It isn\’t necessary to be a historian to know how big the Roman Empire was. Not everyone however realises that there remains today a remarkable remnant of how far they got in the UK.You may be surprised to learn they lived north of Newcastle in considerable numbers. What is left is known as Hadrian\’s Wall.

Vacationing in the North of England must also include a visit to Hadrian\’s Wall, it would be sad to miss the opportunity. Before reading on, let us just take a minute to go into the background of this amazing construction.

Eighteen hundred years ago the Romans build Hadrian\’s Wall firstly as a defensive measure against the Scots, and secondly to demonstrate their political will to rule this part of their Empire.Huge was the best word to describe the boundaries of the Roman Empire from Iraq in the east to Hadrian\’s Wall at the north, around 2500 miles.

Named after Emperor Hadrian under whose orders it was built Hadrian\’s Wall took almost 20,00 workers to build it by hand, including soldiers and slaves. It is over seventy miles long running from Carlisle in the west to Wallsend in the north east. It\’s hard to imagine that the Romans occupied Hadrian\’s Wall for 250 years before abandoning it when their empire fell into rack and ruin.

The wall is best viewed near Hexham in the north east where there is a well preserved 10 mile section. It\’s quite a thought that the 10 mile section of wall is rated at the top of Europe\’s antiquity sites, and is the UK\’s largest classical ruin.

You will need somewhere to stay and you can take in a bit of history here as well by choosing the Langley Castle Hotel. The castle has many of the features you would expect to find in a medieval castle, such as 8 foot thick walls, spiral staircases, and stained glass windows. The castle and Hadrian\’s Wall have one thing in common which is defence against the Scots.

Ancient Roman forts should also be on your itinerary and are easy to visit to give you some idea of how the Romans lived. Sheep safely grazing at Hadrian\’s Wall today comapres dramatically to what it must have been like when the Romans were here. If you are visiting Northumberland you must go to Hadrian\’s Wall.

As a postscript, there was an attempt to build another wall up in Scotland between the River’s Forth and Clyde called St Antonine’s Wall, which was not anything like as substantial as Hadrian’s wall, and could be said to have been a failure, and almost forgotten, although there are still small parts in evidence.

When you have visited Hadrian’s Wall, just try to imagine what it must have been like for the Roman Centurions nearly two thousand years ago. There they stood many many miles from home in a climate they must have found pretty awful, facing an enemy who gave no quarter. You have to admire their courage defending what was little more than a token wall. There’s was definitely not to reason why!!

Ian Smith loves travel generally. If you enjoy travel then you ought to check out a website which discusses the 10 top vacation spots. In addition something which is an alternative to hotels for your vacation. How do you find the best alternatives, the best inns, boarding houses, villas, B & B\’s, come and check out Alternative to Hotels.

Ian Smith loves travel generally. If you enjoy travel then you ought to check out http://www.worldwidevacationspots.com/10-top-vacation-spots.html In addition something which is an alternative to hotels for your vacation. http://www.worldwidevacationspots.com/alternative-to-hotels.html

Author Bio: Ian Smith loves travel generally. If you enjoy travel then you ought to check out a website which discusses the 10 top vacation spots. In addition something which is an alternative to hotels for your vacation. How do you find the best alternatives, the best inns, boarding houses, villas, B & B\’s, come and check out Alternative to Hotels.

Category: Travel
Keywords: hadrian\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s wall