A change in scenery: Hadrians Wall Country

Now that I've wrapped up the St Augustine portion of my springtime road trip through Dixie, I think it is time for a change in scenery.

Another recent destination from my travels was Hadrians Wall, parts of which stretch from coast to coast across the north of England. Last August we travelled by bus, by train and on foot from Carlisle to Newcastle following the foundations of this ancient marvel of Roman design.

The Romans never managed to subdue the barbaric Pict tribes in what is now Scotland, so Emperor Hadrian decided in the year 122 to build a series of forts and watchtowers linked by a wall. He felt his armies were in danger of being over-extended after decades of continual expansion and conquest. Hadrian saw the need to consolidate his forces and establish a strong military presence along the Empire's frontiers.

In only about six years, all 76 miles of the wall were complete, although the wall narrowed as it headed west and after awhile stone was abandoned in favour of just high mounds of earth.

That means towards the western end the wall is scarcely visible any more. It hasn't helped that the quarried blocks were perfect for building churches, houses and sheep pens!

The first sight of the proper wall is still impressive as I hope this short clip gives some idea.

Apologies for the noise from the wind tearing across the place. Just think of those poor Roman soldiers, sat there with nothing to look forward to except a cold bowl of gruel.



I also experimented with the zoom function on my little digital camera, but I don't think I'll bother in future.

Over the next couple weeks I will describe the trip in more detail.