The Romans were a powerful bunch. But they couldn’t quite conquer the fierce Scots. So what did they do? They built a long wall to keep those Northern ‘barbarians’ out of Roman territory.
Hadrian’s Wall, proposed by, you guessed it, Emperor Hadrian of the Romans, stretches from the west of Britain, right across to the east. It runs for 73 miles, and even though it’s over 1,800 years old, parts of it still stand today. A testament to the skills of the Romans.
Join one of our small group tours to Hadrian’s Wall to hear the fascinating story of how it was designed and constructed and witness the most famous frontier of the mighty Roman Empire for yourself.
Fact File:
Length: 73 miles (or 80 Roman miles) | Width: 2.4 – 3 metres | Height: approx. 4.6 metres | Constructed: circa AD 122 - 128 | Built by: 15,000 legionaries
Hadrian’s Wall isn’t just a wall. It incorporates 80 milecastles, 17 large forts, and two observation towers every third of a mile. The Romans took their fortifications seriously, labouring over a deep ditch which ran parallel to the wall.
Archaeologists are still excavating sites of Roman occupation along Hadrian’s Wall. From shoes to pots and fashion accessories, each item dug from the earth reveals more about the bygone cultures that influenced Britain’s past.
The ongoing battles between the Romans and the Picts are notorious. Luckily, many of these were documented in ancient texts referring to Hadrian’s Wall.
Stroll alongside the remains of this timeworn wall and take in the stunning landscapes of the Borders, Northumberland and Cumbria.
Travel the local way on small group tours of 16 people or less
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