IMG_1884.jpg
IMG_1886.jpg
IMG_1889.jpg
Click here to return to the main Piccies index.
Click here to return to the main 2011 General Piccies Page.
Click here to go forward to Scotland 2011 Day 1.
Renée Murad and I went to Scotland for two weeks. The weather was sometimes less than ideal, but overall we did pretty well, especially on the Isle of Skye drive and in Edinburgh. We drove up via Hadrian's Wall, staying in Troutbeck Cottage near Carlisle before staying for 3 nights each in Fort William (Distillary Guest House), Inverness (Roseneath), Aviemore (Ravenscraig) and Edinburgh (Number 38). Then one more night in Troutbeck Cottage before returning home via the Snake Pass. A mixture of walking and driving trips formed the backbone of the trip. But there were also other activities such as a boat trip on Loch Ness and shopping in Edinburgh to be had also. A successful holiday was had and the desire to return for more one day. See the photos for more...
Many thanks to Renée for taking lots of pictures while I was driving. This made it possible to document parts of the trip that would otherwise be impossible to do so safely.
Please see below for an index to this trip.
Total Photos: 1178; Total Videos: 9
Oh joy! The remnants of Hurricane Katia had her eye on us! The drive up the M1 / M18 / A1 to Newcastle involved some seriously strong cross winds, but being in the lee of the Pennines, the föhn effect kept the sun shining after a drizzly start further south, and there were no traffic problems so it was still a pleasant enough drive. Highlight of the day for Renée was when she waved at an Eddie Stobart lorry driver and he waved back. Once past Angel of the North, we headed along the A69 to Heddon on the Wall then along the pleasant B6318 alongside Hadrian's Wall to Housesteads Roman Fort. It took us just over 5 hours in total to get there.
Images taken between Newcastle and Housesteads Roman Fort.
|
IMG_1884.jpg |
IMG_1886.jpg |
IMG_1889.jpg |
| Angel of the North. | Driving along the B6318. | |
We had a good look around Housesteads Roman Fort. The main note was the powerful wind buffeting us. But although cloudy, it was dry and mild so not unpleasant with our windproofs on (and woolly hat in my case).
Note that I found a plan of Housesteads Roman Fort posted here (source page) if it helps visualise where everything is.
 IMG_1897.jpg |
 IMG_1898_1899_Panorama.jpg |
 IMG_1900.jpg |
 IMG_1901.jpg |
 IMG_1905.jpg |
 IMG_1906.jpg |
| Walking from the carpark to the ticket booth by the fort. | Katia blowing Renée's hair about. It was _very_ windy! | The ticket booth and gift shop. | Walking up past the commanding officer's house. | ||
 IMG_1907.jpg |
 IMG_1908.jpg |
 IMG_1909.jpg |
 IMG_1910.jpg |
 IMG_1911.jpg |
 IMG_1912_1914_Panorama.jpg |
| Looking South back towards the car park (behind the trees) from the hospital. | The granaries. | The northern edge of the fort is on Hadrian's Wall itself. Renée standing near Turret 36b, West of the North Gate. | Looking East from Turret 36b. | ||
 IMG_1915.jpg |
 IMG_1916.jpg |
 IMG_1918.jpg |
 IMG_1919.jpg |
 IMG_1920.jpg |
 IMG_1921.jpg |
| Mike standing on Hadrian's Wall by Turret 36b. | Looking Northeast the wall can be seen snaking away into the distance. | Mike in the Western North Gate tower. | Looking East at Barracks 13. | The North Gate. | |
 IMG_1923.jpg |
 IMG_1924.jpg |
 IMG_1926_1937_360Panorama.jpg |
 IMG_1938.jpg |
| Renée in the Eastern North Gate tower with the main wall crossing the valley well below us in the background. | A 360 degree panorama taken near the North Gate. North is centre. | More ruins near the East Gate. | |
 IMG_1941.jpg |
 IMG_1944.jpg |
 IMG_1953.jpg |
 IMG_1955.jpg |
 IMG_1956.jpg |
 IMG_1958.jpg |
| The latrines in the Southeast corner of the fort. | Looking South towards the car park from the Southeast corner of the fort. | Looking through a small window at a sheep near the South Gate. | Structures around the South Gate. | ||
 IMG_1959.jpg |
 IMG_1960.jpg |
| Looking North up past the commanding officer's house to the headquarters. | Looking Northwest up past the commanding officer's house to the hospital. |
After exploring the fort we walked West on the wall for a short distance, taking us up through a small wood to a more expose part. Once over a small rise we found Milecastle 37. Up here the wind was really howling.
 IMG_1961.jpg |
 IMG_1964.jpg |
 IMG_1966.jpg |
 IMG_1969.jpg |
 IMG_1970.jpg |
 IMG_1972.jpg |
| Walking Westwards along Hadrian's Wall. | There was a big drop on the northern side. Broomlee Lough is the name of the lake. | ||||
 IMG_1973_1975_Panorama.jpg |
 IMG_1976.jpg |
 IMG_1978_1979_Panorama.jpg |
 IMG_1981.jpg |
 IMG_1982_1984_Panorama.jpg |
| Looking Westwards along the wall from the top end of the wood at Housesteads Crags. | Looking back to the woods from Housesteads Crags as Renée catches up with me. | Milecastle 37, nestled in a dip between Cuddy's Crags and Housesteads Crags. | ||
 IMG_1986.jpg |
 IMG_1297.jpg |
 IMG_1992.jpg |
 IMG_1994.jpg |
 IMG_1996_1998_Panorama.jpg |
| Mike (view North) and Renée (view South) at Milecastle 37. | Walking back through the woods to the fort. | Looking Southeastwards to the woods hiding the car park and Grindon Lough in the background. | Looking Eastwards along Hadrian's Wall from the Northwest corner of the fort. | |
Returning down the hill to the car the wind pushed us along to our amusement. Then we got back on road to the Capon Tree Café Brampton for tea.
 IMG_2000.jpg |
 IMG_2001.jpg |
 IMG_2003.jpg |
 IMG_2004.jpg |
| The view on the Southern side of the B6318 as we head towards Brampton. | Renée and Mike in The Capon Tree. | Brampton town centre. | |
Then we checked into Troutbeck Cottage at 4pm. We had a rest after settling in before going to Carlisle for supper. We decided on an Italian restaurant called Casa Romana. It was ok if nothing special. Then back to the BnB (via Tesco petrol station at M6J43 on the way back) to retire for the night.
Click here to go forward to Scotland 2011 Day 1.