Hadrian’s Wall built across the far North of England from Carlisle to Newcastle is perhaps the greatest walk in the UK that combines history with spectacular scenery.
In 2011 I walked the sixty-mile middle stretch from Brampton to Corbridge, averaging about 12 miles a day. Up and down I walked always following the wall that was punctuated with remains of small garrisons and numbered turrets. I passed Roman forts along the way; Birdoswald, Housesteads and Vindolanda; temple ruins in the middle of fields; and phalluses carved into the wall stones
Although it was August, the weather up here is predictably unpredictable. The grass was the brightest green I had ever seen and together with dark leaden skies, the contrast and the threat of storms, gave this huge landscape a strong sense of drama.
Beyond the wall were the dense forests of Scotland. It would not take too much imagination for Game of Throne fans to spot wildlings charging out of the trees.
