England Archives - Page 2 of 4

August 15: Greencarts

This morning I tried to pay my bill at the B & B, but the credit card was denied—twice. After contacting the Visa, I discovered that the credit card had been hacked and that someone had tried to purchase $10,000 worth of games on it. I was lucky that my the credit card company watches for fraud and abuses, and had blocked the card. Unfortunately, I am traveling in Europe and using the credit card has been the way we pay for our accommodations, meals, and just about everything. Not having the credit card was going to be an inconvenience.

I contacted our credit union and they offered to FedEx the replacement card to our B & B; it should be here tomorrow or Saturday the latest. I am so grateful at the assistance provided us by the Information Center Specialist at the Digital Credit Union.

We took the bus to Greencarts. Its only about nine miles away, but took about an hour to get there. The driver was very accommodating, dropping us off at an unscheduled drop. From the road we walked about a half mile to the B & B. Dennis was spent and went to bed.

In the afternoon, we took the bus to Hexham to get cash out of the ATM, go to the pharmacy, and purchase a few groceries. We had 45 minutes to scurry back to catch the last bus of the day. We had the same driver as in the morning, and he again dropped us off at Greencarts.

Hopefully Dennis will be better tomorrow.

August 14: Housesteads

Starting from Once Brewed and heading East is a steep ascent that gets the heart pumping. At the top of this climb, we took a 20-minute rest. Dennis awoke unwell this morning, but insisted on continuing the walk. The climb up the hill exhausted him; the break allowed him to continue forward. He is such a trooper.

Today there was just a slight wind to our backs and, for the first time on this walk, I rolled up my sleeves–guess I am acclimatizing, because it was only in the low 60’s.

Milecastle 39 has only a north and south entrance, unlike many that have four gates. This section of the Wall (from Once Brewed to Housesteads and then to Vindolanda, where there is a Roman Fort and Museum) attracts many tourists, as evidenced in the picture on the right. Most people are day hikers without packs; there are many children and dogs. We saw a wide-eyed brother and sister walking with swords; the brother ready to defend the family from horse thieves . I guess he did not quite grasp the historical meaning of the wall.

Descending into Sycamore Gap (left) provides this unique view and is probably one of the most photographed gaps on Hadrian’s ‘Wall. Some of my movie-buff friends may recognize the tree from “Robin Hood, Prince of Wales” where a boy was rescued by Kevin Kostner.

Archeologists are waiting for the tree to die so they can excavate the gap, believing that will unearth a lot of artifacts.

The wall here is very wide (right). Dennis is six feet tall and, as he lies on the wall, the wall is much wider.

Shortly after this gap, we walked in a forest. Until then, I did not realize how much I missed the woods or how accustomed I had become to the open fields, sheep, and cattle. I found the trees very comforting.

Dennis and I love to talk with other hikers. Benn, now eleven, started hiking when he was five.He has hiked in the Lakes District, a mountainous region in Northwest England, and in the Alps. Today’s walk must have been a breeze for him.

He is a very talented guitarist and his grandfather, left, bought him several electronic guitars, including one from Eric Clapton.

Milecastle 37 is the only one to have a partially surviving arch. These gateways limited the height of goods coming into the fort.

Coming into Housesteads, there is an opportunity to walk on the wall; for a short distance, you can pretend to be a Roman guard walking the wall, looking down on the steep precipice to the valley below.

August 13: Once Brewed

We slackpacked today, a hiking term for carrying only a small pack. Since I did not sleep well last night, I was happy to travel lightly.

We took the bus to Once Brewed, so named if going eastward, but named Twice Brewed if coming from the west. From the visitor center, we clopped on tarmac for about a mile to get onto the Hadrian’s Wall Path.

The cold winds (never hitting 60 F) made my nose dribble all day. We climbed the highest point, Winshield Crag, where there is a geological survey marker. (See left.)

Today’s excursion was strenuous with lots of steep climbs and descents, which I find scary. Dennis almost runs downhill while I place my feet with care and hang on to whatever I can–even a blade of grass provides me assurance. I fear banging my sore knee or tripping and falling on it. Though the gash from the bicycle fall has healed, the knee is very sensitive to bumping.

The size of the wall is difficult to imagine. The picture on the left below shows how wide the wall can be (about 8 to 10 feet), while the photo on the right shows how high it was–imagine it with the gap filled, creating a wall stretching from the top of the rocks on the lower left to the top of the wall on the hill, perhaps 20 or 30 feet high.

The lower left picture shows the base of a turret, while the one on the right shows the ruins of a milecastle. Each small fort was spaced a mile apart and had a turret a half mile before and after it, and these stretched along the wall all across the Scotland-England border. Originally, historians thought the purpose of the wall was defense; now the thinking is that it was a way to control flow of goods into the country while applying a tariff or tax–a sort of toll road.

August 12: Greenhead

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.

August 11: Banks

The day started out cool and remained that way with afternoon showers. We got a late start (10:30 A.M.) because, based on misinformation, we went in search of a pharmacy that was supposed to be a half mile away, but turned out to be 1.5 miles. This 24-hour store has limited hours on Sunday and was closed. Three miles and one hour wasted.

Getting out of Carlisle was easy; the path is well indicated. We did not see the beginnings of the wall (most of the stones have been removed for housing) until we reached Bleatarn (Blea Tarn) Park where we could easily see the vallum or ditch on the south side of the wall. Bleatran was originally a quarry to get the stones to build The Wall. (See depression in ground on right.) There is a visible track from where they dragged the stones to the wall. The wall was 15 feet high and 8 to 10 feet wide.

Our first siting of the wall was at Hare Hill. Until this point, we saw a few turrets but did not see or, perhaps, recognize a milecastle, a gateway set every Roman mile and used to admit goods and people into England, most likely after paying a tariff or tax.

From here on to Banks where we had reserved a room at the Quarryside B & B, it was mostly up and down hills through farms. At one kissing gate, stood an enormous bull, bellowing and looking distraught. I was afraid to enter the field until I noticed a cow in another field mooing back. The bull was too much in heat to be concerned about two people passing by.

When we arrived at the B & B, Elizabeth, the hostess, treated us to tea and orange cake. Later her husband drove us to a pub for dinner.

Tomorrow we will only walk seven miles…there will be a lot to see.

August 10: Carlisle

Took the 9:35 A.M. bus to Bowness-On-Solway to the start of the Hadrian’s Wall Footpath. Bowness is the person who started the village on the Solway Bay. Hikers with a map lead us down a narrow, overgrown single track towards the water. We had to climb down a metal ladder to get to the beach, and then walk over goose egg-sized stones to the starting/ending Pavilion on the Banks (left). (There was an easier access further up the road.)

We followed the acorn waymarkers past marshlands on which grazed cattle and sheep. The tide was out, and we could have walked a mile across the bay, it was that dry.

In Glasson, the kids had a “Coffee Morning” as a fundraiser for the playground. For £2, you could have tea or coffee and a scone. This lad was so happy that we stopped and, because we were walking, added a free pee. Since a visit to the loo was included, who could resist. The break and the snack were welcomed.

Walking through fields dotted with cow plops, I recalled the time when, as a teenager, I went blueberry picking on my Aunt Jeannette’s father’s farm. I tried to maneuver through slippery rocks over a brook with buckets full of berries, slipped, and fell into fresh cow dung. Everyone laughed. I was insulted–no one asked if I were hurt; they were so amused.

I also remembered one of my father’s story. When he was a boy, he and his brother Paul were pranksters. One day, they talked a young girl dressed in her Sunday finest to play “Hop the Plop.” As he demonstrated, he feigned putting his foot on the cow plop as he skipped over it. The unsuspecting girl put all her weight on the dung and soiled her white lacy anklets and patent leather shoes. I’m sure grandma gave them a good scolding for that one.

At the two-thirds point, we stopped in Burgh (pronounced “bruff”) for a cold drink at the Greyhound Inn. Near the Inn is a statue of King Edward I, famous for fighting the Scots (below).

At the church cemetery were tombstones almost as tall as Dennis. (below).

We had to take a detour because of mudslides. The rerouting was not well indicated, but we did get back on the path, crossing wooden bridges, going under two railroad bridges, and finally returning to Carlisle.

At he B & B, we washed up, and then went for supper. It was almost 7 P.M., but everything was shut or reserved. If only we had known about this requirement, we could have booked a table yesterday. We ended up eating miso soup and snacks in a Chinese gift ship–other than McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken, there were no available eateries.

August 9: Carlisle

We should have taken the 8:50 A.M local bus to Carlisle. Instead, we tried to take the National Express bus from the P & O ferry port in Cairnryan, but it was full. So we took a taxi to Stranraer, a port city (left), then a bus to Dumfries, and then a train to Carlisle, England, where we arrived six hours later. If only we had known!

Carlisle is a town, with a large modern shopping center that even has a Merry-Go-Round. We bee-lined to the Visitor Center to buy a guidebook for Hadrian’s Wall, get a city map, and make accommodation plans.

The houses in this area are all made of stone, with slate roofs, and multiple chimneys, all with several flues.Can’t you see the chimney sweepers dancing on the roofs as in Mary Poppins?

Though No. Ireland, Scotland, and England all use the pound, merchants only want “proper money” and frowned on our Ulster (No. Ireland) bills. I don’t know if it a political thing or what, but each country’s currency has the same value. We may have to go to a bank to exchange the bills.

Tomorrow we will bus to the start of Hadrian’s Wall, and then walk back to Carlisle–about 12 miles. Since we will only have a light pack, it should be a good way to get our legs prepped for the rest of the journey. It will be cold and overcast…I hope we get some good pictures.

July 22: Aberdovey

This morning’s rain pattered noisily on the observatory windows. After studying the maps, Dennis was certain that we would find a short cut over the mountain and into town. By noon, the rain cleared, but a haze remained. When Dennis and I went exploring to find this shortcut, we were treated to beautify views of the Dovey estuary. UNESCO has designated this river mouth and valley a “Biosphere Reserve.” It is the only one in Wales and the second in all of the UK. In addition to protecting wild life, the Biosphere preserves diversity of the area’s beauty, the local knowledge, language, and culture.

In the 5^th century, the estuary determined who would be king. Maelgwn Gwnedd gathered the tywyssgion (princes) at the mouth of the river to settle which of them was to be the King of Wales. Each was to bring a throne, and the last one remaining on the throne would be king. When the tide was out, they placed their thrones on the beach and waited for the tide to turn. Everyone had grand thrones made of metal and precious stones except for Maelgwn, whose throne was constructed from goose down held together with wax. As the tide came in, his throne floated and he become king. In this case, ingenuity won out over vanity.

Dennis may have found a shorter path which we will try later this week.

Later that afternoon, we went in search of the Bearded Lake (Llyn Barfog). The lake is nestled in the Snowdonia foothills not far from Aberdovey; the only way there is on foot. In hopes of a swim, we had taken towels but the water was rocky and loaded with lily pads. Though the water was warm, we decided not to go for a dip.

Why is the lake so named? Some say that the water lilies which bloom from June to September give it the appearance of a beard; the romantics say it is named in honor of King Arthur’s foster-father, Barfog, the bearded one; and those who believe in magic and fairies say the name came from a magic cow who provided many gallons of creamery milk. When she got too old to produce milk, the farmer hired a butcher to kill the cow. A little green fairy woman prevented this from happening and then took the cow and her calves into the lake. From then on, the farmer’s luck changed for the worse. I don’t understand how this fairytale ties in with the name of the lake, but that is the legend associated with the lake.

I had looked forward to a week of rest and domesticity, but trying to bake in an unfamiliar oven is challenging. I tried to bake ham slices, but the oven did not get warm enough to cook it and I ended up cooking it in a pan. I hope I will be able to bake the canned chicken and mushroom pie that I bought.

Dennis has not had success in contacting American amateur operators. Tomorrow he will use his own antenna to see if that makes a difference.

July 21: Aberdovey

After a windy, overcast start, the day turned glorious. The “self-catering holiday accommodation” was built approximately 50 years ago; the interior is cedar paneling. It is filled with Celtic items, books, and curios. Our bedroom has an African motif. This is obviously the owners’ hideaway, with many significant mementos; I am thankful that they shared it with us.

We enjoy sitting in the observatory (lanai or sun room). It is so relaxing having a cup of coffee or tea and looking at the landscape or observing the night sky without interference of city lights. I enjoy watching the birds attracted to the feeders and the various neighborhood cats and dogs as they cross the yard.

From the chalet where we are staying, we can see part of the pathway into Aberdovey, the closest village. We decided to walk over the mountain to town to pick up groceries and search for a WiFi connection. The owner left us a sketch of the route to Bearded Lake (2.5 miles away) that indicated the direction to town, but without mileage. The wayposts were either unidentified or written in Welsh, causing us to “guess” which trail to follow. As a result, we did about an extra mile trying paths and then backtracking. After 2.5 hours we arrived in town. There are two pubs that provide Internet access, a much more pleasant location than the library. We plunked down, plugged in the computer, and enjoyed a pint. It can’t get much better than that.

The walk provided beautiful vistas. Here are a few.

July 19: London

We met Diana and Hanna Friedman at the Princess Diana’s Playground in Hyde Park. After chatting and watching Hanna play, we went for lunch. Diana brought us up to speed about the goings-on of our mutual friends in Sarasota; her wit as sharp as ever.

After lunch, Dennis and I visited The London Towers. Fortunately there was not a lot of stress on the tortures and beheadings. The Beefeater (tour guide) presented historical data for about thirty minutes, and then we toured the tours on our own.

I particularly liked the info on the Royal Menagerie, a zoo developed from gifts of exotic animals. There were lions, ostriches, monkeys, porcupines, snakes—even a polar bear. For entertainment, people would bring cats and dogs for the wild animals to prey on. The polar bear was tethered and then allowed to fish in the River Thames. With all the pollutants in the river during the 18^th and 19^th centuries, I am surprised the animal survived. Eventually the animals became part of the London Zoo.

Tomorrow we set out for Wales. I will have to walk into town for WiFi, so the postings may be more sporadic.