📌 Roman Fort near Haltwhistle, Northumberland
★★
You’re unlikely to see Aesica in many guidebooks, and that’s half its charm. Sometimes also referred to as Great Chesters, this Roman Fort adjoins Hadrian’s Wall a mile west of Cawfields Quarry, where the nearest car park is. On first sight there isn’t a lot to see, but dig a little deeper (not literally, please) and there are several interesting areas. The fort forms a square with the best preserved section attached to the west side, where several walls and buildings are still visible, including a blocked-off west gate. At the southeast corner of the square another entrance gate can still be identified, where a spur road led south to the nearby Stanegate Roman Road. Next to it is a small temple with an upright stone sporting a weathered carving of an amphora. The central portion of the fort generally has less to see, with faint earthworks the only obvious evidence of barracks rooms. The other feature is right at the heart of Aesica: a curious arch within a fenced off area. This is part of the vaulted strong-room belonging to the principia headquarters building. In a spectacular feat of Roman engineering, water was supplied to the fort via a 6-mile aqueduct from the Caw Burn beneath Swallow Crags (2.5 miles to the east as the crow flies). The aqueduct isn’t visible from the fort but is marked on local Ordnance Survey maps.
🌍 Location
📌 Off minor road 1.5 mi north of Haltwhistle
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NY 704668
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 54.994887,-2.464557
🚌 Bus to Milecastle Inn on B6318 (1 mi mostly via public footpath)
🚗 Car park (charge) at Cawfields Quarry, 🧭 NY 713666 / 🛰️ 54.992925,-2.450257
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From Cawfields car park it’s a 15-min walk (each way) to the fort. Leave the car park by the vehicle entrance, turning left back along the access track. At the main road turn right over the bridge, then immediately bear left over the stile. Follow the grassy path uphill with a stone wall on the right for just over 0.5 mi to the fort, which is found to the left of farm buildings.
