Hadrian's Wall

(By Rachel)

It's extremely difficult to remember that I'm actually studying here and have HOMEWORK due in the next week or so, not taking a 4 month holiday. I mean, with 3 lessons a week and this great city and so many opportunities to travel, who wouldn't agree?

Thanks to a previous scheduling mixup, our assignments were pushed back a week, so a couple of us took the train down to Carlisle and then on to Hadrian's Wall. Catching the 6:52 am train seemed like a good idea at the time, and it did give us time to plan the trip to Haltwhistle once we'd hit Carlisle, but most of us spent the travel portion passed out in our seats. :P

We transferred to a bus at Haltwhistle, which took us up to Housesteads where there used to be a Roman fort. For the record, when the road signs say "Severe dip", they mean it. It feels like a mini rollercoaster.



Beautiful day, if freezing cold and windy.



Sheep! Not fenced in, either, so the hike up to the wall was 95% avoiding stepping in sheep poop.



Standing on top of the wall itself.



That thing stretches for quite a bit.



And yes, it's quite a way down on one side if you fall. There was one section where we had to climb down into the gap and then haul ourselves up the other side to continue along the wall. I'm sure the guys thought it was no problem, but lil' me with a purse scrambled for a bit while using the wooden gate as a boost.



But the view was worth it.