Vindolanda – A Traveling Fool

Past Trips

Navajo Reservation

One of my favorite parts of the trip I did to the Western National Parks in the US back in the spring of 2013 was to visit the four corners area and the Navajo Reservation. The place where we stayed (Goulding Lodge) and all of the restaurants where we ate and gift shops were owned and operated by the Navajo.

All of our excursions while there in and around Monuments Valley were also led and hosted by the Navajo who lived there. I was able to learn so much more about their culture and lives than I had known before. We also had one of the last living code talkers from World War II join us during a cookout to tell us about his experiences. I had watched a movie about that. But to hear actual stories from someone who had been there was very special.

Battlefields and Other Sites of War

I have also had a real interest in visiting battlefields, both in the US and other places. In the US, I have visited a couple of Civil War (Gettysburg, Fredericksburg) and Revolution (Yorktown) battlefields. But also several other locations having to do with either war (Appomattox Courthouse, Richmond, Harper’s Ferry, Valley Forge, Charlotte, Savannah, Beaufort, Williamsburg).

Overseas, it has been a lot of European World War II sites (battlefields, D-Day landing sites, and concentration camps), but also the Culloden Battlefield in Scotland (where Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Highlanders with him met their downfall), where David met Goliath in the Valley of Elah in Israel, and where the 300 Spartans met the Persians in Greece (at Thermopile), and Gallipoli in Turkey (World War I) where so many Australians lost their lives.

One of the reasons why I find battlefields and other sites connected with wars interesting is because of the heavy toll such actions take on human lives and the incredible stories that are associated with both the loss of life and some of the miraculous survivals that also took place. History is about peoples’ stories. I find learning those stories to be fascinating. Seeing where they took place (when the battlefield has been preserved) brings it into perspective. And yes, each time, I am left in tears.

NYC 9/11 Memorial

On my most recent trip to New York City in 2016, which was also my first trip back to NYC since 9/11, I visited the memorial. I recommend it to everybody. It is one thing to imagine a twisted firetruck or a collapsed staircase or a mangled piece of one of the World Trade Center buildings and quite another thing to see them for yourself.

I do have to say that I did not go into the room with the photos of the people and their voices from their last cellphone messages to loved ones. I just couldn’t. It was too much.

Kennedy Space Center

One of my cousins eventually worked at the Kennedy Space Center on the space shuttle crew, mainly for Endeavour. But he was also involved with all of the shuttle launches. Many years before that, Mom and I had visited the Kennedy Space Center and toured everything that a regular citizen on a tour could see. So, when he started working there, we already could picture a certain amount of it. I love it when something pops up in a TV show or movie or some other context and I been there and have seen whatever it is.

Hadrian’s Wall – Vindolanda

I have long been fascinated by Hadrian’s Wall. On one of my trips to Scotland (in 2016) I took several day trips to parts of the wall. One of those trips included the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which actually predates the wall. They had a wonderful museum containing items discovered at the site – shoes and other clothing, dishes and pottery, bridles, saddles, stirrups, etc from horses plus loads of other items. They also had much of foundations of the fort, despite the location having been robbed of much of its stone works over the centuries. A favorite of mine was the replica of the wall that gave a really good idea of the actual size and dimensions of it. I could also go up on top and walk along it.

This Trip

Van Gogh’s Art Techniques

Vincent Van Gogh is a favorite artist of mine. I have visited many sites associated with his life and death as well as viewing his art at the Musee d’Orsay during past trips to France. So, when I saw that I had the option to join a class on Van Gogh’s techniques while in Arles, I signed up for it immediately. I ended up painting a very quick version of a portion of his most famous “Starry Night”, which is now a treasured souvenir of the experience. Since returning home, I have also begun a couple of his other paintings that he did in Arles – “Starry Night over the Rhone” and “Café Terrace at Night”.

Truffles

On the Grand France River Cruise, I was able to visit a truffle farm and watch how the dogs searched for truffles. Then I was able to sample the truffles. It was fun to learn about truffle farming and to pet the dogs once they were off-duty.

Crepes

Although I have had dessert crepes before in restaurants, I had never had a savory crepe prior to this trip. On the day that we were setting sail for Les Andelys, we were offered savory crepes for lunch. I went with a buckwheat crepe filled with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and onions. There was some crème fraiche on top. Delicious. Since returning home, I have purchased a special crepe pan and spatula in order to make my own.

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse is something I have made myself. But I have to say, the two that I had in France made mine seem more like a simple chocolate pudding. In Bayeux I had one at the restaurant where we had lunch. It was heavenly. On the ship, we had a mousse made with dark, light and white chocolate that was also amazing.

Calvados

An optional tour to Baveux and the Calvados region of Normandy included a visit to the Le Breuil-en-Auge Calvados Distillery. We learned all about how apples became Calvados and sampled some of the finished product. I felt that the amount in the glass was a tad stingy until I actually tried it. It is about 82 proof. It made my eyes water and my voice go raspy. I have since learned to mix it with cider and drink it with ice.

Hospices de Beaune

Touring and learning about the Hospices de Beaune, which were in service from 1443 to 1971, was really fascinating. We could see the wards, the pharmacy, the kitchens, etc. much as they had been.

Swimming Pool for Horses

At Bizy Castle, there was a lovely pool in the courtyard. Its purpose wasn’t just for looks. It had been created to allow the horses to cool themselves off. How thoughtful. Out of all of the castles I have seen all over Europe and the UK, I had never seen one with a swimming pool for horses before.

A full day exploring various sections of the Roman wall built across Britain, near present day Scotland, in 122 AD to keep those wild tribes north of the wall north of the wall. As a descendant of more than one of those wild tribes, I have to say that I’m rather proud of them putting the “fear of God” into those Roman Legions. The Romans were used to just going all over Europe and the Middle East conquering everybody.

This was another Rabbie’s day trip, leaving from across the street. This time we had a much smaller group. Me and two young guys in their twenties who were from the Dominican Republic and were re-enactors of the Roman Ninth Legion (officially Legio IX Hispana). They had their banner with them and posed for photos at the wall, some of which I took for them. The Ninth Legion is the one that was stationed in York and supposedly marched up to Caledonia and disappeared. This was prior to the wall being built and has been considered to be one of the reasons why Hadrian ordered its building.

They didn’t speak much English so most of the conversation was between the Tour Guide and me. It seemed they understood more English than they could speak although the Tour Guide would write down the times they needed to be back to our chariot (the tour coach). They were always there on time.

After a bathroom break at Jedburgh, our next stop was Carter Bar – one of the border crossings between Scotland and England. It was also the site of the last battle between England and Scotland in the 1500s (Culloden technically wasn’t between England and Scotland, but between British Royal forces and Bonnie Prince Charlie and his forces).

Once we crossed the border, we drove along Dere Street, which was built by the Romans, to our first stop along the wall. This was Housesteads Fort again. But we were only stopping briefly. This was just to give us a taste. We were heading for Steel Rigg.

Along the way, between Housesteads and Steel Rigg, was Sycamore Gap. This is on a part of the wall which runs along the edge of a cliff and has some rather dramatic dips formed by retreating glaciers. In the middle of one of the sharpest dips is an enormous sycamore tree. The tree is a few hundred years old and was used in a pivotal scene near the beginning of the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Steel Rigg got its name from the 17^th century farm that used to be there. It was a cool site with lots of dips and twists in the ground upon which it runs. The wall itself was low and grass covered on top, but it ran on for a ways. It briefly snowed while we were there. The ground got a “wee bit slippy” but we managed to stay on our feet while getting photos and heading back to the van.

Our next stop was Vindolanda. The name comes from a post that was excavated there and was the actual name of the Roman garrison, which predated Hadrian’s Wall and had a village just outside of it. The fort was built 85 AD (the wall 122 AD) and ended up just south of the wall.

Vindolanda has been an active archaeological site since the early 1800s. It has a very interesting museum containing clothing, shoes, pottery, tools, equipment, weapons, and even some skeletons of both dogs and horses. All of these artifacts would have been from between 85 AD and 370 AD. It was amazing to me how well things had been preserved.

The most important artifacts found there have been the Vindolanda Tablets which are handwritten wooden leaf tablets. These were the oldest surviving handwritten documents (in ink) in Britain at the time they were discovered. More recently older documents were found in London. They included letters, various lists (of supplies, for example), military orders, a request for “more beer” –- quite a variety.

I had lunch at a café next to the museum and then went exploring outside. Temples (one was a combined Roman/Celtic temple), bathhouses, barracks, officer’s quarters, storage buildings, domestic homes, and drainage ditches were among the excavations with more buildings being discovered all the time.

In addition, they had replicas of what the origin wooden portions of the wall would have looked like as well as the stone walls. People could enter the replicas and walk along at the height (16 feet) and width (six feet) that the real walls would have been when the Romans were manning them. I climbed up on both the wooden and stone replicas to see what they would have been like.

Originally called Banna (horn) by the Celts, Birdoswald (named for the farm it is on) has a Roman fort, a milecastle (a small fort), a turret, and one of the longest stretches of a pretty solid wall from six to eight feet in height. The site also has the remains of a Dark Ages Hall and a Medieval Tower House as well as the 16^th century farmhouse.

When the Romans arrived, the site was a forested bog. They needed to clear and drain it before they could build. It seems that the main Roman occupants of this fort were Dacians, from what eventually became present day Romania. They know this because of Dacian inscriptions found in the fort and on the wall.

After the Romans left, parts of the fort were still in use. This is also when the Dark Ages Hall was built. Remains from the Anglo-Saxon period have been found at Birdoswald as well as the Middle Ages. The main west gate of the fort was apparently still in use at that time. A small Medieval Tower house was built next to it. By the 16^th century, the west gate had collapsed and the current farmhouse was built. The tower of the farmhouse was added in the 18^th century.

Here was where we had the opportunity to walk on the actual wall. To do so would involve some climbing. This would have been much easier back when I was in my twenties. By 2016 I was a long way from my twenties, but I was determined to walk on the wall. Using my hands as well as my feet, I climbed to a height of about six feet (I judged the height by the distance over my 5’3” head the wall appeared to be at that point).

Once on top of the wall, I walked along it rather gingerly. It was only about three feet wide at this point, rather rough, and missing some stones here and there. Plus, my spring allergies had recently shown me a new symptom –- a slight dizziness. Said dizziness was more pronounced up there on top of the wall. So determined as I was to be up and walk along it, I was being careful not to fall off.

Imagine my feelings as I saw a child, about three feet in height, running along the top of the wall towards me. His parents were down on the ground and didn’t seem to be concerned about his safety any more than mine. They didn’t tell him to stop running or to be careful about me, although they were looking up and could see us both. I froze totally until he passed me. Then I continued on for a while, taking the photo of my foot on the wall that I use here in my blog, before going back down.

Back on terra firma, I took the photo showing some other people on top of the wall coming from the opposite direction. The wall was wider there. The photo of my foot doesn’t give much of an indication of how high up I was, but the photo of the longer course of the wall gives a pretty good idea of both the height and the roughness of the top of the wall. You can probably guess that I was pretty excited about having been able to get up there and walk along for a bit.

We were not too far from Carlisle and from the west coast of England. When our visit at Birdoswald was over, we continued along the wall until reaching Lanercost Priory. The priory was founded in roughly 1169 and used several stones from Hadrian’s Wall. King Edward I of England stayed a few times at the priory and was initially buried there until he was moved to Westminster Abbey.

From Lanercost, we pulled northwards to re-enter Scotland. Our last pit stop was in the town of Moffet. Just outside of town is an area called The Devil’s Beef Tub. This was where four mountains sit very close together to form a very deep and dark ravine. Cattle thieves once used this area to hide themselves and their stolen cattle. Later (in 1935) a Moffat doctor used this location to hide the bodies of his murder victims, including his own family. The road we were on had a sharp drop down into the ravine next to it which provided a pretty dramatic viewpoint.

Back in Edinburgh, I purchased some food at Sainsbury’s for dinner in my room. That night, BBC2 had a three hour “Shakespeare Live” telecast from Stratford-Upon-Avon which was being hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate. I settled in for the night with my dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the show. You can probably pick out Benedict Cumberbatch, Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, and Judy Dench in the cast photo.

Next time – the train to London and a boat trip to Greenwich.