Day 2: Carlisle to Brampton



Today we said goodbye to Carlisle and headed east following the line of the Wall. This area has been farmed for hundreds of years and there are no obvious signs of the Romans – at least to the uninitiated eye. Every so often we passed a signboard explaining how archaeologists had identified this ditch as part of the Wall complex, or that that hill covered the remains of.... something. 

 

As the day and the miles passed, the rain stopped, the clouds began to clear – and finally the sun came out – just as we reached a causeway across the fields which the signpost announced as the remains of the wall. Soon after we passed Blea Tarn (our header picture today) which was formed from the quarry which provided the stone for this section. The signboards told us the entire wall was built in around 10 years. Impressive – until we read the next paragraph which explained that the workforce was provided by slaves, and we considered the human cost of this great feat of engineering.

 

Tonight we are in Brampton at a rather lovely hotel. No idea why they have put us in this particular room (see photo of door below)! Tomorrow the Wall proper begins – lots of milecastles, towers, and steep ups and downs on the map. Our great advantage is that the wind is behind us and pushing us up the inclines!

 

I’m afraid we didn’t get a photo of the best thing we saw today. Sorting out our jackets on the banks of the River Eden, a movement at the water’s edge attracted our attention and we saw an otter peering up at us. It had a good look at us, then somersaulted back down into the river. Amazing! They say you always see otters and kingfishers when you least expect them….   

 

So, as well as our room name, here are some photos of some things which caught our attention today – a confused shop in Carlisle, a community book-shelter and some rather ancient agricultural machinery (any ideas what it might be?)

And now for dinner! 







 

Comments

  1. GardenqueenSeptember 21, 2023 at 1:24 PM

    Hope the legs and feet are OK. I'm enjoying your trip, hope you are. Val F.

    ReplyDelete

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