Hadrian’s Wall Guide to Visible Remains
HEDDON –ON -THE-WALL
Head through Heddon East on the A6528 towards Throckley after about 200 yards turn right and park. You will see an English Heritage sign and through the gate, you will find 200 yards of board wall. The foundations are 10.5ft and the wall is 9.7ft thick it rises to 5ft. This is the best example of the board wall surviving.
Rudchester Roman Fort (Vindobala)
Return along Hadrian’s Wall Path where you could par the cars and head back to Heddon and turn right past the pub onto A6318 (the Military Road), after about a mile at the top of the rises, and over the fence north of the road is the fort but there is nothing to see.
The military road goes straight through the fort As you walk around the site you notice a raised platform on the south part of the site south of the Military Road. On the north side, there is nothing to be seen. The destruction of the wall on this part of the wall is down to General Wade in the 1750s. He was criticised for not stopping Bonny Prince Charles in 1745 and his excuse was there was no east-west road to transfer his army west. He was later commissioned to build the road and literally flatted the Wall to build his road.
This fort guarded and stood immediately east of the valley of the March Burn, an ancient route to a Tyne ford at Newburn. The land falls away to the March Burn on the west and to the Rudchester Burn on the south and east. The size of the fort is 1.80ha (4.50 acres). Cohorts I Frisiavonum constituted the garrison in both the 3rd and the 4th centuries this was a mixed infantry cavalry unit of 500.
Read the fort guide click for guide
Milecastles
There are four miles which are just visible, MC14, MC15, MC18 and MC19 and nothing else.
Halton Chesters Roman Fort
Seven miles west of Rudchester is Halton, again bisected by the Military Road. Very largely unexcavated, but you can visibly see that there are remains under the grass. It appears not to have been ploughed. There must be some impressive ruins if it is ever excavated.
Halton Chesters Roman fort was originally 4.37 acres in size, later to be extended in the 3rd century AD to 4.87 acres, making it the only L-shaped fort on the wall. This was probably done to accommodate the cavalry unit replacing the infantry cohort. A dedicatory slab from the west gate of the fort tells us that the Sixth Legion was responsible for the initial building work, but unfortunately, does not give us the name of the original garrison. The garrison in the 3rd and 4th centuries was the Ala I Pannoniorum
See the Halton Chesters Roman Fort Guide
On to the A68 ( Dere St) and Portgate and the Wall crossing.