Thousands take part in Carlisle procession as Roman wall lit up
Last updated at 08:36, Monday, 15 March 2010
Thousands of people took part in a torchlight procession through Carlisle on Saturday evening as part of an event to light up Hadrian's Wall.
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Video:
The Carlisle procession
Residents and tourists joined the parade – accompanied by a band, costumed characters and musicians – to Bitts Park, where flaming beacons marked the line of Hadrian’s Wall.
The event saw the wall lit from Segedunum Roman Fort at Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway.
The parade, which started at 5.30pm in the city centre, followed an airborne heliosphere to Bitts Park for a firework display and lighting of the beacons.
A spokesman said more than 300 torches had been sold online – from the Go Lakes website – and hundreds more were available from Carlisle’s Tourist Information Centre.
They were also sold on the night at stalls and cost £3 if bought in advance and £4 on the night. Profits will be donated to local charities.
A spokesman for Carlisle Tourism Partnership said the event was a huge boost for tourism in the city, and county, with many city centre hotels fully booked.
Organisers of the event said they were inundated with people applying to light one of the 500 beacons at stages along the 84-mile wall, with 4,000 applications submitted.
They increased the number of illuminators from 500 to 1,000 by doubling the size of illuminator teams and hundreds are expected to go out and watch at the 250 sites.
Linda Tuttiett, the chief executive of Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd, said: “We’re delighted that so many people want to get involved in Illuminating Hadrian’s Wall.
“The fact that people rushed to put their names forward to be part of the event shows just how much it has captured the public imagination.”
She said some of them were celebrating an important day in their owns lives such as a birthday or wanted to pay tribute to a loved one.
The parade, which started outside the Tourist Information Centre on Greenmarket, greeted the line of light as it reached Bitts Park.
After Carlisle, the line of light continued towards the coast.
- Are you taking any photos of the event? Send them here and we'll create a slideshow for all to see.
- A Flickr group for the event has also been set up: www.flickr.com/groups/hadrian
First published at 14:13, Friday, 12 March 2010
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk
I can't believe some people didn't see any publicity, do they go around with their eyes shut and their ears covered over because its been splashed all over the papers (local and national), the internet, on the radio, on TV. I'm very concerned that these people will have a vote in the next election and....
...hang on, news just in, Elvis has died! I'll be right back.View all 12 comments on this article
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I had several sites email sent to me by a relative. I was disappointed not to see any photos of the end of the wall in Wallsend. It is over 50 years since I lived in England but I was keen to see some information on the Halls Ground where, if my memory serves my correctly was the site of the end of the wall.
Posted by Doreen Gibson (nee Waldon) on 29 March 2010 at 09:30