Hadrian's Wall

What I learned when visiting Hadrian's Wall

        Hadrian’s Wall is located in the north of England, not far from the border with Scotland. It stretches for about 73 miles, from Bowness on the west coast, to Wallsend on the east coast.

·  The 73 mile length was equivalent to 80 Roman miles. The Roman mile was based on the distance that a legion, or group, of soldiers could march in 2,000 steps.

·  The wall and most of its defenses were built between about 122 and 128 AD.  Its purpose was to mark the northern extent of the Roman Empire, which then covered much of Europe.

·  Hadrian’s Wall was originally constructed in two parts, with the western part of the wall built first. It was originally made from turf, allowing it to be built more quickly.

·  The Romans also built 16 forts along the length of the wall, the remains of which can be seen today. Each one could house 800 soldiers and had its own prison, hospital, bakery and stables.

·  The emperor, Hadrian, after whom the wall is named, wanted to make sure the soldiers stationed on Hadrian’s Wall were happy. He personally met with the troops and encouraged practice drills.

·  Although much of the wall is still standing, over the centuries people have taken away the stones for building. Several nearby monasteries contain stones taken from Hadrian’s Wall. 

What does Downton Abbey and Tutankhamun have in common?

Answer: Highclere! 

Highclere is the manor house that is used in the Downton Abbey series.  It is also the home of the Earls and Duchesses of the Carnarvon family for over 300 years.  George Herbert, the 5^th Earl of Carnarvon, with the aid of his colleague Howard Carter, discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb.

Carnarvon was born in1866.  Exceedingly wealthy, Carnarvon was known his his racehorses and as a reckless driver of early automobiles.  In 1901 he suffered a serious motor accident which left him in poor health.

His doctors advised him to spend winters in a warm, dry climate to improve his health so he traveled to Egypt for part of the year. Away from the passions that filled his time, he grew bored and turned to Egyptology as a distraction.  By 1907 he was sponsoring an excavation in Thebes with Howard Carter as his assistant. For several years they worked at various sites and were largely unsuccessful, not finding much of any significance.  In 1914, they received the concession to dig in the Valley of the Kings and still they continued with little success.

By the end of WWI, Lord Carnarvon’s wealth had significantly diminished and he could no longer maintain his lavish lifestyle and sponsor his excavations with Carter.  In 1922, he and Carter agreed that this would be Carnarvon’s last year sponsoring the excavation.  A few weeks later, Mr. Carter discovered a tomb and knew it was a significant find.  He telegraphed Lord Carnarvon to come quickly then waited so they could open the discovery together.

On November 26, 1922, Carter and Lord Carnarvon entered the interior chambers of Tutankhamen’s tomb and found treasures unsurpassed in the history of archaeology.Unfortunately, Lord Carnarvon did not live long enough to enjoy much of this success.  Three months later Carnarvon had a mosquito bite in his cheek that become infected by a razor cut. On 5 April, he died in the Continental-Savoy Hotel in Cairo.  His death was most likely most caused by blood poisoning from the bite infection that progressed to pneumonia. His untimely death led to the rumors and story of the "Curse of Tutankhamen".

Today Highclere is still the home of the Carnarvon family.  The family live in other homes on the estate and Highclere is used mostly for entertaining, for tourism, and most recently, the filming of Downton Abbey.  The public is not allowed to take pictures of the interior of the home but you can see what it looks like on the Highclere website. The interior is absolutely stunning.  The production team doesn’t have to change much to film any of the interior scenes.  All they do is remove the family photos and personal items and add a few props. What you see in Downton Abbey is what the house really looks like.

The grounds are equally stunning with 1000 acres of spectacular parkland and gardens.  The house itself is not that old -- it was built in 1842 by Sir Charles Barry, the architect who designed the House of Parliament in London.  The current castle stands on the site of an earlier house that has roots back 800 years.

Highclere is only open to the public for a few months each year.  If you want to go, it is best to buy tickets in advance.  Due to the success of Downton Abbey, it is now a very popular tourist attraction.  I bought my tickets last February and by March it was the tickets for July/August had sold out. 

For more information and pictures of the interior:  http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/index.html

Scotland

Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies; But, if ye wish her gratefu'prayer, Gie her a Haggis!

- Robert Burns

Our first stop in Scotland was to St Andrews, regarded as the place where golf was invented.  It is one of the oldest courses in the world, where the game has been played since the 15th century.  

I enjoyed seeing the old tradition and respect centered around this revered links course.  John was thrilled that he was able to play the old course, and that he played it well. For many golfers, playing the old course is such an honor, it's a way to pay homage to game.

Today there are seven public golf courses at St. Andrews.  The old course is still the most beloved.

John, being a single player, had to show up at 5:30am and hope that he would be included with a pair or a three-some.  He was, and by 8:30am, he was on the course, thrilled to have the chance.

This is the view of St. Andrews from the Castle course.  It is a beautiful town with a lovely church and ruin and the home of Scotland's first university and the third oldest oldest in the English-speaking world, founded in 1413. St. Andrews is where Prince William went to college.

We then drove west to Fort William which is at the base of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Great Britain.  Our intent was to climb Ben Nevis but the mountain was covered in clouds and it was quite rainy so we opted for a drive further west to Skye.

The rugged countryside between Fort William and Mallaig has been immortalized in several of the Harry Potter films. In each film there are scenes of the Hogwarts Express steaming its way from London's Kings Cross Station northward toward Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. One of the most often used views is of the steam train crossing what we muggles (non-wizards) know to be the Glenfinnan Viaduct-a picturesque arched bridge through the highlands.

Sure enough, as we were driving the route, along came the Harry Potter Train!  The Hogwarts Express was actually the Jacobite steam train. For the filming, it was fitted out with a specially decorated locomotive and cars with traditional compartments with doors. The Hogwarts Express locomotive is now in a railway museum in York, England.  

By the time we arrived on the Island of Skye it was raining hard so I wasn't able to get any good photos of Skye.  I can tell you that is is beautiful, even in the rain.  As we returned to the mainland, we passed the Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most photographed castles in Scotland. 

As we wandered south, John and I often commented on how much parts of Scotland reminded us of New Zealand, or Switzerland, or Austria,  or any number of spectacularly beautiful places in the world.  

Rolling mountains, lakes (lochs) and rivers and green as far as you can see. In fact there are over 31,000 lakes in Scotland! 

The countryside is dotted with castles ruins -- so many that after awhile you start to take them for granted -- Oh, there's another one!

At Loch Lomond we happened upon some highland games in the town of Luss.  The games began with a bagpipe band playing the the town square and attracting a crowd.  They then led the crowd as if we were lemmings following the pied piper to the the park and  playing fields on the edge of town.

The clan that sponsored these games was the Cahoon clan (Colqhhoun) and this is their tartan. We learned latter that tartans are a fairly new invention, made popular by Sir Walter Scott in the early 1800's.

Highland games are held through out the summer in various towns and villages.  It is a bit like a town fair or carnival with dancing, bagpipe, running competitions, and, of course, traditional games like hammer throwing and the caber toss (log throwing).

My favorite was the dance competition.  These kids put their heart and soul into the dance.  I was so impressed with the display of Scottish pride.

I was not so impressed with the hammer toss.  Who came up with that idea?

All around the outskirt of the park, bagpipe players were practicing their number.  Then, when it was their turn, they stepped onto this small stage and slowly walked around the stage as they played.  I have no idea how they were judged.  They all sounded pretty much the same to me.

The land around Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park is simply beautiful with rolling hills and woodlands in the south to high mountains in the north.  Both are dotted with a variety of many lochs and rivers, forests and woodlands. 

The Fall of Falloch.

Finally, Edinburgh...

... with it's spectacular castle. 

We were so lucky to be there during a sunny spell.  Sunshine, beauty and no midges -- How lucky is that?!

This is Holyrood Palace,  the official residence of the Monarch of the United Kingdom in Scotland, or in other words, the queen's Scottish home.

This is the view from Arthur's Seat, the old volcano hill on the edge of the city.  It's a lovely walk to the top with a reward of spectacular view. 

New fans of Scotland!