Hadrian's Wall at Housesteads Fort

We were so close to an ancient wall that still has remains standing, we decided to include it in our itinerary on our Golden Anniversary trip to Britain last fall.  The Roman Vallum Aelium (Hadrian's Wall) stretched across from the River Tyne near the North Sea to the Solway Firth in the Irish Sea covering a distance of 73 miles. 

There are many places we can view this ancient wall.  Hadrian's Wall defended the northern border of the Roman province of  Britannia for over 250 years.  We decided to travel to the Housesteads Fort to see a structure that was begun in AD 122!  Let that sink in for a moment...2017 marked the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian becoming the Roman Emperor.  It was also the 30th anniversary of this area becoming a World Heritage site.

  Sheep are plentiful in England.  Aren't they beautiful?  This one appears to have lost his way.  We often saw them in the road and on the other side of what appears to be a rock wall to keep them in.

We drove to Northumberland over this incredible pass.  If you look closely you can see the road we are taking winding over the mountain through the foggy beauty of the Lake District.

Getting closer to a lower elevation the views become clearer. 

At the top of the hill is our first view of the ancient Roman fort and wall located in Northumberland. There are sheep everywhere!  Their size is bigger than those we have seen.  When we inquired about the type we were told they were Mule Sheep.  They were just as nosy about us as we were about them!

We learned that this area has been farmed for many centuries and it wasn't until fairly recently it has been managed by the National Trust and English Heritage.  We joined both of these organizations before going to Britain.  The Royal Oak Foundation is the United States arm of the National Trust.  By joining these organizations you are helping to preserve these sites for posterity.  It also allows you to visit without a fee or parking charge.  Our English Heritage passes were not sent to us before we left home, but proved to be no problem as we had our printout and the first English Heritage site we visited the lady gave us passes to use on our trip.

After getting our passes we visited the small museum to learn more about this fort and wall.

Visiting this wall reminded me of our own ridiculous thinking that walls need to be built in the first place!  I don't speak of politics here and don't want to debate it.  I feel very passionately about this and I'm sure you do as well.  Let's leave it at that!

Along the 73 mile wall there were forts built to house soldiers and munitions.  Housesteads or "Vercovicium" is from the Celtic "place of able fighters."

This inscription was found on a stone altar on the hillside around the fort in the early 18th century.  Over the years the stones from the wall have been used in the construction of castles and barns and other buildings.

Leaving the museum we climbed the hill to view the Housestead Fort.

 Grayden is touching the Wall that you are allowed to walk on here.  Many hikers walk the length of Hadrian's Wall, but alongside it and not on it.  The first time we visited England we met a couple on the Queen Mary 2 that were going to do just that! 

Here we are standing on the edge of the Roman Empire.

A couple we met from San Francisco asked if we wanted our photo taken.

Walking back down the hill we enjoyed the views of Northumberland.  

It's hard to believe that this lovely peaceful place was once occupied by 800 soldiers defending the border of the Roman Empire so long ago.