Legio XX Valeria Victrix

 

Here are some Early Imperial Roman legionaries that I've just finished painting. These have been stuck on the painting desk for a very long time, so it's good to see the back of them! They're all Victrix figures and shield transfers, from the advancing legionaries set. The Legio XX Valeria Victrix was stationed in Britain from the time of Claudius' invasion in 43 AD and were involved in the construction of Hadrian's Wall from 121-125 AD. The back drop photo was taken about ten years ago, on a trip to the UK, on a day walk along Hadrian's Wall, from Chollerford to Caw Gap. See post on Walking Hadrian's Wall for more photos.

Walking Hadrian's Wall

First view of the Wall

Black Carts Turret (29a)

Limestone Corner

Carrawburgh Mithraeum (Brocolita)

Altars of the Mithraeum

Approaching Houstead's Fort

I'm currently reading Adrian Goldsworthy's excellent new book, Hadrian's Wall: Rome and the Limits of Empire. This book, which is beautifully illustrated, brought back memories of August 2011 when we visited Hadrian’s Wall and associated sites and museums. We stayed at a nice B&B just outside of Haltwhistle which was a very convenient base with a car. For guides we had Guy de la Bédoyère’s Hadrian's Wall: History and Guide and for track notes, the not entirely reliable, Lonely Planet’s Walking in Britain.

As we had only limited time we opted for a day walk along one of the more interesting central sections of the wall which turned out to be from Cholleford to Caw Gap, a distance of about 22km. We didn’t have a very detailed map when we did the walk, but subsequently bought the Harvey’s National Trail Hadrian’s Wall Path map, which I highly recommend. We left our car at Chollerford near Chesters and just made the last bus heading back there from Once Brewed. These photos are from our walk and fortunately the weather was really nice on the day.

We also spent a few days looking at a number of sites including: Tullie House Museum's Roman Frontier Gallery, Carlisle Castle, Chesters Fort and Museum, Housteads, Vindolanda, Roman Army Museum, Birdoswald and Lanercost Priory. Visiting Hadrian’s Wall and the fantastic forts and museums there was definitely a highlight of our trip and something I’d recommend to anyone visiting the area.

Northern Gateway of Milecastle 37

Climber belaying on Sewingshields Crags

Sycamore Gap

Milecastle 39 (Castle Nick)

Caw Gap