Haste Ye Back

Snow capped peaks

We started the journey to the lake district of England. Our route took us back through Glencoe and down along Loch Lomand. The snow still covered the peaks but the sun was shining brightly. The waterfalls were larger and more numerous. The sun was melting the snow covered peaks. After ninety minutes, we reached the outskirts of Glasgow. We stopped to fill up with petrol on the outskirts of the city. As we paid for the gas, the man behind the counter began to ask us some questions. Luis and I both struggled to make any sense of what he was saying. Although this man was speaking English, his accent and sentence structure was so foreign to us we couldn’t understand more than a couple of words. We do not know what his strange dialect was. Some form of English variation is what we can only guess. All we could do is smile and nod at him as if we understood him perfectly well.
 

Leaving Scotland

As we entered Glasgow, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. The city still had a gloomy atmosphere. The tall plain buildings seemed lacking in personality and the streets appeared to be cobbled together in a random manner. Even the people we passed looked bleak. Deciding we didn’t care to explore Glasgow we pushed further south. We crossed the English Border and turned west towards the coast. Within an hour, we were traveling along blustery windswept hills that edged the ocean. Bright green fields dotted with sheep and cows rolled to the sea. The small coastal village roads were very narrow. We frequently had to pull over (even in Granny’s tiny car) to let the oncoming vehicles and tractors pass. We drove through Ayr, Dunure, and onto Turnberry.



Dunure Castle



At Dunure, we stopped to stretch our legs and see the ruins of Dunure Castle. Sitting right at the edge of the Firth of Clyde, the castle was striking. Turnberry has a well-known championship golf course and it is where the “duel in the sun” between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus took place. The course is gorgeous and situated on a bluff overlooking the Irish Sea.



The smokehouse



Rounding the tip of the peninsula and along the Sands of Luce, we made a pit stop at Marrburry Smokehouse. The smoke house specializes in traditional Scottish smoked meats, fish, and cheese. Luis sampled several different items, after which, he purchased a small package of the dill and honey smoked salmon. Next door to the Smokehouse café was Carsluith castle. Set back about 25 meters from the sea edge, the castle is in pretty good condition and retains many of its original features. It was built on the lands of the Cairns family by the chamberlain of Galloway in the late 15^th century. The decendants of the original owners were embroiled in many dramas over the years. They were catholic sympathizers who frequently sheltered priests and other high ranking catholic figures, bringing upon themselves the wrath of the protestant reformers. 

 

Carsluith Castle

 After touring the castle, we drove on through Carlisle and turned east to see Hadrian’s Wall. We followed signs towards one of the remaining segments of the wall and drove through the town of Brampton. On the outskirts of this lovely country village, we came upon Lanercost Priory.

As we walked up to the priory doors we heard beautiful choral music coming from within. Next to the door was a sign indicating that a concert had started at 7pm. As it was already well underway, we did not enter. Instead, we walked around the exterior and surrounding fields. Established around 1166 by Henry II, it was the home to the cannons of Norfolk for approximately 350 years until the dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, by Henry VIII.

 

Lanercost Priory and the
remains of the stone cross

 The priory stood near the border. This made it susceptible to frequent attacks by the Scottish Army. In the early 1300’s, the Scottish King Robert Bruce commandeered the priory for three days and wreaked havoc on the structure and its inhabitants. This was followed several years later by attacks from William Wallace. King Edward the 1^st of England, visited the priory several times during his campaigns against the Scotts. In 1306, he lived at the priory for what would be the last 5 months of his life. During his final stay, the priory’s wealth was greatly diminished due to the cannons having to provide for the king and his men. A stone cross marked the spot upon which he died. Only the base survives today.

In 1328, a treaty between King Bruce and King Edward the 3^rd created a partnership between Lanercost Abbey and Kelso Abbey. However, the Abbey’s troubles did not end. In 1346, David II ransacked the building and stole the Abbey’s treasures. In 1386, one of the Priors was kidnapped by the Scotts. He was returned for a ransom consisting of money and corn.



A section of Hadrian's Wall



Remains of a turret

After walking around for a while we drove on to Hadrian’s Wall. This ancient wall is often referred to as the historic dividing line between England and Scotland. The wall lies several miles within the boundary of England. Built by the Roman emperor Hadrian in 122 AD, the wall stretches seventy-three miles from east to west. The eastern edge of the wall was completed in around 6 years. Along each mile of the wall a small castle like structure was constructed. Each with turrets at various points in between. Scholars believe that rather than a fortification wall, it was primarily constructed to control the passage of goods. The empire used it to collect taxes and fees from those transporting materials through passing through. At a slightly later time, forts were also constructed to house garrisons of the roman army. Around 138 AD, the Emperor Pius began constructing the Antonine wall 100 miles further north. Today, Hadrian’s Wall survives in only small ruined sections. Listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, the segment we visited was sitting only 3 feet from a small road which ran parallel to it. In addition, there was nothing to prevent anyone from standing on it, a car crashing into it, or vandals causing further ruin to it.

We admired the peaceful view and walked along the wall’s length. It was getting late and we could not check in to our hotel after 9:30 pm, so we decided to keep moving. We still had about an hour to drive. Around Penrith we exited the motorway and drove into the Lake District to the minuscule town of Dockray. We arrived at minutes before 9:30. In time for check in but too late for dinner in the Royal at Dockray. After taking our bags to our room, we had a pint in the warm and cheery pub before turning in for the night.