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Buses from Newcastle and trains on the Newcastle-Hexham-Carlisle
line stop at CORBRIDGE , a well-heeled town overlooking the River Tyne
from the top of a steep ridge. This spur of land was first settled by
the Saxons, and their handiwork survives in parts of the Church of St
Andrew , on the central Market Place, but it's the adjacent Vicar's Pele
that catches the eye, a well-preserved fourteenth-century fortified
tower-house.
One mile west of the Market Place, accessible by road or along the
riverside footpath - take the street opposite the Watling Coffee House -
lies Corbridge Roman Site (April-Sept daily 10am-6pm; Oct daily
10am-5pm; Nov-March Wed-Sun 10am-1pm & 2-4pm; £2.90; EH), the location
of the garrison town of Corstopitum. This is the oldest fortified site
in the region, first established as a supply base for the Roman advance
into Scotland in 80 AD (and thus predating the Wall itself). It remained
in regular military use until the end of the second century, after which
it became surrounded by a fast-developing town - most of the visible
archeological remains date from this period, when Corstopitum served as
the nerve centre of Hadrian's Wall. The extensive remains provide an
insight into the layout of the civilian town, showing the foundations of
temples, public baths, garrison headquarters, workshops and houses as
well as the best-preserved Roman granaries in Britain. The site museum
displays the celebrated Lion and Stag fountainhead - the so-called
"Corbridge Lion"; to the Romans, the lion and its prey symbolized the
triumph of life over death.
Corbridge train station is half a mile outside the town, across the
river; buses stop outside the Angel Inn on Main Street or near the post
office on Hill Street, around the corner. Corbridge tourist office is
also on Hill Street, at the library (mid-May to Sept Mon-Sat 10am-1pm &
2-6pm, Sun 1-5pm; Easter to mid-May & Oct Mon-Sat 10am-1pm & 2-5pm, Sun
1-5pm; tel 01434/632815). There's plenty of accommodation in and around
Corbridge - try the Riverside Guest House , a comfortable
eighteenth-century house with fine views of the Tyne on Main Street (tel
01434/632942, web.ukonline.co.uk/riverside; £40-50), or spacious,
tastefully decorated Clive House , in the former schoolhouse just east
of here on Appletree Lane (tel 01434/632617; £40-50). Moving upmarket,
there's plenty of space and a fine riverside location at the Lion of
Corbridge Hotel , Bridge End (tel 01434/632504,
lionofcorbridge@talk21.com ; £60-70), which is right by the bridge on
the way in from the train station.
The Watling Coffee House , on Watling Street just north of the main
square, serves light meals throughout the day. Star attraction in the
evening is the Valley (tel 01434/633434; closed Sun), a high-quality
Indian restaurant in the old station house on Station Road; for larger
parties coming from Newcastle, they'll arrange for a waiter to serve
drinks and take orders on the "curry train" from Central Station. Back
in the centre of town, at 18 Front St, is Al Ponte (tel 01434/634214),
offering a wide selection of Italian dishes, and good lunch deals. For
bar meals and beer, visit the Wheatsheaf , on Watling Street (visible at
the end of the road, beyond the Watling Coffee House ), an attractive
seventeenth-century former farmhouse with a couple of Roman stones in
the stableyard.
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