Scotland trip - Hadrian's Wall, Vindolanda, Hexham

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Friday, June 23, 2006 (evening)

Vindolana, Roman fort

We began the today by going to see the Roman forts at Hadrian's Wall.  First, we went to Vindolanda, which is an amazing site that is still being excavated.  There are still remains of pretty much the whole town.  There's even some pieces of floor with the water/heating systems in tact beneath them.

Building and sewage foundations at Vindolanda

Buildings remain at Vindolanda

 

The remains of a Roman heating system at Vindolanda

Sewage drain from house at Vindolanda

Building remains at Vindolanda

Tower as it would have appeared from the Roman side of Hadrian's Wall

Vindolanda was built about 122 (the same time as Hadrian's Wall) to house the garrison for the Wall.  The garrison is believed to have left the fort and moved to the nearby fort, Housesteads, which is actually located on the Wall.  Next to the fort of Vindolanda there is a reconstruction of one of the towers as it would have appeared at Hadrian's Wall.

On top of the wall next to the top of the tower

After we finished at Vindolana, we went down the road to the Housesteads site.  This is my first time back to tour England since 1997 and the view of the wall is great. From the northwest corner of the  fort (which in itself is great) you can see the wall wind over hills and hills across the horizon.  It really gives one a good sense of it's enormity.

Hadrian's Wall to the east of Housesteads

While here we saw someone of importance (maybe the D.O.G.??)  complete with a security detail being led about the place.  We were told it was a dry run but it sure looked real! After that we headed up the road to Hexham hoping to see the Abbey and Gaol.  We went in the Gaol which gave a nice presentation on border life in the Middle Ages.  It really packed in a lot of information.  By the time we left it was 4:30 and we were all really tired and ready to get going. We had a lot of ground to cover to get to our B&B outside of Stirling.

I am writing this from Scottish soil, my first visit.  I can't wait to see everything!  It already looks like we won't have enough enough time to do everything we would like.  Sarah has already mentioned coming back for a second visit.

We spent the night in Denny at Woodcockfaulds.  The large farmhouse is a wonderful place to stay.  It's located just off the motorway, but far enough into the country that it feels miles away from anywhere.  Our room was incredibly huge for a B&B and clean.  This place really went the extra mile to make the stay nice.  There were robes for the guests, lots of books and lots of DVDs to use as well as a nice large sitting room/dining room.  Breakfast the next morning was very good as well.  A nice place to use as a touring base if you are planning on visiting the Stirling area.

Front door of Woodcock Faulds

Woodcock Faulds Farm B&B, Denny, Scotland

Woodcock Faulds sign on road