Walltown Crags, Northumberland, Autumn
There’s so much in history in the UK that it can sometimes be hard to separate the work of man from nature.
With a beautiful autumnal weekend on the horizon, Lisabet and I set out to meet up with my Dad for a hike somewhere new: Walltown Country Park in Northumberland.
Two things piqued our interest in this place. Firstly, there’s a great section of Hadrian’s Wall to explore here. And secondly, an art sculpture—known as APERTURA—was set up near the wall as part of celebrating 1,900 years since Hadrian’s Wall was built. Isn’t that astounding?
We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The day was bright, but not harsh; crisp, but not cold; colourful, but not garish. The staff and volunteers at Walltown Country Park couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly, and exploring this section of Hadrian’s Wall and its turrets was absolutely fascinating.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 ultra-wide prime lenses. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films, and finished in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Walltown Crags, Northumberland, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The approach to APERTURA. A striking sight. It’s shape was designed to mimic the geography of the local area, an insight I was keen to demonstrate in this photo.
With my 9mm ultra-wide equipped I was able to capture the entire installation and use the distortion effects of an ultra-wide angle lens to emphasise the shape.
I enjoyed juxtaposing the tip of APERTURA with the afternoon sun, emphasised by setting my lens at f22 to turn the sun into a star.
APERTURA features 1,900 copper chimes of different sizes (to reflect the 1,900 years of Hadrian’s Wall), which all clang together in the wind, creating a fascinating sonic experience akin to church bells ringing.
Another composition presented itself to me, where I was able to frame Walltown Crags underneath the art installation and its imposing stature.
Whilst prowling around the art installation, enjoying its tones and construction, I noticed the moon was bright in the sky. I re-equipped my Vivitar and zoomed in tight to make the installation “point” towards the moon.
From this angle APERTURA almost looks like a spaceship, or perhaps even a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber plane.
We rounded back on ourselves, this time taking the longer path towards Walltown Crags, pictured here high above the pond. Walltown Country Park was formerly a quarry until 1976, and has since been allowed to be reclaimed by nature.
APERTURA, in context of the landscape. It is situated on a small ridge where part of Hadrian’s Wall is now missing.
On the path heading up to the top of the crags, Lisabet and I spotted this lovely simple composition of two trees framing a smaller one in the distance. Nothing fancy, but pleasing nonetheless.
Near the top of Walltown Crags the scale of APERTURA and the landscape becomes more apparent.
Made it to Hadrian’s Wall, now 1,900-years old. That mean the wall’s construction began in 122 AD. Crazy.
Emperor Hadrian commanded a wall to be built across Roman Britain, ostensibly to keep “northern barbarians” out. However, it also served as a way of keeping people in Roman Britain, and controlling trade across the border.
The wall ran from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the Northeast of England to Bowness-on-Solway in Northwestern Cumbria, a distance of 80 Roman miles, or 73 modern miles. Large sections of the wall survive, particularly in hillier areas such as here at Walltown Crags and more famously at Housesteads Fort.
The Romans made use of the local geography when constructing the wall. Large sections of it in Northumberland are built on top of various protruding crags made from hard volcanic dolerite rock. This would’ve gave the Romans a panoramic advantage when trying to spot invasions in the distance.
Of course, the local sheep are oblivious to the historical human significance of the area.
The Walltown Crags are volcanic in origin, made from hard dolerite and known as the Whin Sill. It’s exactly the same rock and protrusion you see at High Cup Nick, High Force, Low Force, and Cauldron Spout, and even as far as the Farne Islands in the North Sea. Geology North has a good map of where in North England the Whin Sill has surfaced above ground to create incredible landscapes.
Looking back at our progress across the top of Walltown Crags, tracking the route where sections of Hadrian’s Wall would’ve been. Unfortunately, even in these hillier parts of the wall, sections are missing where they’ve probably been dismantled for building material over the centuries by farmers and/or landowners.
Our destination: two protruding crags where—according to the OS map—one could find the remnants of Turret 44B and Turret 44A.
A pleasing Northern English scene, featuring trees growing from a solitary crag with cows grazing peacefully below.
Looking back at our progress from Turret 44B. It’s theorised that towering turrets were built along the wall every third of a mile, given the wall structure.
My Dad below, taking in the history of the area, as I clamber up the crag to soak in the extensive views.
Honestly, we could’ve happily carried on the trail to see even more of the wall. Alas, parking is expensive and we were due back. Definitely more to check out next time!