It is insane to think that I began the day in a city with buildings dating back to the eleventh century, and that by the afternoon, these would seem downright modern. And yet, that is just what happened when I left Edinburgh for a day trip south. My destination: Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman fort of Vindolanda.

Rabbie’s Tours advertises itself being “driven by curiosity,” operating small (sixteen person maximum) group tours all over Europe. But Scotland is their home, and the market they dominate. I arrive at Edinburgh’s bus terminal early for my 8:15am departure, watching a constant stream of people boarding other tours, both day trips like mine (the tour to Loch Ness has at least six different buses!) and multi-day outings. Drivers double as tour guides, or guides moonlight as drivers; either way, it is efficient.

My driver-guide is Roger, and he explains some basic rules and goes over the itinerary for our day, one that will last about ten hours. And then we set out from Edinburgh, with his storytelling narrating the way. (If you haven’t heard the one about the grave robber who has his skeleton in the Surgeons’ Museum, look it up.) Between commentary and music, the two and a half or so hours each way goes by as dreamily as the Scottish lowland countryside.

Hadrian’s Wall is the ultimate destination, but it takes a while to get there (and back), so Rabbie’s or Roger has chosen a couple interesting stops to break up the ride. In one direction, we visit Moffat, apparently the home of famous toffee (I buy some but don’t actually love it). In the other direction, we stop at Jedburgh and I marvel at its twelfth century abbey, though I don’t go in as we only have a half hour or so.

I had always thought Hadrian’s Wall was the dividing line between England and Scotland, but it is entirely in England, as Roger points out the marker to us, along with a few minutes to take a photo of it.

Finally, we reach the wall itself, or a portion of what was once Hadrian’s Wall. Let me explain.

The Roman Empire was built on the concept of constant expansion. In the year 43, the emperor Claudius ordered Britain invaded. (It had prior been attacked by Julius Caesar, but never occupied.) The initial campaigns, both by Claudius and subsequent emperors, went well, but by the early second century, Roman forces were bogged down in what is now northern England. In the year 122, the emperor Hadrian ordered a wall to be built across the island at one of its narrowest points, thereby claiming that as the extent of the Roman frontier.

And so Hadrian’s Wall was constructed. When complete, it spanned around 73 miles, with an average height of fifteen feet, boasting a watchtower every mile and a fortress every five. Especially in the context of the date, this was truly a monumental building project, one of the largest ever undertaken by the Roman Empire.

While Rome would briefly expand beyond Hadrian’s Wall to the subsequent Antonine Wall (turf rather than stone), this was basically as far as the empire would get. By the year 410, with the Western Roman Empire near collapse, Britain was abandoned, and with it, the need for Hadrian’s Wall as a defensive buttress.

But what was left behind was a ton of the best hewn stone that Britain would have for centuries. As a result, much of the wall was dismantled, the stone from it repurposed for building houses, castles, and walled farms. Today, Hadrian’s Wall is a start-and-stop dashed line of its former self, and even in most places where it does exist, it is a mere few feet tall. However, that doesn’t diminish my excitement to see it in the least.

The first glimpse of Hadrian’s Wall is just a flash from the bus. After all, a lot of sections of what remains are just a small piece, maybe the length of a football field or less. So stopping needs to be worthwhile. Fortunately, my Rabbie’s tour stops twice at different sections.

The first is Steel Rigg, and here I see two very different segments of Hadrian’s Wall in a spot where the wall makes a small turn and heads up a steep hill to what appears to be a small fortress. The main portion of the wall here is low, topped by vegetation, and only a narrow non-finished wall of rough stones. But a bit further down, that changes, and one can see the Roman building techniques.

Roman legions didn’t travel with support troops, in the sense as we think of them now. So stonemasonry was done by legionnaires who also had that skill. Hence, truly evenly shaped stones were at a premium. So those were only used on the outside of the wall, while those on the interior – which therefore wouldn’t be seen – were left unfinished and largely without mortar, acting more as filler. But here at Steel Rigg we have a fully finished section of wall, showing the difference. (Caveat: it is still much shorter than it would have been in Roman times.)

Watching the wall snake its way up the steep climb, disappearing over the top, truly gives some perspective to the scale of this project.

After a stop at the fortress of Vindolanda (more on that in a bit), we see Hadrian’s Wall again, this time at Birdoswald, home of one of those five-mile forts. While we don’t go into what remains of the fort, it is another example of the wall in its glory, stretching out as far as the eye can see.

The tour markets itself as Hadrian’s Wall, but while we do see the wall twice as mentioned, the highlight isn’t even the wall at all, but the fortress of Vindolanda. This is where we spend the majority of our free time, having about two hours to wander (and get lunch from the cafe).

Vindolanda sits south of Hadrian’s Wall. It is not one of the five-mile fortresses; it is much larger and predates the wall entirely, being first occupied in around the year 85, and used through roughly 370.

It is large, much larger than I’d have expected, especially since the garrison was largely auxiliary troops, not regular legionnaires; those were at the wall. It consists of a main fortress and a village sitting outside of it. Much is uncovered, though signage (and open green space) point to excavations still ongoing.

It being lunchtime, I begin with the cafe, and the museum it sits inside of. Here I am treated to a huge collection of items found here that tell the story of Vindolanda. These range from a wall of preserved Roman shoes and sandals to coinage from emperors through the ages, and even old Roman boxing gloves.

But the highlight is the Vindolanda Tablets, wooden tablets with ink writing on them, what were at the time of their discovery the oldest handwritten documents in Britain. Some fragments of the more than 750 tablets are on display here (and others at the British Museum), and while much of the writing is so faded that it can really only be seen with specialized instruments, translations are available on signage nearby. These are rather mundane letters, requests for leave or for more troops, orders of supplies, and other such things. But their survival is incredible!

Museum finished, it is time to explore the fortress itself. The curtain wall is in fairly good shape, with a couple of gates (openings) able to easily offer access, one from the village on what was the main road and others from elsewhere.

Signage is good, but the best part of visiting Vindolanda is the ability to wander. The majority of the structures (what is left of them is only foundations) can be walked in, through, and even over, allowing for one to really get a personalized feel for the historic site.

Vindolanda, as mentioned, included a village just outside the fortress walls. As a result, the ruins include bathhouses and other civilian infrastructure in addition to military. The bathhouses can be easily spotted by the numerous small columns that would have held up the floor over the heated water.

One other surprise offered by Vindolanda is a replica of what a section of Hadrian’s Wall would have looked like – along with a tower – back when it was first constructed. I imagine this crossing the entire island, and it really puts the day into perspective.

A couple hours more on the bus, and it is back to Edinburgh, to a historic city, and more than a thousand years in the future from where I spent my day. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to visit a landmark I’ve heard about from my school days, and to be able to experience even more of Roman Britain besides. A trip with Rabbie’s Tours to Hadrian’s Wall and Vindolanda is sure to be a highlight of your Edinburgh trip, too!

Thank you so much to Rabbie’s Tours for this incredible partnership. I am honored to work with you to bring adventures like this to my audience, and I hope my perspective enriches the experience the rest of your clients have.

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