Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Old Town Hall Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Old Town Hall

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    17 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Hadrian's Wall - view of wall looking west....one of it's high points.

    Hadrian's Wall

    4.7(3 reviews)
    1.9 mi

    There's a lot of talk about walls these days and that made me think of Hadrian's Wall. Built by the…read moreRomans to protect their conquered land? Sounds about right. Their engineering is quite something given that large parts of the wall is still standing after 2000 years. Some stretches of the wall you can literally climb over as if climbing over a garden fence, so I'm not sure how this could have kept anyone out. Very green landscapes all around and great hiking opportunities, when it doesn't rain.

    It was kind of difficult finding a Yelp-specific page for Hadrian's Wall, so this seems as good as…read moreanything I've been able to find. Hadrian's Wall is expansive, so I'm sure Yelp has difficultly pinpointing any specific place for it. Hadrian's Wall was something I hadn't heard about until my traveling companion, Sara, talked to me about wanting to see it, and one day exploring the entire wall. It's a sort of pilgrimage people seem to undertake, and it looks like an amazing experience I'll never be able to do. Built by the Romans as a defensive wall structure, the wall as we see it today is just a small fraction of what once existed. Buried under dirt and rocks, the wall once stood at 16-20 feet (5-6 meters), and 10 feet (3 meters) thick . It was first constructed in AD122 (around 1800 years ago), during the reign of (you guessed it) Hadrian. It spans about 80 Roman miles, aka 72 miles. It consists of not only the wall, but milecastles, turrets, and earthworks. It was rebuilt from turf (yes, turf) to stone. And this stone is something you can tangibly touch now. We ended up just pulling over to the side of the road in our car, and following a few path markers through a pasture of sheep and cows; the sky was blue and the weather was perfect. There were large, fluffy white clouds unfurling above our heads, and the fragrant smell of grass and dirt and cows... Pungent and alive, but by no means unpleasant. Everything was lush and alive. Anyways, there were designated walkways through these pastures, so it's not like we just snuck onto someone's farm. We climbed up small wooden stairs to go over the fences, and through the pasture, and followed the trail into a wooded area, where the temperature around us cooled visibly, and we were dappled with shadows as we moved along it. The path bordered the wood, with the meadow on the other side of us, pitting up into a sort of precarious strip through shadows and light on each side of us. It narrowed, grew a wooden guardrail, and ended with a view of the rolling hills. I've never touched something so old in my life, and it is... beautiful. It was wonderful being around something so ancient, and I couldn't help but reflect on all the people who had been in that spot over the years. Through the hundreds of thousands of days, different weather, animals, and of course the life and death that that it's no doubt witnessed as the wall has slowly disappeared into the earth. And now, there's me... my fingers resting on the mottled stone. Cool to the touch, and roughed by countless seasons, gravity, and animals. And when I'm dead, this wall with remain. You gotta give it to the Romans... they could build a wall with longevity in mind.

    Arbeia Roman Fort - Outside the fort on a deeply cold foggy morning

    Arbeia Roman Fort

    4.0(3 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    The Arbeia South Shields' Roman Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site, designated thus in 1987. It…read moreis at the entrance to the River Tyne and the main sea route to Hadrian's Wall - Vallum Hadriani. The wall covered the whole width of the island. The Venerable Bede described Hadrian's Wall: "It is eight feet in breadth, and twelve in height; and, as can be clearly seen to this day, ran straight from east to west." Bede by his own account lived his whole life at Jarrow, just across the River Tyne from the eastern end of the Wall. The fort too is an important part of the history of Roman Britain as it was a key garrison and military supply base to other forts along the Wall. It was through time the headquarters of a Roman Emperor - for the Scottish invasion -a supply base for the Roman army, home to 600 Roman troops and is reputedly the birth place of the Northumbrian King Oswin. It is the finest full-scale Roman reconstructions in the country containing some of the most significant finds from that era with a full-scale reconstructed Roman buildings including the West Gate, Commanding Officer's house and a soldier's barrack block, and one of the finest collections of finds from Roman Britain all found in and around Arbeia. It was bleak and desolate on the morning we arrived and the fog made it very atmospheric - hard to believe that over 10,000 Roman soldiers were stationed here over 2000 years ago.

    A nice little fort it once guarded the entrance to the river tyne and supplied the forts along…read morehadrian wall which ended four miles away You can go around the remains but what is more interesting is the reconstructed buildings which show you what it used to be like here in roman times The centurion house is good it was the home of a centurion who lead a Centuria which was 80 men which has five rooms There is also the west gate which has a display on the history of the site The barrack block which shows you how the soliders lived with beds and every day objects on display There is also a roman garden with alter The musuem has tools and weapons that were found as well as everyday objects There is also a display on how the romans buried their dead Time quest lets you excavate for real finds with the staff on a reconstructed site You can also try writing roman still This does cost you I think it was a £1 The site and musuem are free and have free parking outside Its also easy to get to from the bus and metro station in south shields

    Old Town Hall - landmarks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...