St Mary's Calne
On Thursday 10th March, a group of 23 Fifth and Sixth Form students and staff set off with great enthusiasm for Northumberland to see Hadrian's Wall.
It is two years since the Classics trip has been able to run due to Covid and so it was exciting to be able to travel north to walk in the footsteps of the ancient Celts, the Romans, and the supposedly wild Caledonian tribes.
Day one involved a six mile walk along the wall, starting at the Temple of Mithras and ending up at Housesteads Roman Fort. The scenery was breathtaking, and it gave a very good sense of the length and breadth of the Wall. After that we had some much-needed relaxation in Hexham where we saw the beautiful Abbey, enjoyed wandering around the shops, and finished up with a visit to the Cinema to see Duke. Everyone was ready for board games and a restful evening!
Day two was more focused on learning about the Romans who controlled the Edge of their Empire. After a brief introduction at the beautiful Steel Rigg by Kevin our tour guide, we headed off to the Roman Army Museum which provided a wide range of information about ballistics, empire and military might. This enabled us to make more sense of Housesteads and Vindolanda. We did a four mile walk between the two in the afternoon, uphill and down dale. Enthused by what we had seen, we all dressed up on the theme of the Roman Army for our visit to the nearby pub where we were able to play party games based on our experiences on the trip.
Day three was our last day. We managed to fit in both Chester's Roman Fort, the best-preserved Roman Fort in Britain, of which the Bath House was particularly impressive, and Corbridge Roman Town which gave a better impression of domestic life. This too was very well-preserved, and the girls were able to wander around and get a very good impression of the layout of the town and the sorts of shops, houses, and temples which could be found there.
No trip would be good without plentiful food. The Sill, our accommodation, provided this. We also enoyed pizza at Haltwhistle, a small Northumberland town, on our way there, and a carvery lunch on our way back, which made the journey so much more manageable and enjoyable!
The girls were fantastic, the weather smiled on us, and all our plans for the trip worked out so that fun and learning was had by all.
Mrs Elizabeth Rothwell, Head of Classics