Nigel's Photo Blog

Waterfall Today was the final day of my hike along the main section of Hadrian's Wall. I walked from Walton to Carlisle which took about six hours. Weather was dry and sunny with some clouds. I found myself somewhat dehydrated at the end but soon remedied that. I encountered absolutely no physical (masonry) remains of the Wall but, for the first half of the leg the line of the Wall and associated vallum were visible. Evidence of the Wall progressively disappeared as I approached Carlisle.     Line of the Wall and vallum This stretch of the hike was easy going to extent the terrain was mainly, passing through pleasant landscapes and farming country. As before, I encountered many fields of sheep and cattle. Farming landscape Sheep of the day In addition to the sights mentioned above, I also cxame across, a waterfall, wildflowers, butterflies, green lanes, a quaint cottage, ripe blackberries, the River Eden and locals enjoying themselves in and by the river. Wildflowers Butt...

Illustration of escarpment upon which the wall was built Today, I covered what was, ostensibly, an eight mile section which seemed much longer in practice. It actually took me about six hours to move from Steel Rigg to Gilsland. There are a couple of factors to consider here: The wall in this section is built on the edge of a ridge/escarpment which is shaped like a series of Ws entailing very steep inclines. This morning the weather turned into persistent light rain/drizzle which served to make the walking surfaces very slippery.In some locations I had to revert to 'all fours' to safely navigate the harsh gradients which reminded me of the mountains in Scotland. The key plus factor today was the extent of wall preservation in these remote areas allied with outstanding views over the rugged landscapes. Wall and vallum Today's experience also brought home the scale of what the Romans achieved in such a relatively tight timscale. Quarrying, transporting and assembling the vast...

Illustration of wall building in process. Today, I covered fifteen miles from Wylam to (the aptley named) Wall, near Hexham from where I am writing this. Ship Inn at Wylam Much of the wall was removed in the 18th century leaving this section largely bereft of masonry, although I did encounter a small section of the wall towards the end of the day, at Planetrees. I know that from hereon I will encounter remnants of the actual wall plus physical remains of many forts tomorrow. In fact the large fort at Chesters is just two miles from here. Section of wall at Planetrees The afternoon section of the hike was spent tracking the vallum, an extensive, defensive ditch positioned to the north of the masonry wall.This ditch, nominally 6 metres (20 ft) wide and 3 metres (10 ft) deep, with a flat bottom, is flanked by two mounds about 6 metres wide and 2 metres (7 ft) high, set back some 9 metres (30 ft) from the ditch edges.The vallum was a major feat of engineering in its ...