Hadrian's Wall

We have been there twice. The most interesting section, IMHO, is the area around Once Brewed visitors' centre (Twice Brewed pub nearby) and Vindolanda. Across the road from the pub you can access the wall and walk on it for a mile or so. You can walk to the scyamore tree that's featured at the beginning of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, if you have seen that movie. If you want to walk on the wall, wear good walking shoes. The terrain is quite uneven.

First, if you haven't already done so, do explore the Hadrian Wall's website. I visited Chesters Fort and Housesteads Fort from Hexham. I liked Hexham. You not only get some interesting Roman History, but you get the history of the Borders as well. It was hot area during Elizabethan times and before. There's a small museum on the Reivers. Of course, the Union of the Crowns theoretically ended the raiding. There's a great book by Fraser, The Steel Bonnets that can give you some of the great tales from the area. Pam

We visited last year, drove from Durham to Hexham, parked and took the AD 122 bus, which runs close to the wall. We stopped at Vindolanda, with the ruins of a large town plus an excellent museum, and at Housesteads, with ruins of a Roman fort. Housesteads is right at the wall, Vindolanda somewhat south of it. Bus back to Hexham and visited the great old church there with its Saxon crypt, then back to Durham. All in one long day including some rain. With more time we'd have gone further west along the wall. See http://www.hadrians-wall.org/ for info on various stops, bus schedules, maps etc. I'm sure you could have as good an experience coming from the west (Carlisle, Lake District) as from the east (Newcastle, Durham). The AD 122 bus is specifically for wall-visitors, stops at all the major sites, an all-day pass is a very good deal for multiple stops. Our visit was pretty minimal. At the other extreme, you can walk the 84 miles from one end to the other, mostly alongside the wall or what's left of it. You can sleep at local inns and pubs, and a service called Hadrian's Haul will carry your overnight stuff so you can walk with just lunch and raingear. That trip requires a lot of time and planning of course.