Greenlee
Emperor Hadrian probably gave orders for the Wall to be built in
AD122 to act as a barrier  that allowed Roman soldiers to control
movements of people coming into or leaving Roman Britain. It is 73 miles
(117km) long and took about 6 years to build!
Milecastles were built every Roman mile along the Wall.
The Vallum is the flat-bottomed ditch (in some places a double ditch)
with a mound either side.The Vallum could only be crossed at a Roman
Fort.
The Military Road (B6318) was built following the Jacobite rebellion
of 1745 when the poor condition of the road between Newcastle and
Carlisle prevented General George Wade moving his troops to stop Bonnie
Prince Charlie’s march south from Scotland. After the uprising was
suppressed a new road was built and has been known since then as the
Military Road or Wade’s Road.
The crags you can see from Steel Rigg are part of the whin sill – one
of Britain’s most famous and impressive natural features. It formed 295
million years ago when molten rock squeezed between layers of existing
sandstones and limestones. After millions of years of weathering this
rock formed the ideal escarpment for Hadrian to build his wall on.
Greenlee Lough is used as winter feeding site for several species of
wildfowl including the ducks, teal, wigeon and goldeneye and whooper
swans. In summer mute swans and mallards breed and if you are lucky you
may see an otter and roe deer.
The boardwalk was installed to protect the fragile wet habitats on
the edge of the lough. Specialist plants that thrive in wet peaty
habitats are found around the boardwalk including sphagnum mosses,
cranberry, bog asphodel, marsh cinquefoil, marsh marigold, devils-bit
scabious and in the wettest areas common reed.
Local Facilities
The Twice Brewed Inn on Hadrian’s Wall, next door to the National
Park Centre at Once Brewed offers bar meals and accommodation. The
National Park Centre at Once Brewed has refreshments, gifts and tourist
information.
It is also an ideal base for starting out on a number of walks. A Hadrian’s Wall Car Park Pass can be bought here.
The small town of Haltwhistle has cafes, hotels and small
supermarkets as well as an open air pool. A wider range of services are
available in the market town of Hexham.
Hike
reddinouk on scottexservices.com