U.K. a start

We're on holiday, the 4 of us together! at the very last moment, i.e. the moment we finally booked the ferry and sleeping accommodations, our eldest decided he did want to join us on our trip to the U.K.
We arrived Saturday morning in Newcastle on the overnight ferry, drove North (after a slight detour through Gateshead in search of a particular type of coat which could only be bought in this particular store, which turned out wasn't where it was supposed to be, for our friend who's looking after Django) and had a stroll along Hadrian's wall (we even walked on it, until I saw a sign which kindly requested one to refrain from doing exactly that, to avoid further damaging the 2000 year old wall)
I was so excited about this whole walk I suggested to my husband we do the entire walk on a holiday in the near future and bless him he said Yes!


vandals 1,2,and 3, me being number 4



pretty windy, however it remained dry

friendly encounters along the way; speaking of which, at the visitor's centre where we had a cuppa tea, the two counter ladies were pouring their friendliness all over us, with their 'that'll be three pound twenty luv' and 'there you go luv', 'if you want luv' you can take a free poster today luv' 'goodbye now luv' have a nice day luv'' well if you don't feel loved after that I don't know when you will








after our first day and worn out from the drive, walk, wind and excitement we finally arrived at our first stop in Edmundbyers, a youth hostel where we shared a room and had a scrumptious meal at the Punch Bowl Pub just across the road. Great first day.
day number two saw us driving through the grouse moors where we did indeed spot lots of grouse and we drove all the way to Scotland, Galloway and Dumfries in the SouthWest to be precise for our second more luxurious stopover at the Argrennan Lodge:



which we gladly shared with this nest of house martins, very cute



grand walk around the estate and below in the walled garden, I was not alone for I was accompanied by Merton the jack russell who followed me around most faithfully - we also watched Federer-Djokovic Wimbledon men's final - 









Comments

Julie S said…
oh my goodness, this is SO wonderful for you all! By high school our kids wanted to be anywhere but with us ( and many days the feeling was mutual) That Hadrian Wall hike has me looking at the trail guides now....cant wait to see more!
Marti said…
So refreshing to see these vacation photos, the green hills and dales, the sheep, the touch of moss and the feel of mist in my mind and best of all, the four of you, together, making memories.
Liz A said…
Beautiful photography as always ... made me want to go there, too.

And wondering about the character/rune? ... like a "T" with an upside down "V" superimposed. Feel like I should know its meaning ...
Saskia said…
true Julie, being cooped up in the car can be quite a challenge, however we All make an Effort to be Nice to one another; I remember you were here last year and i also remember laughing a lot whilst reading about your exploits.

exactly Marti: memories; and you know what, we honeymooned in Scotland 19 years ago and I was 5 months pregnant with our eldest - so he kind of feels he's been here before.....

people here are so friendly Liz, if get the chance you should come (although it is quite a journey from your part of the world) the character is intriguing, maybe a Roman chiseler made a mistake and they threw this one on to the pile of mistakes i.e. for the wall/path-use only, ha.
Anonymous said…
no words just a deep breath and traveling in my head , memory's
M.
Dana said…
Thank you for the vicarious vacation. I have always wanted to go to Great Britain just for the kind of beauty you are showing. Have a wonderful time.
the buildings of stone...oh and eeeeeee, love the buildings of stone
Anonymous said…
in addition to the stone, I love the sky... that moody, cloudy sky! how nice for the four of you to have the time together... probably fewer of those down the road...and remember! you always have a place should you want to come to Boston!!
Mo Crow said…
what a great garden!
Saskia said…
do we want to come Dee: yes! however, money's gonna be tight with D. off to university and K. hopefully a year later........money well spent of course......who knows after all that, I would like to very much.

I know Grace, the stone buildings are really something very different from what we're used to, with our brick buildings and very flat lands.

you're more than welcome Dana, it is all very beautiful and chock-a-block full of (ancient) culture and breathtakingly wide, open views.

ah yes M. the traveling of the mind!



Mo Crow said…
re that carved symbol with the three rays, intrigued and sparked by Liz's curiosity just had a poke around on the net and it looks like a variation of the Celtic symbol Awen or Arwen, the Masons also appropriated it but that's not surprising, they appropriated as freely as the New Age movement of today albeit more mysteriously & secretively!
here's a few links
http://symboldictionary.net/?p=316
http://ireland-calling.com/celtic-symbols-awen/
http://www.ancient-symbols.com/celtic_symbols.html
http://www.whale.to/c/awen.html
Saskia said…
thanks Mo for the links! how serendipitously appropriate my spotting of this symbol was, as travelling with three men, spending many an hour cooped up in the car, same bedroom even, was quite a balancing act......I am by no means implying I am almost too much to handle for three guys, LOL

tungsten

tungsten

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