More than 1,200 volunteers lit gas-fired beacons along 84 miles of Hadrian's Wall (From The Northern Echo)

More than 1,200 volunteers lit gas-fired beacons along 84 miles of Hadrian's Wall

8:50am Monday 15th March 2010 in

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THOUSANDS of people turned out to witness the illumination of Hadrian’s Wall on Saturday night.

More than 1,200 volunteers lit gas-fired beacons and held up flares to light the 84 miles of the Roman landmark, from Wallsend, in North Tyneside, through Northumberland, to Bowness on Solway, in Cumbria.

A crowd of 4,000 people gathered at Wallsend to watch a performance by Theatre Apu, of Berlin, which ended with four winged angel figures standing on the site’s observation tower as the first beacon was lit.

The line of light travelled along the monument, past spectator points at Brocolitia, Housesteads and Birdoswald on the central section of the wall.

The event was organised by Hadrian’s Wall Heritage, of Hexham, and aimed to raise the profile of the World Heritage Site, which was the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire.

Marketing manager Neil Carney said: “We are delighted by the number of people who turned out to both man the lighting stations and to watch.”