After the full Northumberland cooked breakfast, we had sufficient beans to want to go back to Cawfields where we abandoned the previous days walk. A stunning bit of countryside, the wall follows a craggy Whinstone ridge which in itself looks like a formidable barrier, but hey-ho, if your building a wall, why not carry on?
We also summitted the highest point of the wall, 345 metres and the view was very much to be admired.
A diversion then to Vindolanda which is one of the main Roman forts and under active archeological investigation. It’s impressive, the scene of 9 different forts over 400 years of occupation, and pre-dating the wall itself. It’s main claim to fame is ink on wood tablets, hundreds of them showing both the mundanity of life (new socks from home) and the administration of the army. It also includes the earliest example of a woman’s writing ever found in Europe. It’s a great place, and well worth a visit.
