Walls, Estates & Poet's Abode

So, today is the day that we remembered why this kind of travel is not for sissies.

We started our day at 5:45 am and we just finished dinner, and it’s ten minutes until 10 pm. But wow, what a day. Our activities ran the gamut.

First up, wheels turning was at 8:00 am. Bags had to be ready to pick up at 7:00.

Our first activity was to change countries. After a short drive through the beautiful Scottish countryside, we reached the border with England, so it was off the bus for the obligatory photo at the border. I’m not sure why that is a thing, but it is.

Now we were in the beautiful English countryside searching for Hadrian’s Wall.

Not Hadrian's Wall

As we were looking, we learned that when originally built by the Romans, it was 73 miles long going from coast to coast across England. It took six years to build and stood 12 feet high along most of its route. Today it survives in small stretches at only about  four feet tall with grass growing on top of it. Scholars disagree how much of a real threat there was requiring such a structure but it was typical of the Romans to demonstrate their engineering skill and construction might. Looking at what survived to day, their work was impressive.

Hadrian's Wall

Lunch was a bit of a surprise. We were at the Estate of Castletown House. The estate was purchased in 1802 by Robert Mounsey and is still in family hands. It has 16 bedrooms and ten bathrooms. It is a working farm with over 600 sheep and 1,000 head of cattle. We were hosted for lunch by the current owner and his daughter-in-law who sat at the table with us and answered our many questions.

Continuing our journey we arrived in the Lake District village of Grasmere to visit Dove Cottage, the home of William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. In later years, Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson and raised a family of three children in the home. Our visit to the cottage was a window into the very normal life this world-acclaimed poet lived.

We then made our way to the Swan Hotel and Spa which will be our home for the next two days. 

See you tomorrow.