • Manchester
    
  • Newcastle upon Tyne
    
  • Norwich
    
  • Nottingham
    
  • Oxford
    
  • Portsmouth
    
  • Salisbury
    
  • Sheffield
    
  • Wells
    
  • Winchester
    
  • York
    

England Guide

The Northeast

Hadrian's Wall

• Accommodation

Emperor Hadrian, who toured Roman Britain in 122 AD, wanted his empire to live at peace within stable frontiers, but as there was no natural barrier in northern Britain, Hadrian constructed a 76-mile wall from the Tyne to the Solway Firth. The wall, its turrets, camps and forts remained in operation until the late fourth century AD, though centralized Roman rule in Britain had broken down by then. Most of Hadrian's Wall disappeared centuries ago, yet walking or cycling its length remains a popular pastime, following the 84-mile Hadrian's Wall Path ( www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrianswall ), which partly shares its route with Hadrian's Cycleway.

Approached from Newcastle along the valley of the Tyne, via the Roman museum and site at Corbridge, the prosperous-looking market town of Hexham makes a good base for Wall explorations. The best-preserved portions of the Wall are concentrated between Chesters Roman Fort, four miles north of Hexham, and Haltwhistle, sixteen miles to the west, notably the remains of Housesteads Fort and the garrison of Vindolanda.

An excellent source of Wall info is the Once Brewed National Park Visitor Centre (March– Sept daily 9.30am–5/5.30pm; Nov– Feb Sat & Sun 10am–3pm; 01434/344396), which has exhibitions on both the Wall and the National Park; there's also a nearby youth hostel, pub and access road to the Vindolanda excavations. It's roughly half a mile south of the Wall's Steel Rigg on the B6318.