Tantallon House on Hadrian’s Wall

If you go down to the woods today, you are sure of a big surprise as down among the woods, in the Irthing Gorge, just by the Gilsland Spa Hotel is the old swimming pool set by the river. It must have been built at the same time as the spa hotel where you could take a walk from the hotel down to the river and swim in the pool. I guess that all the trees would have been cleared from the area otherwise the midges would have eaten you. But now, it is all abandoned, the trees have grown up around the pool, and bushes are growing in the pool.

As you approach the pool, it is like a surreal picture, it could be something out of a creepy movie - I wonder if it has been used as a film set? The pool is set above the river level, so I was wondering how the water flowed in and out. Just upstream, is what looks like the old pump house, a stone built building with a few abandoned electric motors. I assume this is what pumped the water into the pool as it would be unlikely to fill with water only at the time of the river flowing full blast, it might just reach it.Walking along there today, its a great walk all around the woods, hotel, gorge, and river edges with the water pouring off the rock cliffs.Its about 10 to 15 minutes walk from our B&B.

If you want to take a great walk to see some wonderful sections of the Roman Wall, there is no better place to stay than Tantallon House B&B and take the walk to Birdoswald and along the river to Gilsland Village. Of particular note on the walk is Willow Ford Roman Bridge. This is set on the banks of the River Irthing and, with a bit of imagination and the pictures set on the notice boards adjacent to the site, you can see just how good at engineering the Romans were.

The first bridge was built in AD 122 to AD 128 when Hadrian’s Wall was first set out. It comprised of a tower, which housed a flight of steps which accessed the top of the bridge. It is thought that this bridge may have collapsed in AD 160 to AD 180.

Second Bridge. This had a superstructure in timber and the old tower was demolished. A new larger tower was built to the east side. The end of the bridge incorporated a platform of masonry to the north of the Wall which acted as a retaining wall to protect the bridge from the fast river flows. There are sluices still visible on the site which are assumed to act as some kind of flood control.

Third Bridge. The tower was removed, the bridge widened and a ramp was constructed. There was also built, a new end to the bridge and pier. It was now known as the Military Way.What can you see today? There are some good descriptions on the boards to show you what the bridge was like, and you can work out from the pictures each section of the bridge built at the different times. You can still see the sluices, the wall, piers, ramps etc and also how the Romans connected the stones together, They cut slots in the stone and joined them with iron or lead cramps. (If you go to the Chesters Bridge at Chollerford you can see the circular holes in the stones for a kind of crane!)

What I find amazing about this today is not only the Roman construction but the way the River Irthing has moved about 200 metres westward and left the bridge behind. The Romans built the bridge not perpendicular to the river flow but almost parallel to the river, so as the river cut away at the rocks and soil on the bend, it gradually moved away from the bridge.It is a wonderful setting and the bridge is only one of 3 on the Wall. Well worth a visit, but only accessible by foot, about 10 minutes walk from Birdoswald.

About 10 minutes walk from our B&B is the Irthing Gorge. This is a great place for a walk in amongst the woods with the River Irthing running through the area.

One of the places to visit on the walk is Popping Stones. Local legend has it that Sir Walter Scott proposed to his future wife on the prominent rocks that lie beside the river and and it has been known ever since as Popping Stones. There are 2 stones which sit side by side which are rounded, well worn and bear signs of work by modem masons. Reshaping did take place around 1870 according to the historical records (thanks to Will Higgs here). It is a wonderful place to sit and watch the river and wildlife. Visiting today, the route was muddy, but it does dry out significantly in the summer. The river water was flowing out from a tributary half way up the gorge cliff. (reminiscent of Scotland here) and I have also seen a heron flying though.

The area is administered by the woodland trust and the whole Gorge is protected.