Aidis Walks Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian’s Wall was built as a military fortification to keep the Pictes (Scottish) out of Roman Britain. It was 80 Roman miles long and construction probably started in 122 AD and was largely completed in 8 years. The initial design included a ditch and a wall with 80 small forts or mile castles. There were also small observation towers, evenly spread along the wall.

Hadrian’s Wall has also been featured at the Cinema. The film “King Arthur” features a battle scene just outside what would have been Hadrian’s Wall. For the film a model wall was built in County Kildare (Ireland). The wall was also in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”. The scene where Robin is walking along a wall with a large tree in the background is meant to be on his journey to Nottingham. The tree is known locally as Robin Hood Tree and can be found on Hadrian’s Wall.

The “Robin Hood Tree” section of Hadrian’s Wall

The American newspaper, USAToday wrote an article about how they thought Hadrian’s Wall was better than Stonehenge. This gave a good overview of what the wall has to offer for the casual walker (or tourist) as there are a number of short, pre prepared walks that take in some of the best scenery and local hostels, bed and breakfasts, hotels and pubs.                                                   

Recently a heritage expert warned that increasing numbers of visitors is damaging the wall. Professor Peter Fowler, the United Nations World Heritage Advisor warned that not enough was been done to protect the wall. In 2005, figures from the Countryside Agency showed that 65% more people walked the wall than the previous year. To reduce erosion of the trail path along Hadrian’s Wall, people are advised to walk in single file.