Hadrian's Wall and the Lakes

Today our major tourist site was Hadrian's Wall and the section we visited was near two towns called Once Brewed and Twice Brewed. No, I didn't make that up.

Although I've long known that Hadrian's Wall was built across England near the border of Scotland, I've never seriously thought about the origins of the wall. I assumed it was probably either built by the Scots to keep the Brits out or vice versa. Today I found out that it actually dates to the Roman occupation of Britain and was built for a few reasons, but primarily as evidence of Rome's power and to give a clear indication of the northern boundary of the Roman empire.

It just so happens that this week there are special events happening all along Hadrian's Wall and we were able to take some in at the Vindolanda visitor's centre. We stopped at the centre for information about the wall and to learn a bit about the history. We watched a video presentation about the history of the wall but mom and I had to close our eyes a few times as the video was done from the perspective of an eagle flying over the wall and through the forts and towers.

As part of the special events there were people dressed in costume providing samples of food and beauty treatments and information about the cuisine and cosmetics of the Romans. There were also a couple of people with replicas of swords, shields, and armour worn by the Romans. The volunteers are part of a group who do re-enactment of Roman battles so the reproductions were a decent quality and the people had quite a deep knowledge about this time in history.

The man with the swords and shields asked dad if he wanted to try on the gear of a Roman soldier and dad laughed and said in an unconvincing tone that he didn't want to. A couple of, “Go for it!” comments from me and mom and he was geared up and heading outside to learn some battle moves before we explored the fort ruins and a section of the wall.

The guys decided it was important to have somebody pose as a victim to make them look more manly or something. That would be me on the ground.

Remains of a Roman fort.

Excavations at Vindolanda are ongoing and we were able to see a bit of the work being done.

As we watched the excavations we were mystefied by an intermittent, high-pitched whining sound. We finally connected the movement of a particular wheelbarrow with the horrid sound. I was seriously tempted to go find a hardware store and buy the excavation team a can of WD40.

Here's a clip of the whining sound so you can join in our torment. It's the guy in the green.

We explored the ruins but were disappointed to discover that Hadrian's Wall didn't cross in this area. The Romans built the fortress quite a distance from the wall so we jumped back in the car and drove a bit further down the road to finally see a section of the wall.

A lamb exploring the ruins.

We parked the car and hiked up the hill to the remains of the wall. It was hot and sunny and I was wilting. As mom and I waited for dad outside the one-room museum, a man came out of the little gift shop with a popsicle. Mom first noticed the cold treat and when she drew my attention to it I gasped and ran in like a little kid to get one. I really need to stop wondering why people are surprised when they find out how old I am.

Caught acting like a kid.

Going for a walk along the top of the wall.

Shooting a pic from a ledge on the cliff the wall was built along.

Hadrian's Wall.
The grass growing along the top is worn from people walking on it but a sign has been put up telling people to walk beside the wall so this is the point when we hopped off.

Stones places by Roman soldiers... a strange thought.

Small towers were built at regular intervals along the wall - some of the walls and the lower stones of the doorway arches are still in place.

The ancient wall.

Hadrian's Wall along the top of the hill and off into the background.

After finishing our exploration at Hadrian's Wall we continued our drive south into the Lake District. I took a meandering scenic route so mom and dad could see some of the beauty of the area before we reached our bed and breakfast in Keswick (don't ask me why, but it's pronounced KEZ-ick).

The sheep in this country are fearless.

Honister Pass.