📌 Roman Fort near Bardon Mill, Northumberland
★★★★★
A mile to the south of the middle section of Hadrian’s Wall, Vindolanda is one of Britain’s most spectacular Roman sites. This vast fort actually pre-dates the wall by a few decades, being situated on the older Stanegate Roman Road between Newcastle and Carlisle. Early versions of the fort were wooden constructions: five increasingly large complexes, each replacing the previous one as the location’s strategic importance grew. During the building of Hadrian’s Wall from around 122 AD, Vindolanda became an important construction hub and then a garrison base, with another major expansion during a period of unrest a century later.
Most of the surviving ruins date from the latter incarnation of the fort – both the formal military base within the main walls (including the principia HQ, praetorium, barracks and granaries), and also the extensive vicus: a sprawling village which developed just outside it on the road leading to the fort. Here and there are parts of the older forts, and also newer buildings – the site wasn’t fully abandoned until the ninth century. The many “layers” of habitation have left a colossal number of artefacts behind for archaeologists to discover: 5,000 shoes for example, to give a sense of scale! Thousands of objects are housed in an extensive museum, included in the ticket price and found on the other side of the fort from the main car park. If you haven’t guessed already, there’s a lot to see here: allow at least a couple of hours, or more to peruse the museum in depth.
🌍 Location
📌 Off minor road 1.5 mi northwest of Bardon Mill
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NY 770663
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 54.991135,-2.360507
🚌 Bus stops at west car park
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
⌚ Daily
🎫 £12.50 adult / £6 child, joint ticket with Roman Army Museum in Greenhead also available
💬 The site is about 500 metres from end to end, on the side of a hill. The main car park & a small visitor centre are at the west (uphill) end, with a smaller car park & main museum at the east end. The fort is in the middle.
