Illuminating Hadrian's Wall, March 13

[mpoole]

I'm not sure if this was lost in the forum crash, so I'm posting again. We're going to be at Birdoswald for the day, and will take as much in the way of photographs and video as possible when the beacons are lit in the area.

I'll post a report when we're back. We're looking forward to the experience, especially our 10-year-old son who wants to be an archaeologist. (don't try to convince him otherwise, as his second career choice is beadmaker! :0)

http://www.illuminatinghadrianswall.com/

[Smaze]

"Blessed are the beadmakers"..... should be a good night out and something to see that should have been done before just for the heck off it

[mpoole]

Yup. Should be an annual thing, I think. I can't decide if they're celebrating the end of the Roman Army presence or just celebrating the fact that it's such a wonderful site.

I'm trying to convince Mike to do some special beads for geocaching, but we're novices at the geocaching thingy so have no idea how to get them placed along the path (not the Wall itself).

[BAJR Host]

Oh.... nearly forgot... please please please take some good photos of the event... we may have space for them in the next Past Horizons Magazine.. and definately want to see them here...

a video... I don't care... jsut wish I was able to get there..!

enjoy!

[mpoole]

I'll do my best both on the photos and the videos. That means I have to wait for the brandy till after the torches are lit, though. I hope you appreciate what a sacrifice this is!

[BAJR]

I'll send you some brandy if its a good video :face-kiss:

[mpoole]

I'll send you some brandy if its a good video :face-kiss:

Apparently, the bath house at Vindolanda is the place for that sort of video. According to someone who must remain nameless (or face perpetual public humiliation), the beads founds in the bath drains are a direct result of wild parties.

Dare I admit it, but I'm seriously geeked about the whole Illuminating event. Yeah, I have no shame, so why not?

I forgot to ask... what kind of brandy?

[BAJR]

Shame you forgot your hip flask... and as I suspect you did not have a helicopter handy... here is a short video of the event from above. enjoy
[video=vimeo;10145579]http://vimeo.com/10145579[/video]

Illuminating Hadrian’s Wall created a spectacular line of light from coast to coast. This once in a lifetime event took place on Saturday 13 March 2010 and followed the whole route of the 84 mile long Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail.
http://www.illuminatinghadrianswall.com/ :face-approve:

[mpoole]

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:

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[BAJR]

Oh thank you so much for that Sue... thank you!

made me have goose bumps!

like the one of your son :face-approve: