Saturday, 16th March 2013

Lydia was in the United Kingdom for a few weeks during the early part of this year and as part of her stay she trekked north to visit Chuck. So on the Saturday we decided to kill their buzz* by dragging ourselves along on their visit to the north.

Vindolanda

Lydia is a big fan of the Roman history of Great Britain so we drove north to near Hexham where the Roman Vindolanda is located.

The Vindolanda was an auxiliary fort near to Hadrian’s Wall, it has a reconstruction of a Roman wall fort as well as a number of excavations and a museum. What is most important about the location is that it is where the Roman tablets were discovered.

Vindolanda Tablets

The Vindolanda tablets are a unique slice of history and nothing like them has been found anywhere else in the world. They have been called England’s greatest historical treasure. They are thin slices of wood on which personal messages were written. These items would normally degrade in a few weeks of being buried which is why none have been found until now.

The tablets were uniquely preserved in the moist ground near the fort, the whole area is a marsh fed by natural springs and aquifers, which is why the fort was located here.

They show a side of Roman life that we would not normally have, the day to day maintenance of the fort, assignment of troops and even birthday party invites. The insight into history is staggering and well worth the trek to the museum to learn more.

Ulverston – Kirkstone Pass – Windermere

On the way back we swung past Ulverston Waters and then over Kirkstone Pass to Windermere so that we could get a whole sense of the Lake District. Lydia is familiar with the region so she really enjoyed seeing it again and it made her homesick for England which is no bad thing.

Onto the pictures: