My Next Epic Adventure

 It is now 100 days before I begin my next epic adventure, starting with a coast to coast walk across northern England following Hadrian's Wall Path. It is a trek of approximately 100 miles beginning at the England/Scotland border on the west coast in a hamlet called Bowness-on-Solway and culminating in Tynemouth on the east coast.

The next segment will be walking a portion of the Cotswold Way starting in Cheltenham and ending in Bath. Jo Anne and I walked the first section of this walk in 2016 and I've always wanted to complete the trail. She will join me in Cheltenham and walk bits of the trail with me.

Finally, we will travel to Switzerland where we will experience the best of the Bernese Oberland, taking trains, cable cars, gondolas and walking paths through the incredible alps, staying in the small alpine villages of Murren, Wengen and Grindelwald.

There is a tremendous amount of information about Hadrian's Wall and I'll try not to overwhelm you with it all as I traverse the countryside. Let me begin with just a brief overview.

Almost two thousand years ago, for reasons still debated, the emperor Hadrian visited Britain and made a decision. In AD122, he ordered a wall be constructed between the banks of the River Tyne near the east coast to the Solway estuary in the west.

The wall took six years to build, and its forts and milecastles stayed occupied until the Romans left Britain three hundred years later. People have been quietly pulling it to pieces ever since, using the stone to construct everything from churches and monasteries to the Military Road that runs alongside. Despite their best efforts, though, over ten miles of the ancient wall still remains in small and large chunks dotted across the country. The fact that it remains standing is attributed to the work of John Clayton, who bought some of the land that the Wall stood on so that it could be protected and wouldn't be demolished. 21 years ago, Hadrian’s Wall Path, which largely follows the original route of the wall and its accompanying defenses from one coast to the other, was completed and is the path I will take.

Hadrian was the Emperor of Rome from AD 117 until AD 138. His family was Spanish, but he lived his life in Rome. He spent his reign travelling across his Empire and improving it, particularly its borders. He built Hadrian's Wall to secure the Empire's north-western border in the province of Britannia.

So far as is known, the Wall cost nothing to build. The principal costs – materials and labor – were free for the Roman army and there is little likelihood that compensation was paid for the land acquired. In fact it might be argued that the project had a value in its own right as a way of keeping the army occupied.

Hadrian’s Wall was a rich and vibrant place. It was a border, but it was also a place where borders were crossed. Here, soldiers and civilians from across Europe and North Africa met, traded and served together at the north-western frontier of the Roman Empire. Many settled in this wild, foreign place across the sea and adopted local customs, worshipping native gods even while preserving their own traditions.

When you think of a ‘Wall’, your mind’s eye sees just that - a vertical barrier stretched out in front of you. However, the one that the Roman Emperor Hadrian instructed to be built, had a bit more to it.

‘Hadrian’s Wall’ was intended to be a frontier - a line drawn between the Romans and the Barbarians. It was the northernmost boundary of the empire and had to straddle from one side of Britain to the other. There was of course a need for it to be manned and patrolled, and it had to have gateways, allowing access in both directions.

The narrowest point between Britain’s east and west coastlines lies roughly halfway between the northernmost and southernmost parts of the UK. It is almost 80 miles across, with a 20-mile long hill range in the middle - which we know today as the Pennines.

Given that the primary function of the frontier was to be a border control, it obviously had to be protected. That protection needed to be from both sides - so that nobody crossed their border without the Romans knowing about it. This required a significant obstacle, with a manned 24-hour guard.

The ‘Wall’ was constructed by three Roman Legions. It consisted of a stone walkway more than 4 metres (13') above the ground, with a protective parapet above that. In front (to the north) of the wall, was a ditch (the Fosse) 2 metres (6.5') deep. Behind the wall, to the south, was a military zone, with a Road for troops and supplies. Beyond that was an earthwork fortification (the Vallum), which consisted of a 2 metre high mound, a 2 metre deep ditch and another 2 metre high mound.

Along the ‘Wall’, every mile there were crossing points (Milecastles) - 80 in total. Equally dispersed between the Milecastles, were Turrets that housed the Wall’s guards - 158 turrets in total. Bridges had to be constructed to navigate the rivers Irthing and North Tyne.

Then, in order to man the frontier effectively, as well as patrol the land to the north, numerous Forts were needed. Smaller forts were built to house a few hundred men and larger ones catered for up to a thousand. I hope you can grasp the magnitude of the Wall.

As I write this in 2024, it is now 1902 years since this construction was embarked upon. And yet, parts of every element are still visible and tangible today. I look forward to exploring this World Heritage site in about 3 months time.

Thought for the day:  Learning discipline in the little things of life prepares the way for big successes. If you lack discipline in small matters, you're likely to be undisciplined in the more important matters also. As Jesus taught His disciples, "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much" (Luke 16:10).