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Hadrian's Wall on England-Scotland Borders Awaits Hiking Lovers

In this July 3, 2018 photo, a stretch of Hadrian's Wall cuts through the northern English countryside, near Birdoswald Fort, Cumbria. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)
In this July 3, 2018 photo, a stretch of Hadrian's Wall cuts through the northern English countryside, near Birdoswald Fort, Cumbria. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)
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Hadrian's Wall on England-Scotland Borders Awaits Hiking Lovers

In this July 3, 2018 photo, a stretch of Hadrian's Wall cuts through the northern English countryside, near Birdoswald Fort, Cumbria. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)
In this July 3, 2018 photo, a stretch of Hadrian's Wall cuts through the northern English countryside, near Birdoswald Fort, Cumbria. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)

The Hadrian's Wall is one of many remains of fortifications built by the Roman Empire after invading Britain in the second century A.D.

The wall's original structure stretched over 73 mile (117 kilometers) within the English countryside, near the borders between modern Scotland and England. It extends in the west and the east, from Wallsend and Newcastle to the River Tame in the East.

The Roman soldiers constructed it in six years starting from the eastern side. The wall is enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered a popular tourist landmark. It was originally built upon the orders of Emperor Hadrian in 122 A.D. to support thousands of troops deployed to watch the borders with Scotland.

Hiking lovers can walk this path in both directions, and those who have time can start their hike from Carlisle in Solway Firth, a water outlet that separates Scotland and England.

Experts suggest the best hiking route is the one extending from Carlisle or Haltwhistle to Corbridge. Hikers who take it would need three to five days to reach Newcastle, according to the German News Agency.

On the path's sides, hikers would see green pastures, rocky hills, and some grey rural houses that appear on their way. They would also enjoy a soothing scene of cattle pasturing under the trees. Haltwhistle, which marks the middle of the itinerary, is a 700-year-old town that still features ancient rural houses known as "Bastle" that are open to the public. These houses were constructed by locals in the 16th and 17th centuries amid constant threats by the soldiers dominating England and Scotland.

It is thought that the Hadrian's Wall was the inspiration behind the famous ice wall separating the seven fictional kingdoms from the wild lands beyond in George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones.

The great appeal to walk along the Hadrian's Wall is partly attributed to the banners spread along the road, in addition to the scenery that accompanies the hikers during their trip, and not to the wall itself. The itinerary extends between the hills and valleys, and passes by fields full of cattle, animals, and flowers.

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Sleepy Seal Diverts Traffic in Australian Seaside Town

This frame grab from handout video footage by Laura Ellen taken on April 10, 2026 shows traffic along a road in the seaside Australian town of Dromana, located south of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, that was briefly diverted after a local seal decided to take a nap. (Photo by Handout / LAURA ELLEN / AFP)
This frame grab from handout video footage by Laura Ellen taken on April 10, 2026 shows traffic along a road in the seaside Australian town of Dromana, located south of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, that was briefly diverted after a local seal decided to take a nap. (Photo by Handout / LAURA ELLEN / AFP)
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Sleepy Seal Diverts Traffic in Australian Seaside Town

This frame grab from handout video footage by Laura Ellen taken on April 10, 2026 shows traffic along a road in the seaside Australian town of Dromana, located south of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, that was briefly diverted after a local seal decided to take a nap. (Photo by Handout / LAURA ELLEN / AFP)
This frame grab from handout video footage by Laura Ellen taken on April 10, 2026 shows traffic along a road in the seaside Australian town of Dromana, located south of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, that was briefly diverted after a local seal decided to take a nap. (Photo by Handout / LAURA ELLEN / AFP)

Traffic in a seaside Australian town was briefly diverted on Friday when a local seal decided to take a nap on the road.

The dozy pinniped was spotted snoozing on a road in Dromana in the southern state of Victoria.

Local police placed cones around the seal -- known to some locals as Sammy -- who could be seen sunning himself with little concern for the traffic.

"You don't know where he will pop up next," local Laura Ellen, who spotted the slumbering animal, told AFP.

"He usually sleeps all day," she said.

"It made me laugh when I saw him on the road. Haven't seen him do that before."

The seal was later redirected back to the beach by wildlife rescuers and the lane was re-opened.

Seals are a common sight along Victoria's coast and it is illegal to touch or feed them, the state government says.

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Saudi Ministry of Interior, Red Sea Global Sign MoU

The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding. (SPA)
The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding. (SPA)
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Saudi Ministry of Interior, Red Sea Global Sign MoU

The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding. (SPA)
The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding. (SPA)

The Saudi Ministry of Interior and Red Sea Global signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh.

The agreement was signed by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Security Capabilities Abdullah Al-Kathiri and Chief Executive Officer of Red Sea Global John Pagano, the Saudi Press Agency said.

The agreement aims to promote integration between the two sides in strengthening public safety requirements and standards.

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Citizen ‘Frog Patrol’ Helps Amphibians Survive a Dangerous Road Journey in Poland

Biologist Krzysztof Klimaszewski holds a common toad during a "Frog Patrol" in Otrebusy, Poland, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP)
Biologist Krzysztof Klimaszewski holds a common toad during a "Frog Patrol" in Otrebusy, Poland, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP)
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Citizen ‘Frog Patrol’ Helps Amphibians Survive a Dangerous Road Journey in Poland

Biologist Krzysztof Klimaszewski holds a common toad during a "Frog Patrol" in Otrebusy, Poland, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP)
Biologist Krzysztof Klimaszewski holds a common toad during a "Frog Patrol" in Otrebusy, Poland, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP)

On rainy spring nights in a forest near the Polish capital, a citizen “Frog Patrol” springs into action — humans helping amphibians survive dangerous road crossings for a chance to enjoy millennia-old mating rituals.

As warmer weather comes to Mlochowski Forest, 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Warsaw, thousands of toads and frogs wake up from their winter slumber and begin their meticulous spawning journey to the marshes, a few kilometers away.

The females carry the burden of the journey. Male toads here don't really give off princely vibes but travel on the backs of their much larger female partners, tightly holding on to ensure they are not dumped in favor of a rival upon reaching the waters.

While generations of toads and frogs have traveled to these marshes to mate, a road built in the last decade right across their route made the spring journey much more dangerous.

What followed was sheer amphibian slaughter — when the mating season started and the frogs were on the move, thousands would get run over.

Enter the ‘Frog Patrol’

Łukasz Franczuk, coordinator of the “Frog Patrol” initiative, recounted the sad scenes from four years ago.

“The frogs were being run over in the hundreds or thousands,” he said. “When you were driving on this road, you could see the decomposing corpses of the frogs. People going to collect the surviving ones were crying, they couldn’t stand to watch what was happening.”

Franczuk and his friends responded by helping locals organize, starting three years ago.

Volunteers would meet every wet, rainy evening as soon as spring starts, fan out along the road by the forest and collect frogs from the roadside, then carry them safely across to the marshes. Frogs breathe through their skin, which must stay humid, so they only move and migrate when it rains.

Wearing reflective yellow vests emblazoned with the words “Frog Patrol” and armed with head lamps and buckets, hundreds of volunteers can now be routinely seen out in the evenings during migration season.

Locals, including children, have also started carrying gloves with them during the day, so they can pick up the amphibians if they see them in distress at any time.

“It's really impressive to see whole families with kids walking in the rain, with buckets, in these lovely jackets to make them visible because it's pretty unsafe, this road is narrow, and they carry the frogs from one side of the road to the other,” said Katarzyna Jacniacka, one of the participants.

“When the frogs are migrating, there are a lot of people here,” she added.

For Aleksandra Tkaczyk, another volunteer, this is “the kind of connection with nature about which some of us care deeply.”

Locals say they have saved about 18,000 amphibians since their initiative started.

Helping frogs survive

Biologist Krzysztof Klimaszewski from the Institute of Animal Sciences at the Warsaw SGGW University, who took part in a few of the frog patrols, said that what the locals are doing here is very important because “it actually allows this local population of amphibians to survive.”

Such citizen initiatives to help toads and frogs cross roads built through their natural habitats are not unique to Poland.

In New Hampshire, US volunteers from the Harris Center for Conservation Education save all sorts of amphibians, including salamanders, from being run over by cars. In Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, volunteers from BUND Naturschutz say they rescue up to 700,000 frogs, toads, newts and salamanders every year.

Even in France, where frog legs are a culinary delicacy, local volunteers help the suffering amphibians. In the southern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, people have installed nets on the roadside to collect the frogs before they head into the dangerous traffic.

And in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, authorities announced in early April the construction of additional frog fences on Tahetorni Street — right on the frogs' springtime migrating route — to guide the amphibians and other animals safely into underground tunnels and avoid getting them killed by traffic.