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

My wife and I visited Alnwick Castle on a cold blustery day in September 2024. It was one stop of…read moremany in a tour around Roman, Saxon, Viking and Norman historical sites across the country. I'm a sucker for castles me. What boy isn't. Alnwick is so well preserved its a real treat. In fact its a living working home to the Earl of Northumberland.  The history encapsulated in this venue is vast. Built by the Normans, owned by the Percy family and the site of battles and sieges during the Wars Of The Roses, captured by Yorkists, recaptured by Lancaster. The walls have many tales to tell. There are lots of activities outside of historical studies. DragonQuesting, Harry Potter themed events (having been filmed here), knights quest, archery. It's great for kids. But thats not why we were there. We were here for the history. And there are lots of small museum displays around the site. There was a great tour around the State House that went into some good detail of the lives of the Percy family through the years. Its a magnificent building. Stately and opulent. Whereas the outside has the battlements and the armouries. And the grounds are beautiful, alongside the River Aln. We parked on The Peth, luckily found a spot right next to the castle, avoiding the walk from paid parking lots. Spent an hour or two at the end of a long day here, but wish we had more time to leisurely enjoy all Alnwick Castle has to offer.

I especially wanted to visit Alnwick castle as some of the scenes from Harry Potter had been filmed…read morethere. Me and my friend travelled from Edinburgh for the day and it took us 90 minutes each way, but it was so worth it. When we arrived it cost £3 for parking. The car parks are a good 15 minute walk from the castle, so if anyone has walking issues then be prepared. The first bit you reach is the gardens which are beautiful. You pay for the gardens separately to the castle. You could spend a day in both as there is so much to do. You can get your castle tickets validated for a year, meaning you can visit as often as you want for the next year. This is brilliant as your ticket is only £14 per adult. We had been warned that broomstick training tickets sell out quickly so we headed straight there. The tickets are free but are very popular. We arrived at 12pm and the next tickets we could get were for 3pm. To be honest we went to do it, but it was more for kids. So we gave our tickets away and headed for the movie tour, I'll come back to this. We headed to the gardens to have lunch. We got some fish and chips which were reasonably priced and went and sat on the lawn to eat them. We were lucky as we had a lovely sunny day. We then investigated the gardens which included a fairy trail, where you had to find the clues to save the princess, a maze, a beautiful water feature, a maze made from bamboo and a Poisen garden. We never managed the Poisen garden but heard good things. Back to the castle, it is a beautiful castle with stunning views. we wandered about, there was lots of entertainment for all ages. As I said earlier we left the broomstick training to join the movie tour. This was fascinating and we were shown the different places that things had been filmed. I knew about Harry Potter but not about Robin Hood prince of thieves, Black Adder and more recently Downton Abbey. As they say, time passes when you're having fun and the day flew past. We'd didn't even manage to go into the castle or visit the tree house. I will defo be taking advantage of my years free entry. Definitely worth a visit whatever age you are. Oh and all the staff members where lovely and friendly. All me and my friend kept saying was this has just been a perfect day, and it really was..