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Time to descend into and out of one of the classic components of this frontier landscape - one of the "gaps". You have already experienced a few and today there will be a few more. But your legs need a break so we are going to deviate south of the Wall too. To see a ditch, then go find about two mineral resources that were used extensively by the Romans - coal and iron - but what do we know about them.

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We are starting at Bewcastle Fort around 10 kilometres north of Hadrians Wall – well that’s as the crow flies. But then we will be returning the Wall and some of its most dramatic landscapes and archaeology. From a ruined medieval Thirlwall Castle near Greenhead village – built completely of re-purposed Roman stones – we climb up onto the escarpment of the Whin Sill – 295 million years ago it was an intrusion of molten rock that then solidified into a hard rock called dolerite. It resisted erosion by 1000m thick ice sheets and stands proud as one of the rocky icons of the northern landscape.

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Our journey east continues, we are about one and a half kilometres north east of Lanercost just over the line dividing the red St Bees Sandstone bedrock from grey brown Carboniferous rocks – although there is no bedrock to see here – its covered by a variable thickness of glacial deposits. Those thick stony clays sand and gravels may well explain why the first incarnation of Hadrian’s Wall in the western sector was made of earth and turf and not stone. They also mean its essential to look at the building and wall stones to see get a feel for the bedrock.

You could abandon the car and walk between the places in the 4 stories in this episode from Hare Hill to Appletree, Harrows Scar and Willowford Bridge. Its only around 8 km one way, pretty flat with great views and some brilliant archaeology including passing Birdoswald Fort. The dedicated Romanists and hikers amongst you could take in the Fort and the Roman inscriptions at Combcrag gorge on the way back - you’ll maybe remember that from Series 2.