The clouds touched the Pennines Mountains in the background and scattered showers on us throughout the day. We managed to walk 7 miles to Greenhead, stopping along the way to visit historical sites and museums. Even though the weather was gloomy, we were in high spirits.
For the past two days, I have been trying to quiet my mind and let nature and the beauty of the Wall fill me with its wonder. Unfortunately, I am too preoccupied with the now–where to put my foot without stepping into dung, the beauty of the scenery, and my unstopping mind. I think about what to blog, about what living as a Roman in this environment must have been like, or something Dennis said which triggers a song. For me, meditating is very difficult.
I never tire of the pastoral scenery, the sheep and cattle, the openness. This section is hilly, but not mountainous, and the alternating climbs and descents makes walking interesting. The rain made it slippery in spots and definitely muddy, but we managed to have a very good day. I am so happy to be out of cities and back to nature.
There are more hikers going west than east, sometimes in large groups. At the hotel tonight, we met two hikers (Stuart and Malcolm McKay who wrote a book about the Camino, The Path). They are staying at the hostel across the street from Greenhead Inn, where we are staying. They will stay there again tomorrow, take the Hadrian’s Wall Bus forward in the morning, and then walk back to the hostel. Sounds like a good plan, and we are considering doing the like.
Today we purchased an English Heritage Oversees Pass, which entitles us to nine days of “free” entries to heritage sites throughout England. We visited the Birdoswald Roman Fort. The museum had artifacts from the fort, a Roman Soldier (acted by Tony Wilmott) School teaching kids dressed in Roman garb how to become a soldier; the kids were quite enthused.
It was amazing to see the archeological remains. Birdoswald housed 1000 Romans. There were granaries, baths, blacksmith shops, kitchens, butchers…everything needed to live at the fort. I find it difficult to imagine building this with the tools available 2000 years ago; it exemplifies how people underestimate the capabilities of people in ancient times.
I love this photo of you and Dennis … I think this should be the cover of your next book!!! 🙂
Thanks, Elizabeth, I will take that into consideration
A trick I’ve learned for meditation, which was suggested to me by a mindfulness coach back when I was trying to quiet my own mind, is not to expect that your mind will be empty, but rather to let go of the thoughts that go through without latching onto them. The image I was given was to acknowledge each thought then letting it float away like a leaf on a stream. You can also focus on something in particular; for example, put a lot of attention into each step so you exclude thinking so much about other things, or focusing on your breath, etc.
Enjoy the rest of the Wall!
Will try your suggestion today, Aine, and let you know if I succeed.
Your whole trip sounds amazing to me. I can never still my mind either – I guess some of us aren’t good at the meditation thing. Anyway, so glad you have kept me posted on your adventures. Hi to Dennis
Judy,
I am glad you enjoyed the post and following along with us. Hard for me to believe that we have been traveling for almost 5 months. I will enjoy going back and rereading the blog, just to remember what we have done.
Where on earth do you get all the energy to do all the walking the two of you do, and still have enough energy to write about it? I would come back and collapse on the bed. Great post and I really like the way you describe what each photo is and give us a little background.
Donna Jean,
Last night I returned and had an hour nap before writing the blog. When I am tired, I add more photos and fewer words. I am lucky, though, to have a lot of energy.