Gilsland is an interesting village, and steeped in history, both Roman and more recent. Even today it is unusual by virtue of being split between two counties, Cumbria and Northumberland. The village is directly on Hadrian’s Wall, and is interwoven by pieces of it in the most surprising places. The Wall pops up in the garden of a house, and just outside the village. The course of the Wall leads the walker to Willowford, where a Roman bridge once stood, and a recently built footbridge carries the footpath over the River Irthing to Birdoswald Roman Fort. People travelled from far and wide to take its spa waters, and it is here that Sir Walter Scott, met and proposed to his wife at the "Popping Stone" which can still be seen in the grounds of the Spa Hotel.