Hi Garret. Love your videos annd glad youve been to my "back yard" on the wall. Next time youre up here contact me and together with my friend David we'll transport you to some of the best bits in exchange for a free historical commentary - (well it was worth a try!!!!!! ). We walk chunks of it regularly and never tire of the history, wonder at the real life that took pkace there together with the fantastic views on clear crisp days.
My wife and I visited Hadrian's Wall further east than you did, but were limited because we had our baby with us, so no extensive hiking on our visit. At one point, my son nodded off and my wife walked him back to the car park only to discover someone trying to break into our rental car. Apparently car theft from the car parks along the wall was already a big problem 30 years ago. Glad you didn't have any issue at your various stops!
@@scenicroutestothepast Sometimes that isn't enough. On a trip to the Bluebell Railway about 5 years later, someone smashed in the back window of our rental car to steal my Mum's ratty little backpack. All he got was a rainjacket and some tissues, but we had to wait several hours to get a replacement vehicle driven out to us.
As an adult I’ve been wanting to head back to Europe and visit many of these places now that I can appreciate them more. Two curious questions: 1) I enjoy hiking, can you hike the length of the wall? 2) In some photos the wall or bases seemed slumped. I assume this is just erosion/time and that the original construction had the eye appeal of a well kept stone structure of something you might see in Washington DC? Guess I’m curious how I should imagine it in my mind as it originally looked?
Yes, you can hike almost the entire length of Hadrian's Wall. Many sections - include the famous ones profiled in the video - have been reconstructed; the original wall was a sheer-faced structure 12 -15 feet high. It would have been very impressive, especially where its face was coated in gleaming stucco.
*Fun fact:* The construction of Hadrian's wall was brillantly described in the Marguerite Yourcebar's book "Memoirs of Hadrian", in which the aged Emperor tells to a young Marcus Aurelius through a letter how he constructed the fortification.
@@scenicroutestothepast I haven't read much fiction yet but I am reading through I, Claudius currently and it's already a favorite. Glad you guys pointed this one out as I hadn't heard of it. Excited to give it a read!
@@scenicroutestothepast I just ordered myself a copy - a Christmas gift for somebody who's hard to buy for - myself! Thanks for the tip. Happy Christmas history fans!
Fiction. It was a novel/fiction. But, you CAN learn something about that great emperor through a set of poems he wrote. That and his many building projects. "The Twelve Caesars" by Robert graves, enter Suetonius - is supposed to be the best factual of that time. I just downloaded a free copy. 🙂
If you visit again I’d recommend a visit to vindolanda. Though not actually on the wall it’s museum is amazing and with the fort being excavated there is always something new to see. I live near the wall and ever time I go to Vindolanda there is something new to see.
@@scenicroutestothepast You'd have to be quick to apply, next year (2023) was fully booked months ago! Although it is not on the Wall, Vindolanda is an amazing site. The waterlogged soil has preserved thousands of organic items which would otherwise have decayed very rapidly. There are letters, shoes, a portable toilet seat, and the only known example of a legionary's helmet crest. These and many other items are displayed in the museum on site; the Vindolanda Trust also operates the Roman Army Museum a few miles to the west. It's small but worth a visit.
@@roderickjoyce6716 the Roman Army museum is great it’s got a privet collection on show at the moment with some nice pieces. My jaw hit the floor when I first saw the centurion crest, couldn’t believe my eyes.
I have just watched a video recently about my home area. A fellow enthusiast, with the help of modern LIDAR information has found Roman roads that were inaccurately plotted in the past. I am from Preston, turns out I lived on one of the roads! Apart from that, just up the road there's a milemarker still in situ (Garstang) nobody really noticed it! I'm wondering how many milemarkers in the UK are still in situ? surely not that many? "Travelling with Romans-Lancashire's Roman roads" worth a watch if you get time.
Great video that captures the rugged beauty and wonder of the landscape. I spent a few weeks digging at Vindolanda and hiking the wall in '14. Thanks for taking me back! Any chance of a short sequel on Vindolanda and Birdoswald, maybe even Carlisle Castle? (My old Grand-nana was born in the castle whilst great great grandpa was stationed there in the Kings Border Regiment. Apparently it housed the regiment - and wives - for a few generations.)
I walked that wall from sea to sea. It was a great trip. I was a bit disappointed that I was too tired after one stretch to include a visit to Vindolanda and that so much of the wall is gone on either side of the interior but it was a very memorable trip.
The tree at 0:15 gave its name to the place where it stands, known as 'Sycamore gap', was cut down by a teenager a few months ago. The tree was known for being the in Robin Hood movie.
Absolutely love your content!! If you get time in your busy schedule I’d love it if you could have a look at mines. Maybe I could lend a professional eye some place in the future 😊
When I saw the latrine scene I remembered a long time ago when I was in the Louvre, in a huge, dim hall filled with Etruscan and Roman sarcophagi. I was about to suffer a burst bladder. I was all alone, desperate to find a washroom when an attendant came marching by. I intercepted him and asked him if there were any toilets nearby. He gave me the typical exasperated, contemptuous look that French functionaries give, and told me that I would have to go all the way back to the Cour Carré. He marched off with a dismissive snort. I waited a few seconds then filled some 3rd century BC sarcophagus with about two litres of hot piss.
I had a similar experience, i was thirsty and asked the attendant where i could find water but he told me i would have to go all the way back to Cour Carré. After he walked off i drank hot tea from a sarcophagus.
@@DanielSann Wait, I asked an attendant if he had seen a short redhead and an Asian fellow as I lost track of my group. He also told me I'd have to walk all the way back to the Cour Carré. However I shot a text and decided instead to find them later. As I turned around, I heard a cry of distress and shouts of the name "Daniel" nearby. I then observed a man drinking from a 3rd century BC sarcophagus and look very pleased with himself, walking away satisfied and rubbing his belly. Curiously I also went over to that same sarcophagus to see what the ruckus was all about and found some delightful liquid that smelled of lilac and gooseberries. Did I drink hot piss?
Absolutely no expert in this, but forest cover must have been entirely different in Roman times in the area; kinda makes you wonder how effective such a system of border defenses can then be ...
Hadrian: "With this wall, I have finally reached the pinnacle of my prodigy. With this military masterpiece, I will be known for eternity as the greatest defender and innovator of Rome that ever lived..." *2000 years later* Fan of Rome 1#: "Hey. Do you know who is the gayest emperor that ever lived?" Fan of Rome 2#: "You mean Hadrian, right?" Fan of Rome 1#: "Yeah. I mean, is there actually another reason why he is so well known? *Both men laugh*
Communists after the Fall of Berlin Wall: "I don't understand...How could the wall fall in just a few decades? The one built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian lasted much longer" Germans: "I don't know. Because no Roman ever considered jumping it, maybe?"
