Meet the Romans

We stopped at Hadrian's Wall on each of our trips back South.  With Sarah and Ma we visited Housesteads, and with Mol we stopped at Chesters.

I visited Chesters last year on the way home, with Ma.  Weather was just slightly better this time...

2014

2015

It was just as beautiful as last year, and the tea rooms were open as well.

The north gate

Barracks

One of those rooms was occupied by 3 soldiers.  And their horses!

The well in the Principia

In the Principia courtyard - they really were obsessed with it!  How come I missed that last year?!

Hypocausts in the Praetorium

Wonder why they raised some of the floors so far?

The baathhouse

The apodyterium (or changing room)

How it would be used....

Mol suffering in the hot bath

Ginger beer and a stottie

Housesteads was rather worse.  Ma saw it at its very best..... with unrelieved gloom and howling winds and no sun.  Sarah saw it with sun.  And rain.  They must have loathed being there.

It was very windy as well, right up on a ridge

Looking up across the Praetorium to the Principia

Hypocaust on the Praetorium

Visiting the hospital

The granaries

Wooden floors raised to allow air beneath the grain & keep it dry, not a hypocaust

The north gate

I told her to go and be a gate sentry!

Better...

Honestly, you just can't get good models these days

Sitting on a water cistern (the grooves are where they sharpened their swords)

Barracks

The Wall!!

Late baths within the walls. At least I let her sit in the hot rom

Water cistern with latrines behind

Lots more sword sharpening on the edge of this cistern

Best surviving fort bogs in Britain!

We're near the carpark.  That's the fort up the top.

Fort above.  Museum (and disabled parking!) to the left

Now you can see why I wouldn't take you up there Mol!