Birdoswald

We were visiting friends in the Scottish Borders today and decided rather than coming back along the A69 we'd take the scenic route past Birdoswald.

I had hoped to be able to take a photograph at the village of Banks but the weather was inclement (pouring) so we just headed on down the road towards Gilsland.

As we came to Birdoswald we saw someone doing a geophys on the field next to Birdoswald Fort - I watch Time Team so I know the terms :)

How exciting, I knew there was a dig going on at what is referred to as the Cemetery Field, but that's tucked away out of site of the road, whereas this was in full view of the road. If they decide to dig I'll be able to watch and maybe get some photographs.

I would love to find a 'relic' and to that end I am always kicking over mole hills (we have millions of moles), and you'd think at least one of them would bring up something with their spoil, but no luck so far.

You can pay to join the dig at Vindolanda but my knees don't work anymore so I wouldn't be able to get down and dirty in the mud.

A metal detector is also out of the question, that's illegal on the HW corridor.

I'm waiting for someone to invent a good walking shoe with built in detector so I can kick over the mole hills and get a beep if there's anything interesting. Imagine having a gold trinket in one of our local Hadrian's Wall Museums with a little note to say found by me and a mole - wouldn't that be something?

Birdoswald is a great place to visit - hard to imaging that the Wall in the foreground and the crags in the distance are some 5+ miles apart. There's a good carpark, museum and coffee shop at Birdoswald.

There is also some 'rude' Roman graffitti on the Wall at Birdoswald but I haven't found it yet but no doubt someone has it mentioned in a guide book so it should be easy to locate.

For Hadrian's Wall itself this is one of the best places for people with mobility problems to get close up and personal with this magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site and genuine bit of accessible history.

Catch you later :)