Hadrian's Wall

Posted by Karen (Monterey County, CA (formerly Verbania Italy-Lago Maggiore)) on 08/29/14 03:31 AM

We will be driving from Oban to York in about a month. I'd previously posted asking for ideas to do on the way, but now have a specific question. Since it appears that Hadrian's Wall is not that far off the M6 as we drive through Carlisle. What specific section of Hadrian's wall would be the highlight in that part of England? If you have GPS coordinates, we can load into our Garmin. This way we won't waste precious time searching or end up missing the best section.

From there we will stop at Long Meg and Her Daughters and other stops recommended in my previous post. (already closed)

Posted by Erica

Minnesota

08/29/14 03:48 AM

57 posts

Birdoswald Roman Fort is just east of Carlisle and there you can see the longest surviving stretch of the wall. Directions and a Garmin download can be found at the English Heritage page for the site.

I also like Housesteads Roman Fort, further to the east. My favorite Hadrian's Wall site in Vindolanda, just south of Housesteads. The museum there is fantastic.
These sites are all fairly close to Carlisle (within 45 minutes), but I don't know how far off the main motorway you want to go.

Posted by Smitty

Salisbury

09/02/14 02:41 PM

22 posts

Actually, I have a slightly different question: Without a car, how can I see Hadrian's wall from either Carlisle or Newcastle? Does the bus from Carlisle stop for a long while at each stop? Or, does one just wait for the next bus? How frequent are the buses in late September?

Posted by arao

09/05/14 08:31 AM

7 posts

Smitty, without a car, the AD-122 bus is your best bet from Carlisle. Look up the latest schedule - in general, it does not run often and you have to plan both your to-and-fro trips carefully if you're connecting to it so that you make the most of time. Be prepared to spend quite some time traveling, but if you are a Roman ruins buff it will be well worth it - the preservation of the fort ruins at Homesteads is incredible!

Karen - Vindolanda for a fun museum (think people, exhibits, noise), Homesteads for sprawling remains of a wonderful fort (think open air, short walk, very small exhibit, time alone with the ruins). Whatever floats your interest :)

Posted by Jerry

Stockton, CA

09/07/14 04:16 AM

152 posts

Karen,
We will be visiting Hadrian's wall in late October, driving up from Middlesbrough, Yorkshire. I've done my research, and agree with Erica's suggested stops. If you check the possible routes using "via Michelin" you can see that from Oban, it would take you down through Glasgow, to Carlisle, then across toward Newcastle on A69. That takes you across most of the access points to the wall and the various sites of interest. You do not indicate how long you plan to spend near the wall: a few minutes, a couple hours, overnight? I see you want to stop at Long Meg and Her Daughters, so I guess you could just backtrack on A69.

http://www.viamichelin.com/web/Routes#idTitleRoadsheet

We will be staying in Haltwhistle, which is a short drive to Vindolanda, Housesteads Roman Fort, and the Roman Museum. We are planning the better part of one day, and staying overnight before heading to the Newcastle airport.

It looks very interesting. Have fun.
Jerry