The Antonine Wall

The Antonine Wall is now little more than a ditch and a bank.

Like anyone interested in the history of Britain, I had heard of the Antonine Wall, but only as an unimportant footnote to the story of Hadrian's more famous fortification. That there might be any traces left of this turf barrier which only lasted twenty years or so never crossed my mind, so it was with considerable astonishment that I saw a sign pointing off to "The Antonine Wall". I followed it through the depressing outskirts of Falkirk and eventually came to a deep ditch and grass-covered bank that skirted a housing estate.

Naturally, all the display boards had been vandalised, but a couple of miles further on - and presumably beyond the range of spotty teenagers and their felt-tipped pens - was the even more impressive site of Rough Castle.

If you want to visit these places, go to the Falkirk Wheel (ignore the Marina) and as you come out of the car park you encounter a mini roundabout. Turn left and at the end of the road you will find Watling Lodge.

Go back to the roundabout and this time turn right and follow the signs for "Rough Castle" (ignoring the Rough Castle Community Woodland Walks). Just when you think you are lost in a housing estate continue on and cross over the railway line. The road becomes a dirt track, but carry on and at the end of the track you find the Antonine Wall again.

There are other sites, but these two are, I believe, the longest and the best preserved.