Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Rule Britannia


Tuesday August 27th
Today’s pedometer reading is 7.17 k’s
Our night in Haydon Bridge, our first in an English pub was wonderful, the hospitality and food were fabulous…breakfast was fantastic, all local produce…I had a poached egg on toast and Andrew succumbed to the temptation of a full English breakfast…he particularly enjoyed the Cumberland sausage…I think his belt buckle will be restored to it’s usual position very soon :-)



We stayed in this location because of it's close proximity to Housesteads Fort and the adjoining section of Hadrian’s Wall. It was only a short drive after breakfast to our 2nd National Trust experience. Built around AD122 the iconic ruin was once the most northerly defence of the Roman Empire, the wall was a massive engineering feat, stretching 80 miles from coast to coast. Today Hadrian’s Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the views and Roman remains are both fascinating and spectacular. We spent just over 2 hours exploring the ruins and walking along a small section of the wall.



The grainstore


The latrines


Hadrian's Wall


We then headed off toward Edinburgh, about 150 k’s and along the way we stopped a few times, once at the England – Scotland border, the views were breathtaking and believe it or not a piper was busking...creating just the right atmosphere :-)
Next stop, the Leaderfoot Viaduct over the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. The railway viaduct was opened in 1863. The arches, each of 43 feet (13 m) span, are of brickwork,  and the abutments, piers and walls are of rustic-faced red sandstone.



In a number of locations we’ve seen groups of wind turbines but never as many as today. When we stopped to take this photo I counted 32 on one side of the road & 28 on the other and there were many more than that!


Our GPS did a great job of directing us to our hotel with a minimum of fuss…Andrew tells me that tomorrow he is going to switch the English accent over to a Scottish one. I’m a bit worried because we had a bit of trouble understanding the receptionist at the hotel and the wait-staff at the restaurant tonight! I’ll keep you posted.
The Royal Yacht Britannia is moored 5 minutes away and we ate dinner tonight at a restaurant overlooking her…she’s still a very regal lady.




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