Nearly two millenniums ago the Emperor Hadrian drew a line across the narrowest neck of Britain and ordered a fortified wall built as defense against marauding Scottish tribes. For nearly three centuries it marked the northern boundary of the Roman Empire. In the spring of 2003, a British National Trail opened in northern England that literally puts walkers in the footsteps of history. Whether you spend a few hours hiking a segment or a week going coast to coast, you will be taking the only official Trail that falls entirely within a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Romans occupied Britain from 43-410 AD, and the efficiency of their engineers is legendary. Today's walkers see the remnants of ancient peel forts and frontier settlements begun in 122 AD as well as once-hostile borderlands now occupied by peaceful sheep and ongoing archaeological digs.

Hadrian's Wall runs 73.5 miles from the River Tyne in the east to the Solway Firth in the west curving to follow the lay of the land. Sections hastily built of turf were soon replaced with stone and men were called to duty from all parts of the empire. Forts were erected every Roman mile (about 5000 feet) with two turrets in between where soldiers (500-1000 per fort and some 10,000 in all) stood watch day and night. The official trail is 81 miles long due to changes in land use primarily during the Industrial Age.

While the wall's most accessible top stones were carried off in quantity to be used as building materials in the Middle Ages, some remaining stretches are 4-5 feet high and for most of the way at least the foundations are visible. The ditch on the north side was strategic---the Scots charging uphill were at a disadvantage.

Though you can begin and end your walk at any point, starting with a day or two in Newcastle-on-Tyne is a plus. The city is alive with 21st century excitement over the new prize winning art and music complexes on the old Gateshead quays. To reset your perspective, visit the Museum of Antiquities to see relics from as early as 6000 BC, then stop at the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) to pick up a map and the latest brochures.

East of Newcastle is the aptly named district of Wallsend. The remains of Segedenum Roman Fort have become an archaeological park and museum complete with the reconstruction of a working Roman bath-house. A viewing tower presides over the full layout of the fort, and if the museum is also full of computer interactivity, this may be just the ticket for those raised on video games.

The subject matter lifts it above kitsch, however, and the real thing is not far away plainly marked by signs that read "Hadrian's Wall Country."

The wall acquired modest museum facilities at various points when it was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. These (Chesters, Housesteads, Vindolanda, Birdoswald, Corbridge) are being expanded in keeping with the importance of a National Trail designation. The number of tour buses is increasing too, though overcrowding at the sites is not yet a problem.

Just off the A-69, the honey-colored village of Corbridge has B&Bs, pubs and quite a good bakery on the main square where you can pick up picnic take-outs. Corbridge began as a supply depot and grain storehouse for the soldiers who staffed the wall, also providing housing for the harlots officially sanctioned by the command.

Its Roman Fort Museum contains artifacts excavated in Victorian times, and the village church boasts both a Roman arch and Saxon windows. Todayıs village was, in fact, built largely with material taken from the wall---the squared stones are the pilfered ones.

Backpackers can overnight in youth hostels and farmhouses along the route. However, there are organized tours as well. For example, on "The Hadrian's Wall Walk" laid out by U.S.-based Cross Country International walkers are accompanied by a Blue Badge Tourist Guide while a back-up van carries both gear and the occasional tired walker.

CCI's group stays in select B&Bs and pauses at romantic places such as Thirlwall Castle where Edward I ("Longshanks" of the movie "Braveheart") slept in 1306, Gilsland Spa where Sir Walter Scott honeymooned and Sewingshields Crag with its apocryphal ties to King Arthur and Queen Guinevere.

Historic plaques mark the sites of Roman Camps on the way west. The National Trail goes through forests and parklands in the Pennine Range of low mountains as well as across open territory giving walkers a variety of landscape experiences. At times the Trail is literally on top of the wall, while many footpaths are dirt and sometimes uneven. However, since the highest point is only 400m, the trail is considered moderate-to-easy.

• Avoid retracing your steps: start and finish your walk at different points, or follow a circular route.
  
• Use public transport wherever you can
  
• Avoid walking along the wall in the wet winter months when the ground is waterlogged and the risk of damage greatest
  
• Stick to public footpaths and permitted routes, as shown on the ground by colored arrows, and never climb up or walk on the Wall itself.
  
• Keep dogs on a lead: this is compulsory on National Trust land.

Winter is wet and bleak, but a rain poncho is necessary any time of year. Organized tours go June-September. A special Hadrian's Wall Bus Service operates daily in summer, and some websites have links to B&Bs along the way.

Read: Hadrian's Wall Path - National Trail Guide by Anthony Burton, Aurum Press 2003

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