CAMBRIDGE LETTER

Picturesque pasts

Haltwhistle is not the centre of the universe. Indeed, I think it is a fair bet that most readers of Cambridge Letter will not have heard of it, and will have no idea where it is.

It is a small town in Northumberland, more or less half way between Newcastle and Carlisle, and very close to Hadrian’s Wall, that dramatic and impressive monument to the Roman occupation of Britain, whose construction began in 122 AD, in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Though not the centre of the universe, Haltwhistle does proudly proclaim itself to be the Centre of Britain. On the main street, in the middle of the town, near the medieval church, is a signpost reminding local residents and visitors of the fact. It notes figures in support of the claim: for example, it is the same distance from Kirkwall, in Orkney, north of the Scottish mainland, as from Dorset on the south coast of England.

We have just spent a week near Haltwhistle, in a cottage just south of Hadrian’s Wall. We know the area well, and visit it regularly.

Among the main attractions of this part of Britain are the beauty of the terrain – hills stretching in all directions as far as the eye can see – and the fact that it offers uncrowded space. It is possible to walk beside the Wall (which is some 115 kilometres long, from the east to the west coast of the country), and hundreds of people do, but one never feels hemmed in.

The same thing applies to the roads. It is possible to drive for most of a day, on well maintained roads, passing through villages and small towns, over hills and moorland, meeting little traffic. For those of us who live in the crowded and heavily populated part of the country round Cambridge this is certainly a treat.

Coming to Northumberland this year, when the frenzy of political controversy continues to dominate the newspapers, television and radio channels, is a great encouragement to put things in perspective. Of course, this is not an isolated area, detached from what is happening in the rest of the country. People read the same newspapers, watch the same television channels and listen to the same radio programmes. The same issues come up in conversation as in the rest of country.

What is different, particularly for visitors like us, is the ever present evidence that history did not begin this week, or this year, or even in our lifetime. The proximity of the Wall is a constant reminder of a remarkable period in British history when this part of the country was at the northern frontier of the Roman empire.

Very close to the cottage where we stay is another, even older, reminder of the greatness of Rome. Vindolanda is an amazing settlement, occupied by the Roman army from the latter part of the first century AD. The excavation of Vindolanda continues year by year, under the auspices of the Vindolanda Charitable Trust, and there have been many astonishing discoveries, including a set of writing tablets, which have been awarded by the British Museum the honour of being “Britain’s Top Treasure”.

Much of the work of excavation is carried out by volunteers, working under the supervision of professional archaeologists. So attractive is the possibility of joining the team of volunteers that there is a waiting list. Every time we visit Vindolanda, we are reminded, as we watch the current team of volunteers at work, of the enthusiasm and excitement which the work offers.

This, too, particularly this year, provides a great encouragement to put things in perspective. There are no financial incentives, no bonuses, no material attractions to bring large numbers of volunteers to carry out this painstaking (and tiring) work.

The people who live in this part of Britain, and the people who, like us, visit it are not of course living in a time warp. Most of them, I would guess, do not spend much of their time thinking about life as it was two thousand years ago. This certainly applies to us. Nevertheless, the fact that everywhere you go, everywhere you look, there are reminders of that life, does have a salutary effect.

Interestingly, although of course there are each year many visitors, it remains true that millions of my fellow countrymen have not the faintest idea what this part of Britain – and specifically this part of England – is like. To be selfish, that is one of its attractions!

Bill Kirkman is an Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College Cambridge, UK. Email him at: bill.kirkman@gmail.com

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