From the John Bunyan trail to Silbury Hill, these short “pilgrimages” offer a chance to soak up myths and legends
Start Housesteads Fort
Finish Brocolita Roman Temple
Distance 4¼ miles (use regular AD122 bus to shorten, if needed)
Those who walk the whole 84 miles of Hadrian’s Wall in a week may refer to it as a type of pilgrimage. But in the last few years the ever innovative British Pilgrimage Trust has worked with English Heritage to devise historical pilgrim trails – incorporating ancient sites across Britain – including the 23-mile section between Housesteads and Corbridge. For a pilgrimage with Roman flavour, begin at the Roman fort of Housesteads – a place where it is said “hooded gods” were worshipped, and walk east taking in the milecastles, turrets and the temple remains dedicated to Mithras, the Roman god of light (use the Hadrian’s Wall bus to return to the start).
