Hiking Hadrian's Wall - Your Path To Adventure

If you've read any of my other articles you probably realize that I am a bit of a history buff, it is with that in mind that I thought I'd introduce you to my dream vacation a hike along Hadrian's Wall. This is not a vacation for the feint of heart, it is a long arduous trek though the North England country side, but I believe it would be a trek well worth the effort, both for the historical significance of this magnificent showpiece of Roman engineering ability, but also for the joy of a camping adventure unlike no other.

Ever since I first heard of the wall I wanted to see the ruins, to stand where the Roman Legions stood at the edge of the Roman Empire during the time of Emperor Hadrian. This was the edge of the world to the Romans, the furthest they pushed, the wall stood as tribute to the size and magnificence of the Roman Empire. While little remains of the original wall and fortification, it is still a formidable sight by all accounts.

If you are reading this wondering what is Hadrian's Wall, then perhaps I should enlighten you.

The wall was constructed by the engineering corps of the Roman Army during the reign of Hadrian (or at least started during his reign) the production of the wall began around 120AD although the precise reason for the building of the wall has never been fully understood by historians. The official reasoning of keeping the rebellious forces of Northern Britannia out of Roman territory is a tad confusing. While these "northern barbarians" did put up quite a fight, conquering it wouldn't have been a huge feat for even relatively small Roman armies garrisoned in Britain at the time, and much of the area walled off would have been tough for the rebels to cross even without the wall.

In all likely-hood the wall was more of a make-work project designed to employ the British-Romans and keep the military busy. The Wall was built to hold some 9,000 Roman troops and attracted, as the movement of troops often do, a whole host of others to set up camps and towns all along the wall.

The Hadrian's Wall Trail is an unbroken hiking trail 135 km long following the winding path of the wall. It is suggested to hike the trail breaking it down into more managable hikes of 19-25km sections. The map shown shows some of the area that the path travels.

Image use with permission from Natrual England