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A Sense of Place - Hadrian's Wall |
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| Fly
along Hadrian's wall with Chris Jackson |
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For
almost 2000 years we have lived in the shadow of Hadrian's Wall. Flying
by helicopter from Bowness to Wallsend Chris Jackson met some of the
people who live and work close to our World Heritage Site.
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Our
helicopter flew along the 80 Roman miles of Hadrian's wall from
Bowness to Wallsend.
Click on the placenames above to find out more.
| Bowness
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Reference: NY 622 665
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With
the wide expanse of mud flats on the Solway Firth, Hadrian had
no need to extend the wall any further west. Despite the terrain
there have been plenty of cross border skirmishes over the wetland
where England and Scotland look upon each other.  The
Wall was nothing more than turf in these parts so little remains
today, although from the air we could clearly see the straight
path it takes towards Carlisle. |
| Carlisle |
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Reference: NY 717 670
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| Carlisle
stands proud on the line of the Wall with the imposing castle
and its 11th century keep a testament to its military importance
as the gateway to Scotland. The romans settled here and it later
became a base during the construction of the wall in 122 AD.
We flew over the city as we made our way to our first landing
place at Birdoswald. |
| Birdoswald
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Reference: NY 622 665
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The
River Irthing no longer laps around the foundations of the
roman bridge as it now flows along a different path through
the flood plain beneath Birdoswald. That substantial change
in the local geography really gives you an idea of just how
much time has passed.
 A
brand new bridge now reaches across the river and already
it has won several awards including the Royal Fine Art Commission's
Building of the Year Award in 1999.
Made
of the same steel as the Angel of the North it never needs
painting and so protects the river from harmful pollution
and it was airlifted in so as not to disturb the local plant
and wildlife as this is an area of special scientific interest.
Here at Willowfield Bridge we met the architect and the man
who commissioned it as an essential link in the National Trail
along Hadrian's wall.
pics Bridge , Chris Raynford - Architect and
David McGlade - Countryside Agency
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