The Hadrian’s Wall 1900 Festival celebrates the anniversary of the beginning of the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. It commemorates 1900 years of history at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is acknowledged both locally and internationally, as a cultural and historical asset of Outstanding Universal Value to humanity.
Throughout 2022, a programme of events and activities celebrating 1900 years of Hadrian’s Wall will be hosted by numerous local stakeholders under the umbrella of the Hadrian’s Wall 1900 Festival, coordinated by the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership. The festival provides opportunities for everyone to get involved and celebrate, allowing them to connect with the World Heritage Site. Celebrations are now in full swing, with hundreds of events and activities happening across the wall throughout 2022.
Food Carlisle, in collaboration with its Partners, are running a series of “Food at the Frontier” events during the Festival, to celebrate the wall through the medium of food, and the relationship it has with the landscape, geology, and history surrounding the wall. The range of food producers across the wall demonstrate their ability to produce high quality, healthy food to local markets in a sustainable manner, and preserve the land for future generations and we think this is something to celebrate.
To kick off the summer of activities, there will be a stall at the Queen’s Jubilee Event in Bitt’s Park on 5th June celebrating all things Roman, with local chef John Crouch cooking roman food for people to sample, and there will be Roman-related Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths activities for people to engage with. These activities will be moving round events across the district over the summer, including a visit to Stanwix school in June, a collaboration including a guided walk and Roman food with House of Meg in Gilsland, and an Open Farm Day with Slackhouse Farm in September, amongst others.
Additionally, Food Carlisle has set up a food trail to provide a legacy from the 1900th year, both in virtual and leaflet format, celebrating the array of local producers, growers, and other food related businesses.
Jane Maggs, Chair of Food Carlisle said “Since food production along the Wall developed in harmony with the frequently harsh conditions, perhaps more so than in areas of kinder climate and topography, the trails will illustrate how food producers along the Wall must respond to the need to farm with nature, to care for the soil, increase biodiversity and generally practice regenerative agriculture whilst providing nutritious food, methods which were taken for granted in the past. The trails will show sustainable methods of producing food and their links to the past, through collaborations with Partners and local producers”.
“The foods produced will be illustrated by examples of the response to physical factors and human history: why does grass grow well in the west of the country; why beef and sheep are a valid way to farm in upland areas; why so many dairy operations lie within Carlisle District; what vegetables can be grown in local conditions and also how they can be grown sustainably without a dependence on soils and climate; and the reasons that the area can act as a carbon sink”.
The trail will be launched at the end of June.
You can download the business profile here. You can submit the profile, or ask any questions to Emma Mackie, Sustainable Food City Co-ordinator at Carlisle City Council, emma.mackie@carlisle.gov.uk.