The edge of empire

Choosing Hadrian’s Wall as one of my favourite places is a bit of a cheat, really, as it is a 73-mile-long (80 Roman miles) wall punctuated with a whole range of 20 individual sites each worth a visit; from mile castles and forts to desolate sections with fabulous views or Roman settlements which are now busy market towns. The wall stretches from Wallsend (Segedunum) at the mouth of the Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway(Maia) in north Cumbria in the west...