Views where Buzzards soar

Such a beautiful morning to welcome March, TT was going for a cycle ride so I headed out with my camera.
I had no real destination in mind but I'm still thinking about where I want to be for the Illumination of Hadrian's Wall.
I pottered around Cawfields, I do like the way the Wall climbs up from Cawfields to Winshields Crag and there are lots of spots where you can capture this view without being on the Hadrian's Wall Path.

Near the Hadrians Wall Path at Cawfields

You will have already seen the  pictures I posted of the rehearsal (if not scroll down) I was very much put off by the green HiViz jackets that seemed to show up brighter than the lights.
I had planned to go to Hotbank Crag and scout out the path that goes parallel to Peel Crags but driving along the road I noticed the turn to Barcombe Fell.
I posted a picture from the Long Stone on Twitter a few days ago and decided on the spur of the moment to go up to the stone again.

Heading up Barcombe Fell

I'm so glad I did the views of Hadrian's Wall are amazing.
If you're looking for a spot to see a long line of lights then look no further.

Panorama of Hadrian's Wall from Barcombe Fell -see all the way  from Sewingshields to Walltown

Double click this photo to see an enlarged version

You don't have to go very far up the public footpath to get good views, it's a well worn track so you will be safe as long as you take reasonable care.
The road leading to the FP is part of Stanegate, the old Roman Road, and it's wide enough to park on without causing too much disruption to the farmer.
Perfect in fact.

FP up Barcombe Fell here's a link to the OS map showing you where it is.

Trig point on the site of a Roman Signal Station and the Long Stone on the horizon

I climbed up to the Long Stone, it's a monument to miners killed in a pit accident.

Mining disaster memorial stone with views over Vindolanda

The views over Vindolanda are super and as I walked over the bracken I remembered a book I've read recently that said the Romans used to collect bracken from Barcombe Hill to use as matting for their dwellings.
Certainly walking in the footsteps of history.

Bracken on Barcombe Fell used by the Romans of Vindolanda to carpet their dwellings

I sat on the stone base and ate a ceral bar, watching buzzards in a mating dance high above me, larks were singing,  a Kestral hovered and I could smell the scent of dianthus ( I know really weird) and I don't think I could have been any happier.
It seems I wasn't the only one feeling the joys of spring, as I walked along towards the bridle way to take me up to the Military Road, making a circular walk, I noticed a circular contrail in the sky. Can you imagine the pilot looping the loop and shouting wheeeeeeee?

Full of the joys of spring?

I have some more information on the Illumination but will post that tomorrow for you.
Catch you later.
Joan

Hadrian's Wall Illuminations on the 13th of March 2010

 I've been looking through Google Analytics at the search questions that have brought people to my blog and thought I'd do a quick entry that covers some of those questions.

On the 13th of March 2010 Hadrian's Wall will be lit by gas beacons, a once in a lifetime event that will never be repeated.
From Wallsend on the east coast to Bowness on the West, approximately 500 beacons spaced every 250metres will cover the 84 miles of the Hadrian's Wall.
The first beacon will be lit at Wallsend at approx 5.35pm and lighting will progress in sequence east to west with a six second delay between each beacon firing up so, 50 minutes later the last beacon will be lit.
Beacons when lit will be about 10ft high.
They will burn for approximately 75 minutes. 
There is a plan to extinguish all of the lights at the same time to mark the anniversary of the end of Roman Occupation in 410AD

You can apply to be one of the team who light the beacons and will receive a certificate to say you were an 'Illuminator', to date there have been 1500 applications, Sign up here.



Audience  participation events are planned in Wallsend/Newcastle and in Carlisle Celebrations in Carlisle
Organizers are hoping the main visitor focus will be at these two events.
(But when you think about Hadrian's wall Newcastle or Carlisle don't immediately spring to mind do they?)

A lot of the Hadrian's Wall Path is relatively flat and, in the dark, not terribly interesting but it's not hard to see that the high crags part of Hadrian's Wall from Sewingshields to Birdoswald is going to look spectacular.

Steel Rigg

On Hadrian's Wall itself there will be three main viewing areas at Steel Rigg (NY750676) (NE47 7AN)

 at Housesteads (NY790687)

and Birdoswald(NY618663)(CA8 7DD)

You must apply for a ticket to park at these points. Apply here for free tickets organizers anticipate 500-800 people at each viewing point.
Disability parking will be available at Brocolitia (not exactly an exciting view point!)

It is possible that all other car parks on Hadrian's Wall will be locked and laybys will be cordoned off. (They cite health and safety reasons)
The roads are very, very narrow and the grass verges are boggy with hidden ditches so parking is going to be a problem if you haven't got a ticket for the official parking sites.
Park and Ride may be available depending on demand.

The highest point on Hadrian's Wall is Winshields Crag and that can be accessed from Steel Rigg, there is normally a parking fee but on the 13th tickets will be free.

The view from Winshields Crag

There is no additional entertainment planned for any of the viewing areas at this point in time, for me it will be enough to be able to say 'I was there when Hadrian's Wall was illuminated', but maybe you should think of taking a flask of coffee and extra warm clothing as there'll be a lot of standing around.
At Steel Rigg you're near to the Twice Brewed pub and there are toilets in the Once Brewed Visitor Centre. Housesteads has toilets and the cafe/toilets at Birdoswald may be open during the event.


Take a torch, the ground is uneven and the rocks are slippery.
Remember you are walking on farm land and as it's lambing time, keep dogs on a lead and do close gates, please respect the countryside don't leave litter.

Hadrian's Wall itself is an ancient monument - don't climb up on it for a better view.

Posted at the request of HW Trails officer

Photographers - my website has a grid reference on each of the photographs that should show you, on the centre of the relevant multimap, where I was standing when I took the shot. Please plan well in advance how you are going to get to your chosen spot.
If I learn anything more I will blog it here for you.

Vindolanda will be open that weekend and in my opinion it's the most interesting site on Hadrian's Wall and well worth a visit.
NB The Vindolanda Museum is currently being upgraded and won't be open to visitors.

For accomodation in this area try here. B and B's are already filling up so don't dither.

Digging around in the Roman times

Isn't it often the case that great places right on our doorstep are the ones we never visit, and so it was with us and the site at Vindolanda. NY768662

I'm still a bit sore from my tumble, so we decided to try something less strenuous than climbing up to Hadrian's Wall, so off we went to Vindolanda.

It's is a Roman Fort built in a lovely wooded hollow to the south of Hadrian's Wall and on the line of the Roman road, Stanegate.

The site is in the ownership of the Vindolanda Trust and the only place in the UK where archaeological excavations are on going. They even have a volunteer service so you can go and help with the dig, something I'd love to do if only my knees would still bend!

This is where the Vindolanda tablets were found, the best archaeological find ever, voted Britian's Top Treasure and quite rightly so.

Nothing brings history alive for us in quite the same way as the messages on these tablets do, my favourite is the trouper asking his mother to send more underpants.

It's another huge site with the largest collection of Roman buildings to be seen on the Wall.

The archaeologists will stop and speak to visitors and the days finds were in a tray near the fence so you could see quite easily what had been found.

The dig we looked at was on the settlement outside the fort where local tradesmen would have lived and worked. Pottery, glass beads, coins and bits of metal work were the 'finds' yesterday.

There was also a dig going on at the barracks area inside the fort, but we got to that bit at lunchtime when everyone had disappeared.

There's a reconstruction of the Wall with a Turret, climb up onto the roof of the turret for a great view across the site. It looks very impressive and the Wall when it was newly built must have been a sight to behold.

As it was another hot day we headed towards the cafe for refreshments, next to the cafe you'll find the museum and that's amazing. I loved it.

The soil around Vindolanda is perfect for preserving items and there are bits of shoe leather and material, imagine 2000 years ago someone ws walking in those shoes. The horse mask was incredible as was the plume from a helmet.

Everything is well labelled, well spaced and grouped logically.

The cafe was bright with a nice selection of goodies and situated in a beautiful spot next to the river.

We had a really nice day there and somehow with the excavations going on, it brought the whole Roman thing to life. The Vindolanda Trust were recently given a lottery grant and it will be interesting to see how it's spent, with the number of finds coming in each day I imagine extending the museum display area is on the list.

I liked it so much I'm signing up to be a 'Friend of Vindolanda' just £15 a year and you get free entry to this site and the Roman Army museum.

To quote from the leaflet: "The Vindolanda Trust is an independant charitable trust that raises it's income almost entirely from public support."

Great for children and with good access to the main site for people with disablities.

I highly recommend a visit.

http://www.vindolanda.com/

Catch you later.

Birdoswald

We were visiting friends in the Scottish Borders today and decided rather than coming back along the A69 we'd take the scenic route past Birdoswald.

I had hoped to be able to take a photograph at the village of Banks but the weather was inclement (pouring) so we just headed on down the road towards Gilsland.

As we came to Birdoswald we saw someone doing a geophys on the field next to Birdoswald Fort - I watch Time Team so I know the terms :)

How exciting, I knew there was a dig going on at what is referred to as the Cemetery Field, but that's tucked away out of site of the road, whereas this was in full view of the road. If they decide to dig I'll be able to watch and maybe get some photographs.

I would love to find a 'relic' and to that end I am always kicking over mole hills (we have millions of moles), and you'd think at least one of them would bring up something with their spoil, but no luck so far.

You can pay to join the dig at Vindolanda but my knees don't work anymore so I wouldn't be able to get down and dirty in the mud.

A metal detector is also out of the question, that's illegal on the HW corridor.

I'm waiting for someone to invent a good walking shoe with built in detector so I can kick over the mole hills and get a beep if there's anything interesting. Imagine having a gold trinket in one of our local Hadrian's Wall Museums with a little note to say found by me and a mole - wouldn't that be something?

Birdoswald is a great place to visit - hard to imaging that the Wall in the foreground and the crags in the distance are some 5+ miles apart. There's a good carpark, museum and coffee shop at Birdoswald.

There is also some 'rude' Roman graffitti on the Wall at Birdoswald but I haven't found it yet but no doubt someone has it mentioned in a guide book so it should be easy to locate.

For Hadrian's Wall itself this is one of the best places for people with mobility problems to get close up and personal with this magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site and genuine bit of accessible history.

Catch you later :)