Last, we were at
Vindolanda, walking instead of taking the bus to Housesteads like any other
sane person. It was supposed to be a 20 minute bus ride to the famous site, the
postcard perfect view of the fort and stretch of Hadrian’s Wall; the view that
functions as their tourism promo. Instead, I decided to walk the almost 5 km to
the site, out in the spring sun and along the green pastures of the quaint
English countryside.
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| Bardon Mills to Vindolanda/Chesterholm |
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| Vindolanda/Chesterholm to Housesteads |
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| And the elevation changes quite a bit |
Walking past fields
and sheep, pastures and cottages, I could only imagine how a Romano-British
settler would have lived out here. Quiet country roads, nary a car in sight,
and even less in people. If you like your peace, quiet, solitude and space for
contemplation, this is your hike. Out here in all its glory: quaint rustic
scenes, fresh from a Constable painting.
Hiking up and down the
hills, one would occasionally bump on to old Roman sites. I did so *some*
research on this subject, so I was aware of the general military defensive
architecture of the Romans, from the walls to the dykes to the vallum. Once in
a while, you would look around, and then your map, and then a name would
suddenly pop up, making you go ‘OH!’
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| Pasture and the occasional public footpath marker |
One of my favourite is
the ‘Military Road,’ so proclaimed on my GPS map. Naturally, I was curious. Is this Roman? Well, partly yes, partly no.
Some parts were the actual Roman military road, others, and a big chunk of the
present, was the military road commissioned by General Wade, who famously went
against the Scots during the Jacobite uprising.
Along this stretch of
the military road, just above on a hill, I could see Housesteads, or to use its
original Latin name Vercovicium (annoying
as it is also known as Borcovicus, Borcovicium and Verlution) , just
slightly obscured. At least I assumed it is the site. I just saw another
cottage on what looked like a private dwelling. So, following the well-marked
trail, and occasionally harassing sheep and ducks by walking really fast behind
them as if I was about to sheer them or get a golden goose from a duck, I
trotted along towards Military Road and the fort beyond.
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| Rolling countryside between Vindlanda and Housesteads |
Now, there is some
history to this aptly named road. The foundations of one empire tend to be made
from another, much like how the ruins of Carthage built Rome’s imperial might.
In true imperial form, and as unwitting(?) heirs to Rome, England, under
General Wade and the Hannoverian monarchs, decided, in their quest to rid
themselves of the troublesome Scottish separatists, to build the aforementioned
military road. Holding up the might of Imperial Rome on a grand pedestal for
reference, they quite literally built the foundations of Great Britain on the
very foundations of the Wall itself. Sections of the Wall were spared, but
along a major part of its course, Military Road follows the Wall, which
naturally led to the stones of the Wall being used as road foundations [glimpses in the accompanying video commentary].
So, up a hill I went,
past the cottage and *poof* just beyond the crest was the site of Housesteads /
Vercovicium, the fort built in AD 124, and thus I have arrived at checkpoint 2.
In need of a drink and a treat, I went in to the
cottage-cum-giftshop-cum-exhibition space and got myself the entrance ticket, a soda, a bottle of
water, some chocolate and an ice cream. Yes, it was hot. I was walking, if you
remember, unlike the others here who either got shipped in by bus or car. Also,
no check-point would be complete without a ‘relic,’ so I bought a book on what
travellers in Imperial Rome would expect to encounter during their adventures.
The fort of
Vercovicium itself sloped southwards, with the main towers and walls on the crest
of the ridge, proudly demarking the very edge of civilization. Compared to Vindolanda,
there was not a hive of archaeological or academic activity; rather it was
filled with tourists touring the walls, walking through what could be mistaken
for as a stone garden maze. Of course, this was before I tried to get in to the
fort.
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| On the wall of Housetseads/Vercovicum Fort: Civilized world to the right, uncivilized world to the left |
See, walking along the
fort’s wall, I missed the ‘main door’ to the site-proper. Following Hadrian’s
Wall Path, I missed it altogether, reaching the Wall and a small patch of
forest that doubled as a quadruple-height hedge instead of entering the fort. Instead
of walking back down the hill and up again, I took a shortcut, while squeezing
my body through a ‘crack’ in the wall: all very ‘dignified.’
There I was, squeezed
past a 2,000 year old wall on my hands and feet like Nathan Drake-Lara Croft.
It wasn’t that high to begin with: maybe 1.5 meters at most? I tried to not
make my entrance too obvious by making as if I was getting comfortable sitting
on it, looking north towards what was at one point in time, the great land of
the uncivilized, now known as parts of the Dukedom of Northumberland and the
Kingdom of Scotland.
To the left and right,
I saw the Wall, in her relic yet imposing glory, perched on the ridge,
demarking the frontier of Empire, the washed from the unwashed. It was clear
why this site was chosen. Militarily, it was advantageous. Perched on the
hills, it formed a natural barrier. It was, in every sense of the word,
magnificent. How did they build this on this site with the elements bombarding
them, and the infamously treacherous English weather ever looming, is a feat
worthy of celebrating.
It was then that it
struck me: I finally understood what George R. R. Martin kept harping on about
as his inspiration for the Wall of Game of Thrones. Here I was, sitting on a
major achievement of human engineering, on the only stone wall on the fringe of
the Roman Empire. There I was, in spring, wearing shorts, t-shirt and sunnies,
momentarily transported mentally, to the mind of that bored Roman senator who went
to pay a courtesy call to his friend the governor of Britannia and was left to
his own devices as his mate had to deal with issues in Anglesey.
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| No caption needed. |
“What if,” I thought,
“what if I was here when this was a proper wall? What would the legionaries
tell me? What stories would the centurions regale me with as we stand here
looking north, as a woad-encrusted Pict streaks in front of us on the fields
beyond? What would I do if it was winter and I was used to the warmth of Carthago
Nova? What would I do if I was out of French burgundy?” It didn’t help that I
saw the ‘North Gate’ which only served to fan my imagination more.
Which then reminded
me: it’s lunch time. I could do with a glass of wine and something nice to eat.
I am, after all, on a hike, and a few chocolate bars, a bottle of water and a
can of Diet Coke can only go so far. The cottage here in Housesteads did not
have much in terms of food, merely refreshments. I had a look at my GPS and
sought out the next waypoint. There was a small village ahead, so I assumed
there would be at least a guest house if not a local I could stop by.
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| Along Hadrian's Wall looking towards Housesteads/Vercovicum Fort: Notice the trees that function as hedges |
Surely there would be
a small public house with provisions to spare for a weary traveller?
So, after strolling
around the fort and looking through the ruins, her majestic slope looking
southwards towards the Northumberland countryside, I headed towards that titan
of a hedge and walked along Hadrian’s Wall, in the general direction of west,
towards Carlisle. The GPS and guide both hinted at food and wine. No mead or
beer please, I’m still roleplaying a bored Roman senator who needed some time
away from Umbilicus Mundi.
Entrance to Housesteads/Vercovicium is GBP 7
There is no charge to the visitor’s center or
the Wall.
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