Hadrian’s Wall

We had two reasons for choosing for this far flung little town: its proximity to the Lake District and its proximity to Hadrian’s Wall. And it was cheap so we could afford to have a car the entire time we were here. So I guess that makes three reasons. Whatever. The town (village?) of Cleator Moor doesn’t have much to recommend itself. It’s fine, nothing against it, but nothing really for it either. But the flat feels massive after the tiny place in London! It is also very near the coast which I will detail in another post (along with some other hikes we have done). I’m going to try not to make these posts into big, long, epics…

One thing of note in Whitehaven (the larger town near us), which we just happened to have stumbled upon was this:

The church itself had burned down in the 1970s, what was left was turned into a very pretty little park. And George Washington’s grandmother was buried there!

Anyway, so Hadrian’s Wall. Ever since the Husband and I began talking about visiting England and Scotland he made it very clear that we were to pay a visit to Hadrian’s Wall. I knew of it and who built it (um…Hadrian???) but I did not know that much about it. I know more now! The Roman Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of the wall in 122 AD (or CE, whichever you prefer) to mark the farthest northwest corner of the Roman Empire. The warriors of Caledonia were a headache the Romans didn’t wish to deal with, plus a wall controlled who could access Britannia and the Roman Empire (for taxes and customs duties of course!). The wall stretches the entire width of the island at its narrowest point – a little over 70 miles. It was 15 feet high with watchtowers and small forts along its length. About every 10 miles was a fort of varying sizes, with the largest being Vindolanda – although Vindolanda was not along the wall itself. Thousands of Roman troops were stationed here, plus their families and the craftspeople needed for such a large operation. The town of Vindolanda plus the forts at Birdoswald, Chesters and Housesteads are near to each other and easy to visit. There are many other fort along the wall but we did not make it to them.

We began our adventure in Carlisle, which sits right on the Scottish border (English side). It’s a small city with an early medieval cathedral and the most besieged castle in all of the British Isles. The castle was built in 1093 atop an earlier Roman fort, with significant improvements in the 1200s and 1300s. Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner there from 1567-1568. King David I of Scotland died there in 1153. While not large and impressive like many castles, it was well presented with interesting stories.

There are a couple of places where the castle walls have been carved. It is suspected that it is the work of a few guards posted there. Most of this is thought to date from the 1400s

This section is thought to date from the 1200s. The artist is remarkably talented.

While walking around the city centre of Carlisle we came across this! We seem to be finding random family members of US presidents. The mother of Woodrow Wilson was born in Carlisle.

Next up was Carlisle Cathedral. It is the second smallest of the medieval cathedrals in England. Construction began in 1122, with additions in the 13th and 14th centuries. It’s pretty. It didn’t reach in and grab at my soul like some old churches do, but it was pretty and I’m glad we went there.

The cathedral grounds were dotted with the remains of the old priory

After our few hours spent in Carlisle it was time to begin the Hadrian’s Wall stuff. First stop – Vindolanda. Incredible place. This was the main support town for the troops stationed at the wall. The town had an estimated 5,000 residents and existed prior to the construction of the wall. In fact, Hadrian himself stayed there. Pretty cool stuff.

A model of what the town would have looked like

Why, yes, it was wretched weather. This would be the upper left side that you see in the model photo.

This is the Roman system for heated floors!

Roman shoes. Most are single shoes but there are actually a few pairs too!

The lower area of Vindolanda. The man who first began excavating the area built the house. Out of stones from the site. Sigh. There is a fabulous museum here.

We left Vindolanda and continued east. I don’t recall at what point I realized that we were seeing the wall snaking along the tops of the hills, but we were fascinated by the sight! The Husband recognized the lone sycamore tree spot – Sycamore Gap. Apparently every one but me remembers it from the Kevin Costner Robin Hood movie…although I would like to point out that Nottingham is no where remotely close to this place.

We had this grand plan: we were going to hike 12 miles of the wall. We both have good hiking shoes. Raincoats. Athletic gear. But we are not serious hikers – not even close. When the weather forecast looked horrible (heavy rain plus thunder) we chickened out. Yeah, so we’re wimps.

We (okay, I) pride myself on finding wonderful places to stay when we have these weekends exploring. Yes, we were just a couple of hours away from our Airbnb, but there was a lot of exploring to do! I thought I had found a great place – and I was wrong. Now, normally maybe it is a great place, but post-lockdown, maybe a shortage of employees, I don’t know what, it wasn’t a great choice. It was fine and that was it. But my dinner find that first night – now that rocked!! It was a pub out in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately I had booked a table a couple of weeks earlier because it is definitely a busy place. Even with the name: The Rat Inn. Anyway, back to Hadrian’s Wall.

The next day we went back along the wall to Housestead’s. I think this was my favorite of the forts we visited although I’m not certain why. It sits up on a hill and the wall extends off of either side. The hill has a fairly steep drop on the northern side so it very defensible.

It was a whole lot taller. And there are all of these stone houses around…can’t imagine where they might have got all those stones…

The next stop was the town of Hexham. Cute place. And the Hexham Abbey – oh yeah – was fantastic. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries Hexham was converted into the town church. There was no destruction and very little defacement. This made me happy. It was constructed in 674 – yes, that is 674 – with most of the upper bits redone in the 1200s. The crypt is original. I did try to bribe my way into it. Unsuccessfully. They are doing conservation work down there unfortunately.

Covered market area in Hexham with the Abbey behind

One crazy baptismal font…it’s Roman bits put together and has been the font at the Abbey since it was built

The night stairs for the monks to come to early prayers. Look how crazy worn the steps are.

This is thousands of white paper angels suspended from netting. It was a COVID project to inspire hope in people. It worked for me 😊

A chalice from the Saxon period (800-900)

This is the cross that marked the grave of the Bishop Acca. It is from the 8th century.

A bishop’s seat, likely used by Bishop Wilifrid (he was the one who built the Abbey) – so from 680 or so.

The Abbey has a very well regarded cafe, so we had something neither of us had ever done. We had a full afternoon tea, and we weren’t hungry the rest of the day!

It was a fun, and educational weekend. We had a final stop at Chester’s Fort. This one had a different approach as we had hired a local man to act as our guide. Paul and his wife have a fabulous looking bed and breakfast that was fully booked for this weekend (total bummer!), however, Paul also gave guided tours of the local sites. He was able to give us a great deal of additional information on Hadrian’s Wall, the construction of the wall, the forts and directed us to a few more hidden areas. Definitely a wise investment!

Romans had running water in their buildings. This shows the system they used for bringing it in by the buildings.

This is one of those things you would miss or not understand the significance of without a guide. This is an iron fitting for a hinged door. Kind of a big deal that it still exists.

A strong room for holding the troops wages. It also acted as a bank to hold money and valuables.

We are incredibly grateful to have had the ability to see these sights. It is such a removed part of the country, many tourists don’t have the time to travel somewhere like this. Bucket list: Hadrian’s Wall – check.