Hadrian's Wall and Hexham

"Remember, remember the 5th of November" Guy Fawkes Day

This morning, I had just started an unplanned video chat with Princess, when my Dad joined and reported that The Man had just had a car accident that wrote off the car, however he is only bruised and shaken. God be praised for that little, red Yaris. It always felt like a little tank, and it turns out to be a wonderfully safe vehicle to hit a pot hole, have a tyre blow out (they were new) and then a complete 360 side over side to sit back on it's wheels. We are grateful to God that The Man is all okay.

So later than expected, and whilst they went to bed, we headed out to Hadrian's Wall. We listened to "A Short History of...Hadrian's Wall" podcast on the way. Driving in the English countryside is...such a dream. I'm going home to plant hedges on our fence lines.

We stoped at Corbridge for possibly too long on the way. It has a lovely church, and it's such a cute little town, with loads of history.

The altar table at St Andrew's Corbridge.

An English Jesus.

Another organ for you Tiger.

This door was installed by the family of Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) for his mother - 
this was her church.

On to Vindolanda, a roman fort turned into a museum. But the car directed us past that and by the time we could turn around we find we are at a car park with a beautiful outlook. We stopped here for a soup lunch and then a "quick" ramble, that took us down to Hadrian's Wall to the famous sycamore tree (that was chopped down by some vandals a year or so back). Such wonderful views. 

Making our lunch in the back of the car

A lovely place for a soup luncheon.

An incredible, large cliff that rises in the hills forms part of the natural wall barrier.

Some Roman fort ruins on the wall

Thickness of Hadrian's Wall

One of the way's to get over the stone fence.

The cattle were friendly...we were thinking of you Skipper.

These felt like the Stairs to Cirith Ungol, to Shelob's Lair.

Poor bus driver, driving elderly care clients on a day activity, got bogged
pulling off the road for this truck. And yes, he pulled off on the wrong side.

Skipper...this one is for you. I just loved the chooks on the stone wall.

Our time here means we need to move quickly to Hexham to see their cathedral. The artwork here is beautiful...English, Celtic, and Roman.

A rare example of Monk's Stair's at Hexham Cathedral. Christian is pointing
to some melted led stuck in the stairs.

A Roman grave marker

English art...Elizabeth greets Mary

The altar at Hexham Cathedral

Our way home, after a late afternoon tea, was punctuated by fireworks. When we got to the house someone at the pub next door set off some fireworks so that it banged JUST above my head when I was upstairs. Nearly had me fall down the stairs in fright! A memorable end to a memorable day.

Afternoon tea.

I remember fireworks night as a kid - you would have loved it Tank!

Cullercoats - Day 2

A day of rest...and we end up with 24, 034 steps!😜

St Mary's Lighthouse

We started with a walk to the "nearby" St Mary's Lighthouse. We had been warned that it is further than it looks...and indeed it was. But a lovely walk across sandy beaches and then the grassy cliff tops on the way back. And a good chance for us to talk about the problems of our world and set in place some potential solutions.

The wind was just a bit cold on the ears...understanding our good
Queen Elizabeth II's penchant for wearing a headscarf when outside.

Once back at Cliff Tops, we had a lovely "German" lunch (although it's precisely the lunch that was offered us by our host, so maybe it's English too?). We followed this with a long afternoon rest...only to rise at 4pm to the light fading fast. Daylight doesn't stay so long here.

So we headed to walk out in the other direction and arrived at the Abbey in the growing gloom. We'll have to come here one morning whilst we are here.

Tynemouth Priory and Castle

Tonight we had pie and mash at a local pub (just 30 steps from our door). I also discovered my favourite drink is uniquely Australian: Lemon, Lime and Bitters. 

Cliff House - Cullercoats

Cliff House.

What a treat! We are staying in a house that was built 2 years before Captain James Cook found Australia, 20 years before Australia was colonised. Cliff House has history!

The view from the top of the cliff (or the front of the house).

It was built in 1768 by Captain Thomas Armstrong. He was a Customs Officer and commander of His Majesty's Cutter "Bridlington". This was a customs vessel that patrolled the sea from Newcastle to Sunderland.

The house was once adjoined to another house that at one point belonged to an artist.

The view of the sea is quite captivating.

The 18th Century was considered the "golden age of smuggling" in Britain. Smuggling is the illegal trade in goods to avoid paying taxes or in this case customs duties. It still happens today (in Australia it's drugs, weapons, animals and people). But back in the 1700's it was tea, wine, spirits and lace. It was usually brought in by organised gangs who chose secluded parts of the British coastline to land cargo from ships. Usually this would be in small coves or river estuaries. Cullercoats has a small bay which may be good for landing boats.

The house is now a private home.

We are looking forward to beach walks (there is actual sand here). Visiting Wallsend...which, like the place in Australia, is near Newcastle, but is named for its actual location...the end of Hadrian's Wall. And quite likely there will be many quiet times reading in the drawing room or the parlour. 

A view from the attic

York

What a delightful day spent rambling the city of York!

Video chatting on our wall walk.

The wall with the 1500's gate.

We started our day with a walk on the York city wall. It was great to be joined by our children on a video call. The wall is the longest surviving town walls in England. Most of the wall was built in the 1200's. There were some ancient wooden gates from the 1500's - thick and with a wee door for checking out who's at the gate.

We had a lovely, relaxed, English breakfast. Christian decided to try the black pudding. This tastes a bit like pumpernickel with Vegemite on it. 

On the advice of a dear friend who used to be local, we headed back out to find walk the Shambles. We're just a bit museum-ed out (I never knew I would say that), but the walking about and looking in strange nooks and crannies turns up some real gems. And yes kids, nooks and crannies!

Really crowded streets...

The streets were pretty crowded, and a bit noisy. A few streets had a good busker playing away. But the day is clearly interspersed with crowds and churches. Squirrel count: 6, church count: 6 (if you consider the old abbey and nave of the Norman church).

Walking down the Shambles we found the house, now a chapel, of Saint Margaret Clitherow. She died a martyr of the church in 1586, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. During this time worship was only allowed in the state church, what we would call the Anglican Church. Roman Catholics were banned from gathering together for worship. She was found guilty of harbouring priests. It's a pretty sad story.

At the end of the Shambles, we found St Crux, a church building, still used by the church, but not for worship. They were holding a jumble sale out the front and selling lovely, hot lunches, tea, coffee and cake inside. All home made food, all at SUPER reasonable prices! £1.50 for a tea or coffee, and the same for a piece of home made cake!

A lovely girl, probably Skipper's age, took our money, and this photo.

You know why I took this photo! It's exactly the same as ours!

Christian got stuck into a book on Richard III he had just bought.

Quite a unique place to have tea and coffee.

The streets are crazily busy.

We wandered down this wee lane...

And found a place for sewcialising...love you Princess!

Turn around, and you see this Tudor building!

More busy, busy streets

And making fun with other tourists.

Organ at All Saint's York...for the organ lovers

Tomb stone found at All Saints. Ancient tradition has it that there has been Christian worship on the 
site since AD 600's. Evidence was found in the 1960's of viking Christian burials with this tomb stone.

The entrance way to St Leonard's hospital - the poor, the infirm, the elderly.
Medieval medicine of the basic needs: food, bed, warmth.
Disbanded in 1540 with the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII

Bird handlers in the York Gardens were selling a moment with either an owl or an eagle.

Loving the ruins of the Abbey in the York gardens

Christian wants a place like this at our place...don't know how, but we can give it a go.

Found a young man practicing the organ at St Olaves.

The middle window here is St Cecilia - patron saint of musicians - she's holding a wee organ.
This one is for Joybug, who dressed up as St Cecilia for All Saints Day this year.

We went to York Minster for a service of Evening prayer, and heard the organ play.
Illegal picture of the decorated organ pipes for you Tiger.

Whilst at Westminster, I saw the grave marker for Wilberforce. Here was a memorial.
A man well worth remembering for  for his unflinching campaign to abolish slavery and
founding the: Church Missionary Society, and RSPCA
 

York Minster

Just outside York Minster we found this Roman column...put up in AD 72
This would be the year that the Romans lay siege to Masada
The probable year Saint Thomas was martyred.
Two years after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Travelling to York - All Saint's Day

England is so ...English!

Clifford's Tower in York

Everything about it. The countryside, green rolling hills with hedging bushes all down the wooden fence lines. The houses! We saw houses today with that lovely thatch roof, so beautifully done. And the skinny, thin roads, that make you wonder if you are actually going to safely pass any other car.

Walking at dusk in York...double decker buses, old buildings...LOVE it!!

Of course it's all so English, but it's a bit like finding a fairytale world is real.

On arrival in York, we took an evening walk and discovered the York Oratory Catholic Church with an evening service. It was in latin, and as my Dad would say "all bells and smells". But as we sat and stood and knelt on repeat, it occurred to me that this is the kind of service that would have been familiar to Luther, or Queen Elizabeth I. There was an eerie haze from the smoke of the incense at the front where the priests were doing their thing. There is beauty in the latin mass, but a lot of mystery too. So at the same time, it explains why Luther advocated for the service in the vernacular (German for his people).

Everywhere old castles and buildings.

We are staying in The Lighthorseman pub tonight and tomorrow, enjoying getting a feel for traditional England, being out of the hustle and bustle of London.

Christian finally got his beer in an English pub