WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2013

“The wall’s construction by Emperor Hadrian
was an admission by the Romans that
they would not be able to occupy the entire
island of Great Britain, as unconquered
tribes to the north continually
upset plans for Roman dominance.”
in 30 years. At night, we found refuge in B&Bs with lovely names
such as Hadrian's Barn and Walwick Farmhouse in out-of-the
way places aptly titled Heddon-on-the Wall and Walltown.
The whole corridor, which comprises the largest visible remnant
of the Roman Empire, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.
Now, I’m no Roman legionnaire, let alone an avid walker, so I
needed some help early on to move from what had been a longheld
dream into reality. I had broached the Hadrian idea to Tom
two years ago and we began the active planning six months before
departing on our seven-day hike.
My physical preparation for this effort and sometime ordeal included
daily half-hour walks around Lake Murray with my wife
and an early-morning outing each day with a neighbor.
My first mistake was not securing a sponsor. After scouring local
outdoors stores, I was festooned with logos -- Eddie Bauer
(backpack and parka), Ex-Officio (drip-dry underwear), Patagonia
(socks), Merrell (ever-important boots) and Swissgear (for a
greatly needed hiking stick).
Using maps available on Amazon.com, Tom plotted our daily
walking regimen, mile by mile, familiarizing himself with landmarks,
hills and the tidal salt flats at the western end of the hike
near Bowness.
Our ace up the sleeve would be the Hadrian’s' Wall Country Bus, a
seasonal service that parallels the route and picks up hikers (and
stragglers) along the way.
My job was to secure pre-booked accommodations, generally
B&Bs. For that, I used Trip Advisor and my maxim: Toss out the
best and worst evaluations and focus on the mid-range. The hardest
part about this was to find a B&B located close to where we
would end each day’s walk. Many of the “mom and pop” B&Bs do
not take credit cards, so I risked sending a cash deposit in British
pounds by mail to one. (It arrived safely). Our daily expenses,
including lodging which included breakfasts, amounted to about
$125.
The wall is not evident along the whole route. Parts of it have been
graded over, while the stone in other lengths has been used by
successive generations for construction materials. Paydirt came
on the second day, when we took off from the remnants of Housesteads
Roman Fort along steep crags, walking for a bit on the
wall itself -- the only place where this is allowed.
“Watch what the trail tells you,” Tom advised along the way, as he
focused on hard-to-see Roman defensive works beyond the wall,
the marks left by other hikers and the early signs of wash-outs and
ankle-deep mud just ahead.
When the wall first reveals itself--and the parallel vellum, or defensive
trench that adjoins it--one realizes what a herculean engineering
project this was, and how practiced the Roman surveyors
were. This stone wall, and the well-trained forces that defended it,
presented a form of shock and awe to would-be aggressors.
Museums along the way depicted the full scope of the wall, and the
numerous forts, villages and outposts that lined the way. At Vindolanda,
the once-buried Roman fort has been excavated. Here
was wfound an icon of Britain, the Vindolanda Tablets, which
amount to thin wood-based postcards written by the Romans
that have survived in the damp earth. One notes the preparations
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