Hadrian's Wall Vindolanda - Family day out.

We stopped off at Vindolanda on a recent trip over to the Lake District. Situated just off the A69, it was the perfect place to call in for a picnic and break up the journey. To be honest, we didn’t think we would be staying all that long. But as soon as we entered through the museum, it became clear we would be here a lot longer than planned…

What is Vindolanda?

Vindolanda is one of Europe’s most important Roman archaeological sites, situated just one mile south of Hadrian’s Wall. The site is owned by the Vindolanda Charitable Trust. Excavations take place on a yearly basis, and over time have uncovered some truly amazing artefacts which are displayed in the sites museum. This was the part we found particularly interesting during our visit. Everything you see in the museum came from the excavation site just yards away.

But it isn’t just the fort you will find here. There is also an activity centre which is really geared at the kids, a café, museum and gift shop. As well as this you can potter around the peaceful Roman gardens, soaking up the history that really feels alive at Vindolanda.

The museum displays objects discovered during the excavations. I don’t know about you, but it really blew my mind that the objects I was viewing, came from the very site I had just been standing on. From leather shoes and jewellery to military equipment and pottery, it is simply amazing the history that has been uncovered here. Great for my son’s age, as he had been learning about the Romans at school, which led to me think this would be the perfect place for a school trip.

Our son gravitated towards the bones and skulls, as a typical boy would I suppose. Normally this kind of stuff doesn’t appeal to me but I also found it all very fascinating. I would recommend a visit to the museum with slightly older children. (My son is eight and I would say this was young enough; our five year old wasn’t quite so interested in the museum part.)

As you leave the museum, you make your way through the gift shop and café, before stepping out into the Roman gardens. This is where we probably spent most of our time aside from explore the fort.

The café is designed to make you feel like you could be in Italy, all very authentic and in keeping with the rest of the site. We purchased a take away coffee from here and sat outside on one of the picnic benches. On this particular occasion we had our own picnic lunch, so sat here to eat and take in the beautiful garden space.

The whole site felt pretty relaxed and there was plenty of exploring to be done. An activity centre is located in the garden and was great for our children. It was engaging and really painted a picture of what life would have been like for Roman children.

Then of course there is the Fort. The visible stone fort dates back as far as the third century and the remains include the fort walls and the headquarters building. Remains of the complete settlement lie just west of the fort and include buildings lining what would have been the main street. These buildings include shops, houses and a bath house.