Hunter Davies has hit upon the right note as he strides along the path of Hadrian’s Wall for A Walk Along the Wall. Davies is a well-known writer, journalist and broadcaster who grew up in Carlisle, which forms part of the end of the Western section of the Wall. This is a revised edition of his original 1974 release, A Walk Along the Wall, which was the result of Davies’ walk along the wall, accompanied for much if it by an even earlier account called The History of the Roman Wall, published in 1802 by a 76-year-old shopkeeper, William Hutton. Davies in effect updated what Hutton experienced as he walked along the Wall and, in doing so, was among the first modern writers to offer a travelogue – part history, part guidebook and part personal insight – of the Hadrian’s Wall experience.
The Passages of Time
This is a brilliant book, but a tiny word of warning ought to be heeded: Hunter Davies walked the route before it was open to the public as a designated trail. (In fact, he visited Vindolanda the week the first two wooden writing tablets were being unearthed.) The National Trail was opened up in 2003 and, as such, the experience of walking the Wall has changed enormously (largely for the better).
In the introduction to this new 2009 edition, Davies tries to make good the disparity between what is there now and what he saw nearly 40 years ago. It is a shame that he did not devote a whole chapter to describing all these changes as he has missed things such as the building of the new metal bridge in 2001 at Willowford, the existence of The Roman Army Museum (constantly referred to as Vindolanda’s other site), and the new national park at Walltown Crags and Quarry. The Roman Way B&B in Gilsland where he stayed is now tumbling down, and a better account of Wallsend and Haltwhistle is sorely needed. The black and white photos in the book could do with a super update too.
Having said all that, Hunter Davies (quite rightly) has thrown down the gauntlet for someone else to update his 40-year-old account: “I like to think that in the future I will not actually need to do my book properly again because someone else will, carrying mine in their knapsack,” he writes. “In my wilder fantasies I see this book being rewalked and rewritten in 2074. The Wall will certainly still be there, even if we won’t.” And he’s right – there are hundreds of books written about Hadrian’s Wall and there will surely be hundreds more to come.
Details, Details, Details!
All the different experiences from Davies’ walk are woven together in the book to provide a detailed and informative narrative. For example, on pages 104-115, he gives a marvellous summary of what the Roman army comprised, how it was formed, what it did, what the career structure was like and so on. He then applies this to how the army must have looked and worked in Hadrian’s time, and to how the Wall was built. (Various dimensions of the Wall are provided, complete with diagrams.) He describes Roman signalling methods (p.154); Roman baths (p.69-73); Roman literacy and village life (in the Vindolanda chapter p.121). Indeed his research is second to none. On pages 193-199, he gives an excellent account of how religion was practised in Roman times and then he links this with the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland and Northumbria.
Many things stand out in this book – not least when Davies is having a good soak in a bath in Hadrian’s Hotel at Wall, ruminating on why the Romans bothered to conquer Britain in the first place (p.78); as usual he comes up with some fascinating conclusions.
Other subjects such as the Reivers are given their due alongside Sir Walter Scott (p.174), coal, shipbuilding, the railways, General Wade and the creation of the Military Road, the Jacobites and Bonny Prince Charlie, modern archaeology (p.179), Spadeadam (p.202), the turf and stone Wall (p.203), haaf netting (p.275), Edward I, the cost of building the Wall and the Vallum, the price of farming (p.162) plus much, much more. All are equally intriguing.
Hunter Davies clearly enjoys his walking (this was the first of several walking books he wrote), his history and the countryside, and he knows how to communicate all these passions to his readers in an extremely entertaining and knowledgeable way. This book is highly recommended to all readers, whether they are new to the subject area or are already well-versed in the Wall and its surrounds. It would also of course be of value to those who have visited or who are planning to visit the area, and to those with a general love of history and walking.
