Long before the Romans built their wall across northern England, people were raising stones on these moors. Close to the line of Hadrian's Wall, in the hills north of Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle, a small prehistoric stone circle stands in the rough grass, a few weathered boulders arranged in a ring, probably dating from the Bronze Age. Its exact purpose is unknown, but circles like this were often used for ceremonies or burials, and many have legends attached to them.
The Wall itself runs nearby along the crags of the Whin Sill, a ridge of hard volcanic rock that forms a natural barrier, and this central section is the most spectacular part of the whole Wall, with stone walls climbing and dipping over the crags. Housesteads, a few kilometres away, is the best preserved Roman fort in Britain, with its barracks, granaries and famous latrines. Vindolanda, to the south-west, has yielded the Vindolanda tablets, wooden writing tablets with letters and accounts from the soldiers and their families, including a birthday party invitation from one officer's wife to another.
The riding here is on the B6318, the Military Road, built in the eighteenth century after the Jacobite rising of 1745, partly on the foundations of the Wall. It runs straight and undulating across the moors, with dips and crests that can hide oncoming traffic, so take care. The views across the open moorland and the Northumberland National Park to the north are wide and wild. The weather changes quickly, with rain and wind from the west, and fog can roll in over the moors. Sheep wander onto the roads, and walkers on the Hadrian's Wall Path cross frequently.
Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle are small towns with fuel and basic services, and Hexham, seventeen kilometres away, is a market town with an abbey and all services. Pubs along the Wall serve hearty food and local ales. Visiting the stone circle on a quiet evening, with the light fading over the moors and the curlews calling, gives a sense of the deep history of this landscape.