HADRIAN'S WALL

My trip along Hadrian's Wall took in most of the notable sites.  However, I think you could walk the entire length of the wall and still miss important points.  Working from east to west, these 5 photos and the 5 on the following post, provide merely a taste of the wall's wonders. 

This is what is left of The Temple of Mithras, built by the Roman Soldiers of nearby Carrawburgh Fort.

If you double click on this picture and the next, they will enlarge and you'll be able to read the info provided.

This picture & the next are of Houseteads fort, the artist's impression, and what is there now.  Although little remains there standing any higher than 4 feet, it is still quite impressive. 

The info provided at each site was concise and to the point and one of these pictures is an example of the historical signposting found at any one of the sites.  

The first picture (above) is the section of the wall that first came into my line of sight.  Got my heart to racing, but the view of Steel Rigg (next series of pictures), the site at which Hadrian's engineer's used the natural uplift of the topography as a footing for the wall, was spectacular.  There were (still are) trenches on the north and south sides of the wall.  The trench on the north side added to the defensive ability of the wall.  On the south side of the wall, the trench tended to help contain the Roman's livestock and cut down on rustling.  

This series of 5 pictures are the second part of the Hadrian's Wall photos.  I visited 2 sites, Vindolanda and Birdoswald.  Both of these are forts and both are no more than 'hip high' with respect to what remains.  I've read it wasn't until after the Norman invasion that the large scale dismantling of the wall started.  The easily gathered, finely shaped stones were a source of excellent building material necessary for the architecture and building techniques the Normans brought with them.  It's ironic the quality and strength of the wall material is what ultimately lead to it's destruction.

My first attempt at posting a video clip; Durham Cathedral's bells ringing while walking to church on Palm Sunday Morning.  The end of the clip shows the square and the castle is in the far corner.  You'll know it when it comes into view. 

 

I've been to several new sights, but I particularly enjoyed the North East; Durham on Palm Sunday weekend (which included a day along the Hadrian's Wall sites) and a long weekend to visit Newcastle and the coastal sites between Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

I'll start by posting a couple of pictures of Durham.   The Cathedral with the river in the foreground, the Castle, high on the ridge, 2 pictures of the old city center and a picture from the park high above the rail station, cathedral in the center.

Hello all.  I haven't posted anything lately but it isn't because I haven't been busy.  For this post I'll just enter a few new pictures of my latest hobby; hiking through the fells.  I took a short course, very short, on using a map and compass to navigate through the fells.  To be able to read the map, shoot a bearing to verify your position on the map, is a very important skill to master if I'm going to go on hikes by myself.  Actually didi one today.  I climbed the Old Man of Coniston, about 2600 ft high (803 meters) and within ten minutes of getting to the top, the clouds rolled in and swallowed the landscape.  Visibility went to zero and it was more good sense and luck that got me to where I needed to be.  Here are some views of the lakes from a high vantage point.

Several weeks back I visited the city of Chester.  About 2 1/2 hours from here, east and south of Liverpool, Chester is a walled city that dates back to the Roman era.   The amphitheatre is one of the largest outside of Rome.  Another great landmark of Chester is its cathedral.  Smaller and a bit more intimate than York (I think), Chester is a wonderful city.

The cathedral at Chester has become my favorite.  The red hue of the stone casts an air of humility and simplicity that is in direct opposition to the majesty of this house of worship.  

As in York, the wall around the city can be walked.  It takes about 40-50 minutes, York took 90.  This is a view of the roman garden ruins.

Just inside the city wall, I thought this would be a nice place to live, just in the shadow of the cathedral.

Double click on this picture and see if you can read the inscription just above the coat of arms.  It's the perfect example of what a bad day can be.

There's a canal that runs across the north end of town.  Still operational (as most of them are), the locks interested me because they are all manual, self service, and the heavy lock gates are perfectly balanced so once you get them moving, you can keep them moving with one hand.

Lot's of shopping in Chester, and lots of people.  The store fronts have a minimum of 2 levels for shops.

This is Chester at 6:30 am on a sunday morning.  I was the only one up and about.

Several buildings in Chester are of the 'Tudor' style.  These are the real thing!

This is a detail of the building above; there were several carvings like this just about every 10 feet or so.