North of Haltwhistle the land rises in a series of dark ridges, and along their crest runs the most dramatic surviving stretch of Hadrian's Wall. Built from AD 122 on the orders of the emperor Hadrian, the wall ran some seventy three miles from the Tyne to the Solway, with forts, milecastles and turrets along its length, and here, between Walltown Crags and Birdoswald, it climbs and drops along the edge of the Whin Sill, a band of hard volcanic rock that forms natural cliffs facing north. The wall is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.
The landscape here is wild and open, with moorland, crags and loughs, small lakes in the hollows, and big skies. Sheep graze up to the wall, and curlews and lapwings call in spring. The weather changes fast, and a sunny morning can turn to rain and wind in minutes. Walking along the wall, you feel the scale of the Roman achievement and the remoteness of the frontier.
The B6318, the Military Road, runs along the wall, laid out by the army in the years after the Jacobite rising of 1745, when the government needed to move troops between Newcastle and Carlisle quickly, and long stretches sit right on top of the Roman stones. It is straight in places but has blind crests and dips that hide oncoming traffic, so take care. Sheep on the road are common, and the road can be busy with tourists in summer. The Roman Army Museum at Walltown and the fort at Birdoswald are both worth a visit.
A few miles east, toward Steel Rigg, the wall dips into Sycamore Gap, whose famous tree, a landmark for generations, was illegally felled in 2023, causing national outrage. The stump and its fresh growth still draw visitors.
Haltwhistle, four and a half kilometres away, is a small town that claims to be at the centre of Britain, with fuel, shops and cafés. Hexham, twenty kilometres east, has more services and a fine abbey. In the pubs, try a pint of local ale and a hearty pie, and bring waterproofs: the weather here is rarely kind for long.