It was everything that the video shows, and more.
We were amazed at how many people were there. You can see Birdoswald in the video at about 00:21 in, we are just behind the two bright dots near the bottom of the screen (guys in Exceptionally High Visibility Vests!).
There was the same sense of anticipation that comes with something that is so out-of-the-ordinary, like a total eclipse or a rocket launch. At Birdoswald, the car park filled up slowly after around 3pm, and the road was packed with cars parked along the verges. As the projected lighting-time drew nearer, people began to walk up to the viewing areas along the Wall, some standing near each of the torches, others trying to find the highest viewing points. In the distance, on the top of one of the highest points visible, a flame was visible. It flared and then went out, then the torch nearest the fort also was lit briefly, last-minute testing going on along the route. The mood was more of a festival one, celebrating something almost indescribable, a sense that we were definitely in the heart of something unique and amazing. The sense of excitement was impossible not to feel.
The first point of light in the distance reappeared, people pointing it out, quiet exclamations and then silence. There was a pause and then another point of light appeared. They were pinpricks in the dusk, again everyone acknowledged its appearance, and then the next light. There were few raised voices, though, the sense of anticipation was something subdued rather than loud. Another light appeared and gradually the points of light made sense, you could see where the line was going. It moved down along the ridge, through the wooded stretch beyond the river and then it leapt the river itself, appearing at the milecastle and then racing up to the next beacon and then almost before we were ready, it was the turn of the beacon next to the fort.
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Our son, aged 10, had been intently watching the lights as they approached us, helping to pick out each one and trace the advance of the beacons. We walked to the other side of the fort, to see the beacons as they marched away along the Wall towards Carlisle.
The roads were packed with cars slowly driving along the narrow and heavily congested road past Birdoswald, but we never even noticed them, everyone's focus was on the beacons. The helicopter swept past us, we all waved and cheered. The sense of anticipation had faded, replaced by a sense of wonder. We had not just seen the gas beacons, we had seen the past sweeping along towards us. In the dusk, we could have been people from any time, watching the lights flare along the Wall.
As we slowly drove home, we passed along a length of the wall just by the roadside. The torches stayed lit for long enough for us to see them as we headed away from Birdoswald. Some of the teams at each torch looked tired, but many of them had an air of elation as if they had been illuminated themselves by the experience. We felt the same, we had experienced more than just a modern tourist-inspired event, out there in the dark we had become part of the Wall's history.
The only, faintly disappointing thing was that I didn't manage to get any decent photos. Except for this one:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]404[/ATTACH]
We were amazed at how many people were there. You can see Birdoswald in the video at about 00:21 in, we are just behind the two bright dots near the bottom of the screen (guys in Exceptionally High Visibility Vests!).
There was the same sense of anticipation that comes with something that is so out-of-the-ordinary, like a total eclipse or a rocket launch. At Birdoswald, the car park filled up slowly after around 3pm, and the road was packed with cars parked along the verges. As the projected lighting-time drew nearer, people began to walk up to the viewing areas along the Wall, some standing near each of the torches, others trying to find the highest viewing points. In the distance, on the top of one of the highest points visible, a flame was visible. It flared and then went out, then the torch nearest the fort also was lit briefly, last-minute testing going on along the route. The mood was more of a festival one, celebrating something almost indescribable, a sense that we were definitely in the heart of something unique and amazing. The sense of excitement was impossible not to feel.
The first point of light in the distance reappeared, people pointing it out, quiet exclamations and then silence. There was a pause and then another point of light appeared. They were pinpricks in the dusk, again everyone acknowledged its appearance, and then the next light. There were few raised voices, though, the sense of anticipation was something subdued rather than loud. Another light appeared and gradually the points of light made sense, you could see where the line was going. It moved down along the ridge, through the wooded stretch beyond the river and then it leapt the river itself, appearing at the milecastle and then racing up to the next beacon and then almost before we were ready, it was the turn of the beacon next to the fort.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]405[/ATTACH]
Our son, aged 10, had been intently watching the lights as they approached us, helping to pick out each one and trace the advance of the beacons. We walked to the other side of the fort, to see the beacons as they marched away along the Wall towards Carlisle.
The roads were packed with cars slowly driving along the narrow and heavily congested road past Birdoswald, but we never even noticed them, everyone's focus was on the beacons. The helicopter swept past us, we all waved and cheered. The sense of anticipation had faded, replaced by a sense of wonder. We had not just seen the gas beacons, we had seen the past sweeping along towards us. In the dusk, we could have been people from any time, watching the lights flare along the Wall.
As we slowly drove home, we passed along a length of the wall just by the roadside. The torches stayed lit for long enough for us to see them as we headed away from Birdoswald. Some of the teams at each torch looked tired, but many of them had an air of elation as if they had been illuminated themselves by the experience. We felt the same, we had experienced more than just a modern tourist-inspired event, out there in the dark we had become part of the Wall's history.
The only, faintly disappointing thing was that I didn't manage to get any decent photos. Except for this one:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]404[/ATTACH]