Hadrian's Wall

We got up at 5:15 am, left our hotel at 6 am, and were at the train station by 6:25 am. We caught the 7:00 am train to Newcastle (£9.50 [$18] each, a very cheap fare booked online), arriving at 8:30 am. We left our bags at the Newcastle train station's very safe left luggage office (bags are X-rayed; storage is £4 each, and they are open 8 am to 8 pm). Unfortunately, no one at the Newcastle train station knew about the AD 122 Hadrian's Wall bus!!! This was very frustrating. After waiting in the long line at the train ticket office, we were pointed to the Metro (subway) office downstairs. They didn't know much about the bus either, but at least they had heard of it! They pointed us outside, where we eventually located the bus stop: a very easy to miss pole near the taxi line. The bus only comes once a day (at 9:40 am); it was right on time!

Roman Hiking: A day along Hadrian's Wall We got up at 5:15 am, left our hotel at 6 am, and were at the train station by 6:25 am. We caught the 7:00 am train to Newcastle (£9.50 [$18] each, a very cheap fare booked online), arriving at 8:30 am. We left our bags at the Newcastle train station's very safe left luggage office (bags are X-rayed; storage is £4 each, and they are open 8 am to 8 pm). Unfortunately, no one at the Newcastle train station knew about the AD 122 Hadrian's Wall bus!!! This was very frustrating. After waiting in the long line at the train ticket office, we were pointed to the Metro (subway) office downstairs. They didn't know much about the bus either, but at least they had heard of it! They pointed us outside, where we eventually located the bus stop: a very easy to miss pole near the taxi line. The bus only comes once a day (at 9:40 am); it was right on time!
	This is a picture of our bus. We were lucky enough to travel only on buses that had live guides giving commentary along the way. It was excellent and only £6.50 [$12] each for a day (hop-on and hop-off) ticket.
Our first stop was Vindolanda at 11:20 am. I disagree with Rick Steves; I enjoyed Vindolanda much more than Housesteads. It was really neat to see them actively digging! Entry was £4.95 [$9] each.
	They were actively digging in more than one location at Vindolanda. Here they were working on a section of wall. It was neat to compare the section that has been preserved (mortar replaced) to the section still in need of preservation (propped up with some wood).
This was one of the men digging. He was kind enough to share two finds made on the day we were there and the day before: a coin (in his hand) and a piece of decorated pottery (in EHG's hand). We got to touch both of them!
	We walked the entire site, including the excellent museum at the far end. Over and over they talked about the best finds being in the British Museum! We were really looking forward to seeing them when we went to London. Unfortunately, the Roman Britain rooms at the British Museum are closed until April 2007!! We were extremely disappointed. This is a photo of an overview of Vindolanda. On the right are the 1970s recreations of what they think the stone (and turf) wall might have looked like. We stayed at Vindolanda for two hours and had to hustle at the end to catch the 1:30 pm bus to Housesteads. NOTE: Vindolanda has much better restrooms than Housesteads.
Here I am on the path up to Housesteads Roman Fort and Hadrian's Wall. Entry into Housesteads is £3.80 [$7] each. We also ate lunch at the Housesteads snack bar [sandwiches and drinks, expensive but not exorbitant]. It was hot and sunny (as usual). We hiked up to Housesteads, only to be quite disappointed. The explanations are poor; the ruins are nothing we hadn't seen before.
	The highlight of Housesteads is the place at the back where you can get up and walk along Hadrian's Wall. Here I am on Hadrian's Wall!! There is a VERY STEEP drop-off just beyond the wall. Be careful!
After the relative disappointment of Housesteads, we set out west along the wall. The walking was quite easy up to this point. There are parallel paths, one along the wall and one a little away from it (on the left of the photo). I wish we'd had enough time to make it to Sycamore Gap, but this was as far as we made it.
	One of the niftiest places we saw along the wall was this, a Roman arch! Was this a mile castle? We don't know. It was just neat. We caught the 4:30 pm bus back to Newcastle (at 6 pm). It was fun because all of the people that had been on our bus in the morning (including our guide) were on the bus back. We picked up our bags from the left luggage office and took the metro to our hotel.
We spent the night at the Hadrian Lodge Hotel for £59.50 ($110). It is just next to the Hadrian Road metro station--as long as you cross the tracks (we didn't and got lost). The room was basic; the bathroom was not the cleanest (shower curtain was moldy). I don't know if I would stay there again. We ate a delicious dinner at their restaurant. The hot breakfast was also good. We visited Segundunum (Wallsend) the next morning before it opened. [We peered through the fence and looked through the gift shop.] I'm glad we didn't pay £4 to go in; the ruins didn't look like much. We saw enough through the fence.
Notes on Hadrian's Wall:
Ours was a great day: Newcastle--Vindolanda--Housesteads--Newcastle. The AD 122 Hadrian's Wall bus schedule is available online and on the bus (but not from the train station or the metro station).	The guide on the bus (ours was Ian) was very nice and helped everyone plan their day, asking if they knew what they wanted to do (visit the sites, walk, etc.) and offering advice. Sycamore Gap is the tree shown in Robin Hood! EHG recognized it!