War and Walls - 28 March 2016

We woke up on our last day in Northumberland to the sounds of all the boys(and a Dad or two) running into our room with pillows to attack us! Some girls were not happy and just covered their heads. I had to get in the action since my sons were attacking me. It was good fun :)

We packed and cleaned up and headed to Hadrian's Wall

Our first stop was Vindolanda. This is an ancient Roman fort and village that is currently being excavated. It was amazing to walk around this fort. The ruins we can see now were from the 9th Roman fort that was built on this site.
The first one is thought to have been built between 70A.D.- 85A.D. 

This was a modern reconstruction just to show what some of the
 watch towers might have looked like.

This was a bath house. Those Romans were famous for their bath houses. 

Modern replicas

These were modern buildings with a museum of artifacts they have found here, a shop, and cafe.

It was a lovely spot with a Roman temple, house, and
 shop for us to learn what they were really like then.

I am always amazed at the work that was put into these ancient buildings. They were built to last.

We then headed to another museum that was indoor and told us all about Roman life and about their quest to conquer the world. They conquered England and were really trying to get up into Scotland but the Scots were considered quiet barbaric and were a tough lot to beat. So, Emperor Hadrian had a wall built along the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire. It stretched from one coast to the other. It was about 80 miles long. Wow!

To show you where the wall is.
It isn't on the modern border between England and Scotland,
but it is close!

This is a pond near where we saw the wall.

A quarry that was near the wall. They needed a LOT of stone to build the wall. It was about 18 feet tall and 9 feet deep in some places and had forts all along it. It also had mile castles which were like small forts where soldiers were stationed to watch the border. 

Walking along the wall.

The wall was really neat to see. It had to go up and down and around the natural landscape. It really is amazing to see the engineering skills these Romans had! 
Construction on the wall began in 122 A.D. It took about 6 years to complete.

It started hailing on us at this point!

I can't wait to show Nathan this photo when he learns about Hadrian's Wall in a history class.

The section of the wall that we climbed on had a Mile Castle. They were a Roman mile apart from each other.  (Romans also had stones a mile apart on their roads, hence the milestone. We sure have a lot from the Romans!)

This is what they think a mile castle looked like then.

 A quick read about the wall: Hadrian Wall Facts

You can see the wall just along the ridge. It looks small now, but it was 18 feet high in some places.  After the Romans abandoned it, the stones were taken to be used in buildings and castles nearby. I'm glad not all of them were taken!

A memory for me: I really wanted to see the section of the wall called Sycamore Gap. This part of the wall goes down into a valley and there is a large sycamore tree in the middle. It is quite picturesque and famous(it is in some films). The hike to this section was more than all the little legs could handle after such a long weekend of exploring so I gave up this idea in the hopes of seeing it another time. On our way back toward New Castle and the major highway to take us south to home, my friend Wendy, who was ahead of us, called me. She told me that they just passed Sycamore Gap and it could be seen quite clearly from the road we were traveling on. I got the camera ready and was thrilled to see it. It made my day!
Thanks Wendy!

What it looks like in the summer! (I remember this spot from the film, "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves".
 I really want to re-watch that movie!

Dallin is about the age of some of the Roman soldiers that were
 sent to patrol along this wall! Too young!

I turned around when we pulled into the driveway and saw this.
We were EXHAUSTED!!

The Stables (and an Easter Scavenger Hunt) - 27 March 2016

                                                                  THE

                              STABLES.....?

                                   A Documentary by: Samuel C. Jackson 

Aloha!!! We ar in Haweewee!!! In de twopical iwand we get nice tan!!! Wait, no we don't, we definitely don't get a tan, in fact, we become see through. And we are on an island, but not Hawaii or a tropical island, and it rains here, but cold rain. And it's cold here, not warm, and we speak English. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in England!!!!

Note: Anything in parenthesis is by my mom

 (While we were in Northumberland we stayed at Gibside. This is a National Trust property that use to be a large manor home and lands. Gibside is known for it's chapel. Unlike most similar properties, Gibside wasn't designed for the visitor to focus on the house, it was designed to focus on the chapel. We stayed in the converted stables with three other families in our ward. Just part of these large stables was turned into accommodations for large school or family groups. It was fun to stay there with our friends.)

This is the stables, you know, where the horses stay and stuff. But, horses no more! This was a stable probably owned by a rich dude, but it's old, I mean look at that wall! We stayed in the upstairs in the dormitories. 

What a view!

Sheep.

I picked up some cool girlish shades, and it turns out one of the girls in our group lost her shades! And guess what, they were her sister's. No they were her's. :-)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! (This was a banquet hall on the property up on a hill overlooking a pond. It was a very interesting building).

The stables were out in the country side. YAY!

We went on an Easter hunt, and we used scriptures to find out where the goodies were!!! (It was a great activity for Easter Sunday after church. It also gave us the great opportunity to explore the grounds of Gibside without the usual crowds. The place was basically ours after it closed in the evenings!)

The Column to Liberty
 


                         
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                  (     ^  ^  #
                    \   #  _   |
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                    –––––––
                                         /       ^    \                  
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                              |    |    |   |      
                               |    |    |   |        
                               |    |    |   |        
                                 |    |    |   |          
                             /     \   /    \      
                                      ––––––––––              
                                                   

                                                          I made this my self :-)
                                                         The thing in his arm is a gun :-)

This was close by the stables, though it's in ruins. (This is Gibside Hall, the house. It was in a lovely spot with a great view. The roof was taken off and it is fenced off so we couldn't explore it.)

The Easter egg hunt is on!

(Reading the next clue.)

(This avenue of trees focused on the chapel.
It was lovely and probably quite stunning in the summer
when the trees are green.)

This is were we found the chocolate eggs!!! It is a cool place too! (This is the orangery, what we'd call a greenhouse. We loved the architecture and learning about how they kept the building warm in the winter)

Now we have to walk back up the hill. :-|

(Getting back to the stables after the looong Easter hunt!)

(The inner courtyard of the stables)

Ya, we were in the beautiful country side, enjoying the views and getting stuffed with sugar!!!

So, we got a bag of candy and a HUGE chocolate egg!!! ...each sold separately...