We trekked through a blustery gully with a cold wind and rain lashing one side of our faces, it wasn’t too difficult to imagine how hard life for the Romans was in this area. Thanks to English Heritage we had the opportunity to get a glimpse into what life most have been like at Hadrian’s Wall.
The wall was part of the defensive fortification of Roman Britain during the rule of emperor Hadrian in AD 122. Built out of stone, rising six metres out of the turf and three metres wide, Hadrian’s Wall stretched out for eight miles. It is the most popular tourist attraction in the North of England and a UNESCO World Heritage Site to boot.
Marching To The Fort
After marching uphill through the driving rain we reached our staging post (the entrance and gift shop) at Housesteads Roman Fort, inside we were met by a Roman centurion proudly dressed in full attire (apparently an archaeologist by day). After refueling on cookies and tea we headed out to brave the elements. The fort itself is sat upon a hill with panoramic views out across the fields and was once home to 800 Roman soldiers who lived within its barrack blocks.
The most interesting ruins at the fort were the communal toilets, complete with illustration to ensure you know what you’re looking at. If you thinking of visiting it’s well worth checking out the museum, both for the model of the fort displaying how it used to look and well polished video that explains its layered history.
Chesters Roman Fort & Bath House
Thankfully, the weather began to get better just in time for our visit to Chesters Roman fort, bath house and steam room. There are plenty of well-preserved ruins to explore and some of the rooms are pretty much intact. There’s also a insightful museum containing the remains of Roman items that have been excavated around the wall.
A perfect lunch was waiting for us on arrival at the Vallum Farm restaurant, a Sunday roast, complete with a huge, well risen Yorkshire puddings. After finishing that off and posing for a few blogger photos, I opted for the amazing sticky toffee pudding, but with the chocolate brownie (pictured above) lurking to my right hand side it was an extremely difficult decision.
We left heading back to Newcastle full of interesting knowledge about the Romans, how they lived, survived and fought. It was interesting, educational, eye-opening and really enjoyable day.
