Walking the Wall

Today I decided to go on a walk. It turned out to be a wet walk but I still had a good time. I walked a section of the wall that I had not seen before. I started at Cawfields car park which is near Aesica (Great Chesters). Aesica is a fort on Hadrian's Wall that Katie and I saw last year. It is part of the World Heritage Site but is a working farm at the same time. The north wall of Aesica is also Hadrian's Wall and the farm has destroyed the north east part of the fort and the section of Hadrian's Wall. Most of Hadrian's Wall from the car park through Aesica and west for a mile is barely noticeable since it was robbed for its stone for the last few hundred years. The ditch that is on the north side of the Wall (the barbarian side) is well preserved and is around 5' deep still. The south gate of the fort is now the farm track through the fort. The west gate is still in very good condition. The west wall of the fort with the corner towers and gate is the best preserved part of Aesica that can be seen. Near the south gate a Roman altar found at the fort in the 1930's has been set up and walkers often leave a bit of change behind. From Aesica it is a 3 mile walk to Carvoran or Roman Magnis. The fort is owned by Vindolanda Trust and the Roman Army Museum that the Trust operates is just to the northwest of the fort platform. There is very little remaining of Magnis. The fort was robbed early of its stone as were the vicus buildings to the south and east of the fort. Between the two forts Hadrian's Wall rises back onto the Whin Sill and there are impressive views especially looking south. The remains of the Wall are not very good until Walltown where the facing stones have been replaced. One very good spot for views in all directions is at a turret tower halfway between the two forts. The tower is still standing above my head and on the floor are the remains of the arch for a door into the groundfloor. Enjoy the pictures. I will be taking more of other forts along the Wall for comparison to what Vindolanda has to offer a visitor. Anyone wanting to get a feel for what a fort and vicus look like on a Roman frontier will need to stop at Vindolanda. There is no other location on the Wall that can beat what Vindolanda has to offer.