Hadrian's Wall Path

Hadrian's Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site based on its importance as the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire as well as on the quality of some of its ruins.

Before the wall was built, Rome had easily conquered (defeated and then controlled) those tribes who lived in most of modern-day England. For those tribes in the north ("Caledones"), Rome found that each time a tribe was defeated, it fought even harder against control. In fact, the original frontier was further north, but Rome had to move it  further south each time its troops were needed elsewhere until finally the emperor Trajan (AD 97-117) secured the westernmost end of what was to become Hadrian's Wall. He secured it with earthen works (ditches and mounds) and wooden forts in order to protect an important trade route.

In AD 122, Trajan's successor Hadrian toured these troops and ordered the building of the wall to protect Roman resources from incursions from the Caledones.  This way, troops only needed to be stationed at the gates, and engage those Caledones only when they were seen approaching the wall (Rome was extremely pro-active in defense, and would move out through the gates of the Wall to meet incoming bands of attackers). That wall ran for 74 miles from the modern-day towns of Wallsend in the west to Bowness-upon-Solway in the east.

The wall was yet another marvel of Roman engineering (Roman bridges still stand after 2000 years -- which modern bridge with match that, hmm??). On the Caledonian side of the wall, they dug a V-shaped ditch. Then the wall itself, with a taller "layer" against a shorter and wider layer. Behind the wall was a military zone, and then a mound, a valley, and another mound. The Caledones weren't organized enough to make it through all of that...

The Hadrian's Wall Path is a trail that is part of the UK national trail system. This trail is rare in that it follows not only some very nice natural beauty, but also follows the historical path of the wall with many stops to learn about the history of the wall and view its 1900-year-old remains. The trail itself is 84 miles, so it does meander away from the wall in places.  As you might imagine, there are several places where villages sprang up to serve the needs of the troops and traders.

Of course, there is a LOT more history than I'm giving here! Some I'll likely include as part of my daily adventures. If you want more, then I suggest you google that shit!