The service in its earliest form seems to have started in 1974:
The first focus was on a route from Haltwhistle to Hexham using the military road to access principal sites and connecting to the railway stations in the two towns. The service started in 1974 and for a good number of years was a stable operation using two operators. The local National Bus Company subsidiary called United ran the main route no 690 whilst a local coach operator called Rochester and Marshall worked a shuttle service between Vindolanda and Housesteads. The shuttle vehicles had a tape recorded commentary even then.
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