Happy Birthday Meredith! Hope you're having a good one!
Left Gateshead (by Newcastle) and drove to Hadrian's Wall. The drive was gorgeous - reminded us of Scotland, but not surprising I guess, as we're very close. The first stop we made was the Roman fort at Housesteads. It's up high with good views of the mountains surrounding it. Emperor Hadrian ordered the building of the wall, which is 73 miles long, with forts built at regular intervals. At this fort there were over 1,000 Romans living on site, ready to go to battle when needed. The wall isn't as high as it used to be, because over time stones have been removed for other buildings. In fact, fences around the adjacent farmlands have been built in similar fashion, but not as wide across the top as the wall is. People can walk alongside the wall, but they ask you not to walk on it, as the stones may crumble.
The next step we made along the wall is Birdoswald. At this fort is found the longest remaining stretch of the wall. The wall and the forts were built in the first hundred years A.D. By about 500 A.D. the Roman Empire had collapsed.
On our way to the B&B in Keswick we made a couple of stops. We drove to see Long Meg and her Daughter, a stone circle with one tall stone outside the circle and a number of stones forming a circle in front. After that we saw Castlerigg Stone Circle, which has an amazing location with its view of the mountains. After dinner (where Michael was served his potatoes cut and standing in a ring to resemble a stone circle!) we took a stroll down to Derwentwater, a lake just a short distance from our B&B - very pretty indeed (thanks for the tip Chris!) Looking forward to spending more time in the Lakes District tomorrow! I know that people rave about Devon and Cornwall in the south, but in our minds this northern part of the country is far prettier.
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