Tag Archives: england

Rediscovered Treasure

It happens that way sometimes. You open up an image file (or set of files in my case!) and discover that you have somehow managed to not ever get around to editing it! We were travelling so much from the years 2010 through half of 2013 that it was bound to happen. But it’s fun to discover new things to upload to my NEW SITE (link coming soon) that I am setting up right now. 150 images up so far and hundreds more to go!

By the way, if you notice that the watermark on the photo is larger again, that’s because someone tried to use one of my pictures for their website without paying for it and frankly, I am not putting up with that nonsense! (cough-cough-SCUMBAGS!) Please do note that all of my work is STRICTLY copyrighted.

Until the next time — enjoy this shot from Portsmouth’s historic docks in England.

Hadrian’s Wall in Winter — Part 2

Returning to our visit to Hadrian’s Wall and the museums at Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum — here is Part Two.

Walking on an increasingly downhill slope, we continued through the ruins which included what would have been a massive bathhouse for the hundreds of Roman soldiers stationed in this distant land.

Sign at Vindolanda explaining the Roman baths that once existed here

Archaeological excavation at the Roman baths in Vindolanda along Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

Then we followed the winding path that led sharply downhill through the trees toward the Chesterholm Museum, the former family home of the archaeologist Eric Birley — a house that now contains many of the discoveries from decades of excavations. This entire site is an ongoing excavation and volunteers can sign on during the warm weather months to work alongside the professional archaeologists on a dig. What fun it would be to bring up some ancient coin or fragment of pottery and know that you contributed to the efforts to reclaim history.

Chesterholm Museum on the grounds of Vindolanda, a large Roman fortress and village along Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

A Roman temple replica in the gardens of the Chesterholm Museum at Vindolanda, a large fortress and village along Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

We were not allowed to take any photos inside the museum so, after viewing the exhibits and the gift shop, we began the slow uphill hike along the winding path and back into the main section of ruins — all the time walking on the ancient Roman roads.

Walking on the old Roman road inside Vindolanda at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

Standing in the past on an ancient Roman road at Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall in Northern England.

Feeling seriously hungry by this time, we drove out of the parking lot toward the second museum on this section of Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman Army Museum. I asked at the front desk of Vindolanda for a recommendation for lunch and the charming woman on duty drew me a tiny map to lead me to a local pub with good food and accommodations where the archaeologists stayed during the summer months. The name of the town was (seriously!) Once Brewed and the name of the pub was Twice Brewed!

Looking for the Twice Brewed pub in the village of Once Brewed in the North of England

The Roman theme continues at the Twice Brewed pub in the village of Once Brewed in the North of England

The Twice Brewed pub in the village of Once Brewed in the North of England

After a nice lunch, we drove the few miles further to the Roman Army Museum. Again, we were not allowed to take any photos within the museum — a pity since the exhibits are quite good — but we enjoyed what we saw and the 3-D film called Edge Of Empire gives you a good idea of the size and scale of the fortifications and just-outside-the-wall village at Vindolanda.

Roman Army Museum entry at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

These are truly informative museums (especially the Vindolanda site), but I would recommend seeing them both in a single day to get a complete overview to life as a Roman soldier in this remote and harsh landscape. The two museums are a mere 7 miles apart and are easily visited in one afternoon. I highly recommend these sites to anyone who is travelling to this part of the North of England.

Hadrian’s Wall in Winter — Part 1

According to what we heard from several people during the month that we visited Newcastle, the North of England is a cold and damp place for a minimum of 6 months (and sometimes longer!) of each year. It was therefore not a great stretch of the imagination to visualise what a shock to the brain and body it must have been for soldiers from the warmer climate of Italy when they travelled north to be stationed at the remote and icy fortifications along Hadrian’s Wall.

We chose a day that was forecast to contain at least a small measure of blue sky and off we went to Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum which were both along that historic fortified wall.

The entry building at Vindolanda gave no clues to what was lying in the hills and fields beyond. So it was a pleasant (but icy cold!) surprise to walk through the building, pass a cluster of bundled-up school children on a class outing, and emerge into a biting wind and onto a pathway that led to a huge archaeological excavation.

Entry to Vindolanda at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

School children eating their lunch outside on an icy day at Vindolanda (yes, that IS ice in the fountain!) at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

Entry sign for Vindolanda at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

A cold day for a visit to Vindolanda at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

The ruins were stretched out in both directions beneath the snow-covered hills. But I must admit that we were walking rather briskly through them as I took pictures and gasped with each blast of sub-zero wind.

Ongoing excavations at Vindolanda at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

Ongoing excavations inside Vindolanda at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

Underfloor heating system in a ruin that has been excavated at Vindolanda at Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England

Come back soon for Part 2 of our wintery visit to the two museums at Hadrian’s Wall and lots more photos including exterior pictures of the larger museum buildings, the gardens in winter, and the spot for our mid-afternoon meal break.

The Massive Angel Of The North Sculpture in the UK

We had passed it several times over the last few years as we travelled either north or south along the eastern coastline of the UK — the massive Angel Of The North sculpture looming over the highway outside of Newcastle. But this time, in spite of the snow flurries and icy temperatures, we stopped to view this huge piece by British artist Antony Gormley.

I’ve made sure that I included two images that contain an adult in them so you can get an idea of the scale of this very, very large piece of artwork.

Enjoy!

Angel Of The North Sculpture by Antony Gormley on a hillside overlooking the motorway into Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Mark (6 ft. tall) standing at the bottom of The Angel Of The North sculpture

Close-up of the beautiful metal structure of the Angel Of The North Sculpture by Antony Gormley on a hillside overlooking the motorway into Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Toast The Tax?

Saw this poster in a window here in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK and I thought it was worth following up on. What did it mean? Were toasted sandwiches really going to be taxed on top of the cost of the sandwich?

Poster in the window of a shop in Newcastle Upon Tyne protesting the government’s application of a 20% tax on toasted sandwiches!

That turns out to be exactly what is happening. As this online e-petition explains, the UK government has decided to apply VAT of 20% onto what is charged for toasted sandwiches even though the other countries in the EU have already done away with it.

What an insane and greedy grab for cash by the government in a time of extreme financial hardship!

Photo Essay: Newcastle Upon Tyne On A Sunny Saturday

I have to laugh about the timing of this photo essay since I took these pictures 21 days ago and it was the last time we saw any blue sky at all! It’s been unrelentingly grim weather-wise here in Newcastle Upon Tyne and the locals we have talked to all say the same thing. They have never experienced a winter that has lasted so long and been so cold.

Since the high is 2 degrees today and the skies are dark with yet more snow in the forecast for this evening (groan!), let’s move the Rickety Time Machine backward by 21 days and enjoy the sunny views, eh?

41 m (135 ft) high column & monument to prominent politician, social reformer, & Prime Minister Charles Earl Grey erected in 1838 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.

Busy shoppers and pedestrians on a sunny Saturday in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Entry to the historic Central Arcade in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Interior of the historic Central Arcade in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

So Where Is Home After Years Of Travel? A Very Familiar Place!

You know that sensation of beating your head against a wall? Of believing utterly in manifesting the life that you want into reality — but none of the tried and true methods that have always worked in the past are now producing any results?

I’ve always known that no matter how much I might attempt to will something into being, if it was not meant to be, it would not appear. All of my efforts would be a complete waste of time if the Universe had other plans for me — for us. And being stubborn or petulant was utterly futile and a complete waste of time and energy.

In spite of being oh-so-ill this week, I have continued to pump out CVs and cover letters for Mark’s job search — 70 applications in less than 5 weeks. But some hard truths are now completely clear. There are far too many people looking for work in the UK and far too few jobs, so potential employers don’t even give you the courtesy of a form letter email to acknowledge that they have received your application. Even people as multi-talented as Mark are all competing for the same small number of jobs at simply shocking wages.

We’ve heard from friends here in Newcastle that this has only been the case in the last 10 years and previously tradesmen could make a very good living at wages that were comparable to those paid in Australia. That certainly is not the case now and the numbers of people that are living right on the edge of abject poverty is simply shocking. I’m not going to engage in any sort of lengthy statement about the wisdom or lack thereof of allowing hundreds of thousands of immigrants to come into this small island nation and drive the wages down-down-down to mimimum wage or LESS in a mere decade, but the situation is going to get even worse at the end of this year when another unrestricted flow will be allowed from two new Eastern European countries.

So why beat ourselves up about it? We haven’t failed in any way, our adventure in Europe for the past 2 & 1/2 years has been wonderful, and we feel blessed to have seen so many places and experienced so many countries. We aren’t 20-somethings and we have to be sensible about economics and long term plans, so after a major re-think on where to go next, we’ve made a surprisingly happy decision to go home to Australia.

You’re going to be getting an interesting mix of travel posts and photos and planning-staging-moving posts from this point onward. We have to get back to Norfolk in a few weeks to organise what to ship back to Australia. Then we’ll do a wee bit more travelling in countries outside the UK, we’ll sell our left-hand-drive car, and then there will be a series of journeys via plane (my least enjoyable kind of travel!) as we hop, skip, and jump our way back.

Look out, Australia — here we come!

A Wanderful Life

The Neverending Journey