Housesteads is the remnants of the Roman barracks and fort on Hadrians Wall in Northumbria. You get a free entrance if you are a member of either National trust or English heritage - haven't seen many places that accept both. You also have to walk up to the entrance point from the car park, about 10 min or so. The site consists of two parts: a museum, where you get a bit of history and a short education film and fort (or ruins of fort), which is a much bigger area. You also get to see the wall! read more

See all

During our visit to Hadrian's Wall, we stopped at the Housesteads Roman Fort & Museum. The Housestead's Fort is the best preserved of all the Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall. Construction on Hadrian's Wall began in 122 AD and was completed in 6 years time; it spans 73 miles and was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. It separated Roman Britain from the barbarians of the North. Hadrian's Wall was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. It's definitely cool to see in person as the wall spans miles and we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. The museum is a short walk up from the parking lot where you can learn about the story of the fort and its garrison. There is a visitor's center near the parking lot as well with restrooms and a gift shop. There are light bites and hot drinks available at both. read more

See all

Being a huge fan of Roman (and especially Roman Military) history, visiting Housesteads & Hadrian's Wall was very special for me. Construction of the wall started in 122AD and took six years to complete. This is the best preserved of the original eleven Roman forts protecting Hadrian's wall from the Ancient Britons including the Picts. Even still, it takes a bit of imagination to step back almost two thousand years and see it as it once was. The main gate, once imposing, is all but nonexistent now. You can walk through the entire Fort and see the various buildings, or more likely the foundations for walls where buildings once were. If you look out from the far side of the Fort you'll see a wall from it leading down to Hadrian's wall, which stretches some 73 miles across the north of England. Sadly, there is a fence on top of the wall so you can't simply walk from the Fort down to Hadrian's wall on the stones. You have to walk through farmland down to Hadrian's wall to see it. The Fort is quite large and once held an entire Roman Cohort of 800 soldiers. A small Vicus (city) behind the Fort is where the local population lived and some soldiers lived their with their families. As you enter there is a visitors center with sandwiches, soups, coffee/tea and various refreshments along with a gift shop. Once you get your tickets and start heading to Housesteads, it is a pretty steep hike up and curving around a big hill. Stay on the gravel road and you won't get lost. At the top of the hill, the gravel path leads you to the Housesteads Museum which contains actual Roman artifacts and finds from digs at the Fort. The video they did is quite good aka worth the five minutes or so to sit and watch. Then you walk up to the Fort. Open your imagination and try to see it as it once was, an imposing monument to Roman military might! read more

See all

By all accounts Housesteads is the most complete example of a Roman fort anywhere in Britain, therefore for most people visiting Hadrian's Wall country it is top of the list for a visit. There's a car park at the foot of the hill which the fort is on (pay and display) and then it's a ten minute, relatively strenuous, walk up the hill to the fort itself. When I visited it was £6 for adults, £3.60 for children and £5.40 for Concessions, free to English Heritage and National Trust members. It's one of the more expensive Roman sites to visit but I personally think it's worth it as there are extensive remains and all set in beautiful scenery. However, I do think it requires a nice day weather wise as naturally it is all outdoors. When I visited there was no museum, which most of the other Roman sites have, but I believe a museum will be opening/re-opening some time this year. Definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in Roman history but I'm not sure quite how much it would capture the interest of children, it takes a certain leap of imagination to capture any real sense of what the fort would really have been like from what remains today. read more

See all