Hadrian's Wall

About

Hadrian's Wall is a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the route of the Roman wall marching 73 miles from sea to sea across some of the wildest and most dramatic country in England. Experience Roman life and epic history in stunning locations.

Hadrian’s Wall is a perfect example of Roman forward-thinking, planning, tenacity and power. Construction on the wall begun in AD 122 in the reign of the emperor Hadrian, and this impressive defensive fortification in northern England is the most important monument of Roman Britain. It ran from the banks of the River Tyne in the east to the Solway Firth in the west, spanning 73 miles before continuing down the Cumbrian Coast to Ravenglass and was the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. A significant portion of the wall still stands today, along with many of the forts, milecastles and turrets. A popular way to visit is on foot along the Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail - a long-distance footpath running from coast to coast.

Cumbria highlights include:

Birdoswald Roman Fort - The best place to see the longest continuous section of the wall today. Don’t miss the Roman fort, turret and milecastle too.

Carlisle Castle - With a thrilling and sometimes bloody history spanning nearly a Millenia, Carlisle Castle has endured many conflicts, sieges and has been the centre of many a battle between the English and the Scots.

Tullie House - Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery is Carlisle's finest visitor attraction, and houses considerable collections of fine and decorative art, human history and natural sciences.

Senhouse Roman Museum - An internationally significant Roman collection housed in a Victorian Naval Battery adjacent to the Roman fort at Maryport.

Did you know?

Did you know? Hadrian’s Wall was the main area of operations for the ‘Border Reivers,’ raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. Their ballads and their words are now common in the English language such as “bereave” and “blackmail. Greenmail was the proper rent you paid, blackmail was “protection money”! Presidents Andrew Jackson, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon are all descendants of border reivers, as was Neil Armstrong, who visited the area the year after he walked on the moon