Hadrian's Wall

Northern England Part 2: The highlight of our trip to York, in my opinion, was our hike along Hadrian's Wall.  It had it all: ancient history, amazing scenery, and a great walk guided by BSAO's own, Matt Symonds.  Check back for more about HW but until I can get Matt to give a good description, enjoy the pictures!

The beginning of our hike from Steel Rigg climbing up from Peel Gap

Jordan & Stefanie along Hadrian's Wall

Milecastle 39 Castle Nick

Matt Symonds addressing the group

Sycamore Gap

Between Sycamore Gap and Housesteads

Jordan, Stefanie & Caroline at Housesteads

Hadrian's Wall was built across the northern frontier of the Roman Empire during the rule of the Emperor Hadrian (beginning in AD 122).  Although there is some questions as to the primary reason for the building of the wall, there was certainly a defensive purpose behind building a heavily fortified wall along the border.  However, the wall would have also served as a customs barrier as well.  The site (about 74 miles long) is now maintained by English Heritage and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

(PS - Thanks Matt for taking the time to identify the various points we travelled along HW!)