Midway along Hadrian's Wall, the land rises into a dramatic line of crags, and here the wall perches along the edge of the Whin Sill, a hard, dark rock that stands like a cliff over green pastures. Roman engineers followed the natural line of the escarpment, and from the top you can see for miles across moor and farmland, with the Cheviot hills blue in the north.
This is the best-known part of the wall, and one of its great pleasures is how much remains. Housesteads, the fort perched on the ridge, still shows its granaries, its hospital and its communal latrine, while Vindolanda, a short distance south, has given the world its wooden writing tablets, with birthday invitations and complaints about the weather and the beer. The wall, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listing, was begun in AD 122, and soldiers manned it for nearly three centuries.
Nearby is a famous dip in the ridge, Sycamore Gap, where a single tree once stood in the hollow of the crags, a favourite for photographers, until it was cut down in 2023 in a shocking act of vandalism. A shoot has since grown from the stump. The landscape remains superb with or without the tree. Pennine Way walkers pass along the same ridge, so be considerate on narrow paths.
Haltwhistle, about seven kilometres away, is the nearest town with services, and Hexham is farther east, a bigger town with an abbey. Fuel is scarce on the high road, so fill up before you set out. The Military Road, the B6318, follows the wall across the hills, with straight sections and sudden dips, and views over the crags. It can be busy in summer and treacherous in winter, with ice and fog, and the wind is strong on the ridge. Pack waterproofs even on a bright day.