Romans and Countryfolk of Corbridge

Corbridge is a picturesque little town, with Georgian stone cottages, antique shops and old inns cuddled up to a square-towered church. Nothing much happens here these days: people come for a little peace and quiet away from the city and maybe a spot of Sunday lunch in one of those inns. The wide River Tyne flows by lazily on a journey that takes it from the wild hills of Northumberland, through the cityscapes of Newcastle and onwards to the shivering North Sea.

Though the present town was founded in Saxon times, the Romans, under Agricola, first arrived in ad 79. They established their settlement six years later, just ½ mile (800m) to the west of modern Corbridge, on the north bank of the Tyne. Known as Corstopitum, it would have been the most northerly settlement in the Roman Empire, strategically placed at the junction of their Dere Street (York to northern Britain) and Stanegate (Corbridge to Carlisle) roads, and near to what was, after ad 122, the frontier, Hadrian's Wall. The Romans also had a fine bridge across the Tyne, and you can still see the rubble remains of foundations when the water levels are low.

In past centuries Corbridge was second only to Newcastle in this part of the world, and of great strategic importance. As such, the town has known many troubled times. You'll see that straight away, for the first house you come to, Low Hall on Main Street, has a fortified pele tower. These fortifications were added to defend against the Scots; both the marauding Border reivers, who came to rob and pillage, and the Scots armies, who came to destroy. William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and King David II all invaded and all laid the town waste on their journeys south. Centrepiece of modern Corbridge is undoubtedly St Andrews Church, built in the Saxon era and with a Roman archway borrowed from the older settlement. The church was extensively modified in the 13th century, with the addition of aisles, transepts and chancel, and was restored during Victorian times.

Round the back of the church you'll come across another fortified house, this time the 13th-century Vicar's Pele - even the clergy were not immune to the wrath of the Scots. Before going down to the River Tyne and that magnificent 17th-century bridge, the route passes Town Barns, where the famous north east based author Catherine Cookson lived in the 1970s.

We take a short riverside ramble now, before climbing out of the valley, traversing pastures scattered with woods, and strolling along hedge-lined country lanes. You arrive at Prospect Hill, with its pristine cottages and farmhouses. It does indeed have prospects - a fine view of Corbridge, the Tyne Valley and the low hills beyond where the Romans marched and Hadrian's Wall once offered a firm deterrent to those erring northerners.

While you're there

Visit the Roman Fort, Corstopitum, where the two large granaries and the Fountain House are particularly impressive. The main street that runs through is the Stanegate. Finds from the archaeological digs are kept in the museum. They include Roman armour, coins and other personal artefacts.

Where to eat and drink

The Angel on Main Street is a large 17th-century coaching inn that offers a fine range of tasty meals, including Sunday roasts. It's a free house with Black Sheep and Courage ales always available. Children are welcome.

What to look for

In an old stableyard wall behind the Wheatsheaf Inn (off Watling Street) there are two crudely sculpted heads believed to have come from one of the three Corbridge churches set ablaze by the invading Scots in the early 14th century.