Woodswell Blog
We left Windermere this morning and headed to the east coast of England. For a rest break we stopped at Bow Lee Beck, which has a visitor center and nice walks along the stream (beck). After that we stopped in a little town called Staindrop where we ate lunch at a beautiful tea room. Then Read More …
We left Hexam early but didn’t leave the area immediately. First we drove out to Allen Banks National Trust, a lovely area along a stream in a forest that had been cultivated for many years. We walked part way up the stream side, but not as far as we had intended. The easy path led Read More …
Our third stop for the day was at Vindolanda, an extremely large site, with excellent information and active archeological digs. Views from the top of the tower: Inside the museum: The gardens outside the museum, cafe, and shop building: The active archeological digs:
After Chester’s Fort we went to the next stop on Hadrian’s Wall, Housesteads Roman Fort. Since the actual site was a long hike across a valley, Ralph walked over while I waited at the cafe/gift shop at the entrance.
Today was devoted to Hadrian’s Wall as we passed from Scotland to England. We started with Chester’s Fort:
Although we had planned to stop a couple of places in the Northumberland National Park, it rained so hard we just drove in the rain from Edinburgh to Hexam. I never even got the camera out because I didn’t want to get it wet. So no pictures today. We stayed at the Beaumont Hotel in Read More …
Our original plan was to go to Stirling Castle, then if there was time, visit the Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel. We didn’t realize that a tour was really the way to go there, but even with a tour, the hike up to the castle and the crowds were intimidating, plus there was no parking to Read More …
After getting a late start we drove to Tentsmuir Forest for lunch, with a lot of interest from some chaffinches. One even landed on the end of the table where we were eating! Then we went to RSPB Loch Leven where the best parking was next to a café. From the car the trail led Read More …
As we left the Lodge on Loch Aboyne, we realized they had their own cairn and standing stones: We headed into the middle of the Cairngorms, to Aberfeldy : And after lunch, the Scottish Crannog Centre. A crannog is a round building over a body of water: At the centre, they study all aspects of Read More …
Today we started at the Forvie National Nature Reserve: It is a beautiful location, inland moors and coastal dunes meeting to provide a unique ecosystem. Ralph and I walked out together for a ways: Along the way, there are signs to identify the flowers that grow in the nature reserve. Where we could we took Read More …