Day 5 - Edinburgh to Keswick

Our rental car troubles continued into the morning, but by 11:00, we were squared away. We headed out and arrived at Melrose at lunch. We found a local "award winning" restaurant then walked around the outside of Melrose Abbey (we had to not go inside since we were running a bit behind). This was my second abbey, and so far, the best! Instead of the normal gray, dingy color, it was made of a rose-colored hue. We got really lucky in that the sun broke out for a bit which really made the shadows pop!

We continued down the road and were shortly whizzing by Hadrian's Wall, a stone wall constructed under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian in 122 AD. It stretches 73 miles across Northern England and was the northern most border of the Roman Empire. Although many parts of the wall have been dismantled over time (locals needed stones for their houses), large sections still remain. I wasn't able to get any photos as it was was pouring rain outside.

Our next stop was Vindolanda, which was a Roman village and fort situated just south of Hadrian's Wall. This site has archaeological digs that are ongoing and it's amazing to see what they've found: tablets of paper, shoes, weapons, coins, and pottery are all relics on display in the museum. You are allowed to wander through the ruins that date back to 92 AD! We could see the bathhouse, houses, butcher, and the garrison commander's large accommodations. It really took an hour or so to wrap my head around seeing and touching something so old.

Our next stop,was our B&B in Keswick, which is located in the Lake District. I thought I'd seen beautiful countryside before, but wow! It reminds me of Maine or British Columbia, but even prettier. Huge rolling hills that are dotted with trees and sheep. We had dinner in Ambleside and was amazed how much that village looked like it was straight from New England.

We venture out to Carlisle and more of the Lake District on Friday.

Cheers!