Discover Housesteads Roman Fort Hadrian’s Wall

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Almost 2000 years ago the Roman emperor Hadrian built a defensive wall near the present Scottish border. Housesteads Roman Fort Hadrian’s Wall is the most well preserved of 16 defensive forts along the wall which stretched from coast to coast.

The initial purpose of the wall is believed to have been to protect Roman Britain from the tribes in the north which was not under Roman occupation. This epic fort once housed 800 soldiers and remains impressive even near two millennia later.

Where is Housesteads Roman Fort Hadrian’s Wall?

Located between Haltwhistle and Hexham, Housesteads Roman Fort is almost at the midway point of Hadrian’s Wall. The wall once stretched about 80 miles, and although parts of the wall that have been lost or severely damaged, Housesteads has a largely intact section of the wall as well as a museum built around the fort which once stood there.

If you’ve been visiting Carlisle, Housesteads Roman Fort Hadrian’s Wall is about a 40-minute drive. From the other side of the country, Housesteads is about the same distance from Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

From the A69 out of Carlisle, the road to the Roman fort turns a little more rural as you approach Haltwhistle. Hadrian’s Wall is well signposted though, so you should be able to find it easily enough.

Where to stay near Housesteads Roman Fort Hadrian’s Wall

The Roman fort here at Housesteads can easily be done as a day trip from Carlisle or Newcastle. Or, honestly, anywhere along this route. However, if you want to stay longer in the area there are some great options nearby.

For a proper budget stay, the YHA The Sill at Hadrian’s Wall is ideal. There are dorm rooms but I managed to get a private room for 2 people for only £40 for the night. The room was clean, spacious, and had a private bathroom as well as bunk beds. You can add on a full English breakfast for about £6-7.

Next door to the hostel is The Twice Brewed Inn. This cute little pub has a restaurant and is linked to the Twice Brewed Brew House which makes its own beer. Most of the beers even have Roman names. There’s a path that links the YHA to the brew house so you can walk there for dinner and sample some delicious local craft beer.

Visiting Housesteads Roman Fort

This particular Fort along the Roman wall is managed by English Heritage. It’s open year round except some holidays, and you can either buy tickets in advance or get them on the day.

Entry is around £10 per person. This gives you access to the museum, and the Roman fort which you are free to explore at your leisure. There is a car park which costs extra but is only around £3 for three hours.

Three hours is a good amount of time here, but you can find plenty to do if you stay longer. Be aware there is a bit of a walk from the car park to the ticket office and the Roman fort. This path goes through a field so it is uneven in places and there are a lot of sheep around. Don’t worry, they don’t bite.

The Roman Fort Museum

The visitor center where you purchase your ticket houses a small museum. It’s an ideal place to start, especially if you don’t know much about Hadrian’s Wall. The Housesteads Museum tells the history of the wall at that location including how and when it was built.

There are ancient artifacts on display showing what life would have been like at the time. Although the museum is not large, it has enough to give you a great overview.

Not to mention that since the wall is exposed to the elements on the rolling hills of Northern England you might find this a great place to get warm if the wind picks up. The gift shop here is small but full of fun things for adults and kids alike.

What can you see at Housesteads Roman Fort – Hadrian’s Wall

This particular part of Hadrian’s Wall is the most well preserved. Walking around the site there are information boards explaining what you see. This really helps imagine what it could have been like back in the day. The foundations of many of the original buildings are there, and artist renderings help fill in the blanks.

Most forts in the Roman Empire had an identical layout – that way it was easy for regiments to move from one to another. There would have been slight adaptations to the traditional Roman buildings, tailoring them to the northern England weather. It makes you wonder if the soldiers knew what they were signing up for when they left the Mediterranean.

Either way the fort is an impressive place, almost like it’s own town with everything the army needed in one place.

Roman Barracks

Eight hundred soldiers in one place – they’re going to need somewhere to sleep. The barracks were where the soldiers would lay their heads to get some rest between duties.

Each of the 10 barracks here would have housed 80 men, eight soldiers to a room. Space was tight and privacy would have been almost non-existent.

Commander’s House

The biggest and best accommodation in the fort would be the commander’s house. This opulent house would be inhabited by the commander, his family and a wealth of servants tending to their every need.

It is thought by recent finds at nearby forts that they would have hosted lavish parties here too. Unlike the soldiers, the commander would have had more comfortable accommodation, including heated floors in his house.

Granary

A lot of soldiers working hard means a lot of food to keep their energy up. But in the often dismal climate, food needed to be protected from the elements. The granary was a storehouse where bags of flour, grain, bread and other bulk food items would be kept.

Sophisticated construction techniques can still be seen today – the raised blocks allowed ventilation and heating to keep the food in the granary fresh.

Bakery

Maybe not full of cakes like the bakeries you might be used to, but the Romans had plenty of fresh bread and other good food. The bakehouse was where the food was cooked and included large ovens which were used by the soldiers.

This particular bakehouse was along the western edge of the fort. The building and traces of the ovens, can be seen at Housesteads Roman Fort, Hadrian’s Wall even today.

Watchtowers

In order to keep the barbaric tribes from getting near the Roman soldiers needed to be on constant watch. There were towers placed along the edge of the wall, perfectly situated for keeping guard.

Groups of soldiers would take long shifts on watch here. They would need to eat, sleep and rest here during shifts in cramped conditions.

Roman Toilets

Perhaps the coolest feature of the Housesteads Roman Fort are the toilets. I’m not kidding. They are the best preserved Roman toilets in Britain – they even “flush” as it rains.

You thought only women went to the bathroom in pairs, but Roman soldiers did too. These communal toilets were a place where they would also chat with other soldiers – of which there were about 800 at this fort.

Hadrian’s Wall

It wouldn’t be a visit to the fort if you didn’t see the wall itself. Stretched along the northern English countryside as far as the eye can see, the wall is at the rear of the fort.

After almost two-millennia, parts of it are higher and more intact than others. But this magnificent feat of construction and the surrounding countryside offer some pretty epic views.

Should you visit Hadrian’s Wall

An incredible piece of history that’s still around almost two thousand years later. There aren’t many places you can say that about. A trip to Houseteads Roman Fort, Hadrian’s Wall, is like stepping way back in time.

One of the best things about visiting this Roman fort is how close you can get to the ruins. Unlike other cultural heritage sites where they may be cordoned off behind ropes, you can walk all around this former fort which was essentially a home to thousands of soldiers.

Although climbing on the wall is quite rightly discouraged, it’s amazing that you can actually walk right up to it and touch it. Seeing the Roman wall from this location snaking off into the distance in either direction is a wonderous sight.

As one of the best preserved forts and sections of Hadrian’s Wall, it’s a must do for any history lover on a trip to Northern England.

If you’ve enjoyed this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Have you been to Housesteads Roman Fort, Hadrian’s Wall? Which other historic sites around the world have blown you away?