This week’s oasis was a visit to Hadrian’s Wall. A beautiful balmy day, alternating between sun and clouds and often threatening rain, we manage to dodge the showers and start at Vindolanda where the Teens and I and Teen 2’s friend from university, who is studying archaeology, have a picnic before going around the Roman fort.
Sited between Hadrian’s Wall in the north and a heather-clad moor in the south, there has been a continual programme of excavation for decades under the guidance of 3 generations of the Birley family which is still ongoing.
Their museum has a wonderful display of the artefacts that have been unearthed including shoes, pottery, jewellery and an exhibition about the discovery of ‘The Vindolanda Tablets’ which are now housed in the British Museum and give a fascinating insight into the lives of people who lived on the Wall. In the grounds they have also reconstructed a typical Roman dwelling, a shop and temple.
It is then onto Hadrian’s Wall, starting from Housesteads, another Roman Fort. No matter how busy I am, I can never refuse the opportunity to walk along the wall and blow away my cobwebs - a definite recommendation for those on the edge of a nervous breakdown. It’s always bracing up there even in midsummer, and one of the most amazing views in the entire world, looking south to the top end of the Pennines and north into Scotland. East or west, you look along the ridge to follow the undulations of the Wall, in some places a sheer drop on the northern side, forming a natural barrier against the unruly Barbarians. I’ve instructed Wonderhubby that when I pop my clogs, I want the family to scatter my ashes from Sewingshields Crag; I want to end up by becoming part of the beautiful timeless place that is Northumberland.
We also show our visitor around Hexham Abbey, an ancient but very active establishment founded circa 674AD by Saint Wilfred. Initially wood, it was built upon a crypt made from Roman stones. We are fortunate enough to go down into the crypt and see the 2000 year old inscriptions and patterns that still remain on these stones. The Abbey also houses amazing Mediaeval carvings and stonework and has a most peaceful contemplative atmosphere.
Living close by to all these wonderful things, it’s easy to taken them for granted, they are just there, part of the unconscious fabric of the locality. But they are very much part of what makes the North-East so special and why I am so glad to be part of it.
