Alston Holiday -Day 2 Hexham and Hadrians Wall

For day two of our holiday we visited the lively little market town of Hexham, notable for amongst other things its magnificent Abbey Cathedral. People have worshipped on this site for nearly 1400 years. 

  On top of the moors and in my “home” county. Whitfield Church in an area known as Little Switerzland   
  Hexham Abbey  
  Hexham Abbey   This old English church in Corbridge has utilised a Roman Archway. When the Romans left, local British tribes would use Roman materials for centuries in their own buildings.
  At Roman Corbridge, an old Roman garrison   Aydin Castle – 13thcentury building part castle part more modern house. 
  Sycamore Gap on Hadrians Wall where Kevin Costner in Robin Hodd stayed overnight on the way to Nottingham. It makes no sense as Sherwood Forest is a few hundred miles south… Rather like coming from Mexico to Dallas but camping by The Great Lakes!   

    Standing by the Roman Wall, Hadrians Wall. It separated southern Britain and the Roman Empire and the wild north.
I will write a more complete blog on these places at a later date.

Stephen Liddell's avatar

By Stephen Liddell

I am a writer and traveller with a penchant for history and getting off the beaten track. With several books to my name including several #1 sellers. I also write environmental, travel and history articles for magazines as well as freelance work. I run my private tours company with one tour stated by the leading travel website as being with the #1 authentic London Experience. Recently I've appeared on BBC Radio and Bloomberg TV and am waiting on the filming of a ghost story on British TV. I run my own private UK tours company (Ye Olde England Tours) with small, private and totally customisable guided tours run by myself!

13 comments

    1. You’re welcome. Yes lots of people from this part of England moved overseas perhaps due to poor job prospects and very tough lifestyle/climate but apparently they outperformed all other British and likely European migrants so you came from good stock as they say here 🙂

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  1. Wonderful! This is just so much my kind of holiday – history and landscape – and very few people! I have such an affinity with the English landscape I sometimes I think I must feel it through the bones of my ancestors. You’ve given me a new place for my bucket list! Thank you.

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