Hadrian's Wall and the Barbarians of the North

If you haven’t already noticed, in ScotlandShop we cannot hide our love for history, and whenever we give ourselves a new Scottish monthly theme, we jump at the opportunity to research and discover interesting facts to share with our tartan friends. Today, I’m the lucky winner and, as part of our “Border Traditions” theme, after raving about my visit over the weekend I’ve been asked to write a small post about Hadrian’s Wall and the reasons behind the roman “border” between Britannia and the barbarians of the north ...cue the Game of Thrones theme!

To the south, the province of Britannia, conquered by the Romans at the order of Emperor Claudius, around the year 79 A.D. To the north, today known as Scotland, there was a land inhabited by various tribes, including the Caledonni and the Damnonii or “Brittunculi”, a name the Romans used to describe the people, meaning “nasty little Britons”. This legion of meanies was not up for cooperation and their fierce resistance against the invaders has gone down in history as one of the most remarkable of all times. It wasn’t until Roman Italo-Gallic general Julius Agricola defeated the Caledonians in 81 A.D. at the Battle of Mons Graupius, that the romans claimed to have conquered the whole island. However, this did not mean that the Caledonian tribes did gave up their stubborn opposition, and, unfortunately for them, the people of the north continued to be a threat.

Now, if occupying new territories wasn’t difficult enough, being able to protect them couldn’t be very easy either. Hence the Roman’s will to build walls to defend their lands. When Emperor Hadrian came to power, Britannia began the construction of what would later be known as the Hadrian's Wall, named after the great Emperor. Hadrian couldn’t have put it better himself, “a wall to separate Romans from the barbarians”. It was built over at least six years by a legion of Roman soldiers.

Today, almost 2,000 years after it was built, we can still visit Hadrian's Wall, which remains in good condition in a few areas. Although 7% of the structure is considered to have been renovated between the 19^th and 20^th centuries, you can still stand and “guard” the original construction.

There are a few different spots where you can visit the Hadrian’s wall. The best (or most popular) sections are situated along the 83 mile long Hadrian's Wall Path, a National Trail that runs coast to coast across Northern England. Northumberland National Park has some of the most scenic views, especially near Cawfields and Steel Rigg.

Walltown Crags is also a very good spot, as it sits between Birdoswald Roman Fort and Housesteads Roman Fort. I personally visited this stretch a couple of weeks ago, and I must say that it was well worth it. There was something really especial in walking among the ruins of the fort and taking photographs of the wonderful scenery.

Just outside Northumberland National Park on the B6318, there is a small village called Greenhead which we will use as our departure point. From Greenhead and driving east still on the B6318, follow the signs for the Roman Army Museum and Walltown Quarry country park and picnic area. Leaving the Roman Museum on your left, you’ll find a small sign to Waltown Crags that takes you to Walltown Visitor Centre- a lovely site with great facilities, a fairly cheap car park (£1/hour), a wonderful café and even a maze!

The route in this stretch is very easy to follow. From the visitor centre, cross the gate at the right and follow the path to the quarry until you reach a bench that reads “Walltown” right next to a new gate. After the gate, walk across the meadow following the fence on the left which, eventually, will take you to the wall. This is really a great viewpoint of the wall, it provides the most stunning views, and you can see the fortification snaking through the landscape in both directions.