Official Website of Hadrian's Wall Country

It used to be turf, you know. The whole of the western 30 miles of Hadrian’s Wall from the river crossing at Birdoswald to Bowness-on-Solway was 20 Roman feet of turf all the way. But they got fed up with the mowing. No, seriously, it was still under Hadrian that the turf began to be replaced with stone. But the original turf structure can clearly be seen around Birdoswald, especially at Hare Hill and from Banks to the Roman fort alongside the modern road.

The first Birdoswald fort was probably of turf (and timber) too but followed the trend of the day by being rebuilt in the stone that we now see. The long-term garrison regiment came from Romania so they’d a long walk before they even did any patrolling. Later recruits would have come from Britain but the regiment continued to display the curved Dacian sword as a proud symbol of origin.

Perched over the river Irthing (no-one was getting across that river without the Romans seeing them), Birdoswald is in an extremely picturesque spot. But somehow it seems unlikely that it was chosen just because it was very pretty. It was an important base for upwards of 1,000 soldiers and has probably the best-preserved defences of any Wall fort.  Three of the four main gateways of the fort have been unearthed, as have the outside walls, two granary buildings, workshops and a unique drill hall.

The Visitor Centre tells the intriguing story of the Fort and its inhabitants for the last 2,000 years. The Fort continued to be occupied after the Romans left and in the  5th century a large timber hall was built over the collapsed granaries. It is thought that a local British chieftain was responsible for this and you can bet that it gave him a certain amount of satisfaction!

It’s the only fort where you can actually stay within the walls. The residential centre takes groups and wouldn’t it just be a cool experience to spend the night within the perimenter of the fort? Let your imagination run riot just as darkness falls…