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chollerford |
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| At CHOLLERFORD , around four miles north of Hexham, a bridge crosses
the North Tyne river, overlooked by the swanky Swallow George Hotel (tel
01434/681611, ; £110-150). Two thousand years ago, the main river
crossing was a little way downstream, half a mile west of present-day
Chollerford, where Chesters Roman Fort (daily: Easter-Sept 10am-6pm; Oct
10am-5pm; Nov-Easter 10am-4pm; £2.90; EH), otherwise known as Cilurnum,
was built to guard the erstwhile Roman bridge over the river. Enough
remains of the original structure to pick out the design of the fort,
and each section has been clearly labelled, but the highlight is down by
the river where the vestibule, changing room and steam range of the
garrison's bath-house are still visible. Back at the entrance, the
museum has an excellent collection of Roman stonework, including Juno (now
headless) in a delicately pleated dress standing on a cow, one of the
finest pieces of statuary found along the Wall, and a notable sculpture
of Mars from Housesteads. |
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