Hadrian's Wall 2017

Hadrian's Wall...

The Northern Frontier of the Roman Empire!

Join us on a one day tour from Edinburgh, Scotland as we explore this fascinating remnant of European history! This tour leaves early in the morning and arrives back in Edinburgh in the early evening, so we have included 2 nights hotel in Edinburgh.

June 16 -17, 2017
(Note: Fans of the popular Outlander historical novels may remember the reference to Hadrian's Wall found in MOBY and A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows. )

A Brief History of Hadrian's Wall

The most famous of all the frontiers of the Roman empire, Hadrian’s Wall was made a World Heritage Site in 1987. Built by a force of 15,000 men in under six years, it’s as astounding today for its sheer vision as it is for its engineering. Construction started around A.D. 122, after a visit to Britain by Emperor Hadrian (reign A.D. 117-138), a ruler determined to consolidate the Roman Empire’s borders. England and Wales had both fallen to Roman control by A.D. 61. Scotland, however, had successfully resisted Roman attempts at conquest. The wall was Hadrian’s attempt to establish a defendable border between Britain and the unconquered barbarians of the north.

Hadrian’s death in AD 138 brought a new emperor to power who abandoned Hadrian’s Wall and moved the frontier up to the Forth–Clyde isthmus, where he built a new wall, ‘this time of turf’. This had a short life of about 20 years before being abandoned in favor of a return to Hadrian’s Wall. Hadrian’s Wall appears to have continued into the late 2nd century. A major war took place shortly after AD 180, when ‘the tribes crossed the Wall which divided them from the Roman forts and killed a general and the troops he had with him’. Eventually Britain was abandoned by the central authorities of Rome. In the years that followed, Hadrian’s Wall became a quarry for the stone to build castles, churches, farms, houses and roads along its line, until the conservation movement in the 18th and 19th centuries put a stop to that. It was only from the mid-19th century onwards that early archaeologists and historians sought to protect its still magnificent remains.

Your Hadrian's Wall Tour Includes:

Transportation by a top of the range Mercedes mini-coach with air conditioning
Services of a professional guide
Sightseeing including Hadrian's Wall with opportunity to view the wall up close
Admission into the Vindolanda Roman Visitor Centre
Accommodations for 2 Nights in Edinburgh including continental breakfast each day

Not included:

Lunch and refreshments
Tips to guide and driver

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