Of all the WHS on the list, I’ve been to Hadrian’s Wall the most. Growing up, it was the closest, and as such, I’ve visited most of the best preserved sections: Birdoswald, Walltown, Halsteads, Vindolanda, Chesters. How best to officially ‘mark off’ such a familiar site?

We chose to walk a 10 mile section of the wall, from the Walltown Quarry section all the way to Halsteads fort, on a blustery but clear December afternoon, which really added to the atmosphere. This section represents the wall at its best preserved and most dramatic, and truly gives an impression of what the Roman soldiers posted along the wall must have felt, being on the fringes of the empire. The walk along the top of the ridge was very pleasant, though can be a little taxing in places. Halsteads is personally my favourite of the surviving fort remains, though if you’re not a member of English Heritage, it will cost you to get in. I would wholeheartedly recommend it. The AD 122 bus is very helpful for getting about, and let us get back to our parked car with little issue.

Earlier that year, we also visited the Antonine Wall in Scotland. Stretching from the Clyde to the Forth, the Antonine Wall is the northerly sibling to the more famous Hadrian’s Wall. Occupied for far less time, the Romans constructed a more temporary structure, and as such, much of it was constructed out of dirt rather than stone. Compounding the problem, the central belt of Scotland is far more populated than Cumbria and Northumberland, and thus any stonework that did exist was mostly repurposed into building material. The two best preserved sections, Bar Hill and Rough Castle, are easily visited by car from either Glasgow or Edinburgh. They were perhaps a little more difficult to appreciate as remains, but none the less they both made for a very pleasant and enjoyable day trip.