Bardon Mill and Roman Wall walk
Sun 27th May 2018
Bardon Mill and Roman Wall walk – May 19th
It was a beautiful morning as the walkers for the day’s walk met at Bardon Mill – a blue and cloudless sky, not a breath of wind and pleasantly warm. Almost certainly due to the other main event of the day our group was smaller than usual and the dynamics also different with more men than women walkers!
Mark introduced himself to those who had not walked with him before and after outlining the walk, set off through the pottery yard and over the A69 and up the quiet and very dry valley to the first place of interest, Vindolanda where he outlined the basic purpose and history of this Roman fort/township. Our route took us on a country lane to the Sill at Once Brewed – this is the new flagship visitor centre of Northumberland National park – and everyone agreed how impressive it is, especially with excellent views of “the wall” and the Whinsill in the distance.
We made our way to Hadrian’s Wall path and headed east towards Housesteads passing by the iconic tree at Sycamore gap. Rather than take the “low path” Mark led the walk to the path which closely followed the wall and overlooked the loughs below the crags. Absolutely outstanding views of the wall and surrounding countryside were enjoyed. Our lunch stop was just before we reached Housesteads and Mark gave a further brief talk about the wall, the soldiers who manned it and this best preserved of any Roman fort in Britain.
The route back to Bardon Mill took us over the Military road and on a poorly defined footpath over Thorngrafton Moor to Thorngrafton and from there on the road, under the A69 to our starting point.
All confirmed this was a lovely walk made all the more enjoyable with such a perfect day for walking.
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