Arrived in Hexham, Northumberland

A little less than 2 1/2 hours after leaving Glyn & Marjie’s, we all arrived safely at our rented holiday home in Hexham, which for the next two weeks will be our base for exploring the county of Northumberland. With only 1 wrong turn into the driveway of a property close to our destination, we found the country lane that we were looking for and the entrance to “Orchard Cottage.” Although in a rural setting, the cottage is conveniently located approximately 2 Miles from supermarkets and the shops of Hexham. With the owners living in a larger property further up the lane + another couple of homes branching off the lane, the setting is private and idyllic - surrounded as it is by large trees and green fields full of sheep.
“Orchard Cottage” is an attractive stone building, with a large, well-equipped kitchen, a double oven and a dining table that seats 10. The ground floor also has 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms + a living room with a fireplace. Two sets of large patio doors lead out from the ground floor to a private garden that wraps around the house. On the second floor, in the converted attic, are 2 more bedrooms and another full bathroom. With dormer windows in the ceiling and floor to ceiling windows in each bedroom, this second floor is flooded with light.
After settling in, we’ve had a quick walkabout in the town of Hexham - deciding that we need to explore it in more depth another day. We’ve also had a couple of day trips - the first of which was Cragside House - a 19th century mock Tudor mansion set in one of the largest rock gardens in Europe. It was first built in 1863 as a small country getaway, before being expanded, furnished and decorated in a more lavish style in 1880. Owned by the wealthy industrialist and inventor William Armstrong (who became a Baron), the house was not only filled with art and collectibles, it also housed a laboratory and an observatory. Lord Armstrong introduced some ideas and inventions into the house which, although common today, were unusual at the time.....these included a passenger elevator, a washing machine, a dishwasher, a telephone and even a Turkish Bath! Cragside House was made famous when it became the first building in the world to be lit by hydroelectric power...its lamps were converted in order to use the first electric lightbulbs. Beside Tumbleton Lake we saw an Archimedes Screw, seventeen metres long, that powers and produces energy for the lights at the house and other buildings on the estate.
While visiting Cragside House we not only observed the “wonders” of the house, but walked and enjoyed some of the surrounding woodlands and gardens - the Baron was also a dedicated landscape gardener. On his estate he created 5 lakes and planted over 7 million trees and shrubs! We could not, of course see it all - but on the day we were there, we enjoyed walking some of the paths which at this time of year are ablaze with rhododendrons all along their edges. One added bonus of all the trees is that the endangered British red squirrels have made a home there.
For a completely different type of outing, we took a short trip of about 10 miles to Housesteads - an excavated Roman Fort. With its back set into a scenic area of Hadrian’s Wall, it’s an impressive site, set high on a hill. The approach is up a fairly steep path 10-15 minutes walk from the visitor-centre where a car park and the entrance/gift shop is located. Once the site is reached there is another building which houses artifacts and where a short film outlining life during this Roman period can be seen.
Housesteads is the most complete Roman Fort to be seen in Britain - one of several permanent forts, built for the occupying force, by the Emperor Hadrian in about AD 124. Arriving for a tour of inspection of Britain in AD 122, the Emperor began to change things - there had been some hard fighting from the north by the Brigantes and their sub-tribes.....and so.......the building of Hadrian’s Wall began. Running from coast to coast for 75 miles, with defensive ditches and large forts along the way, it formed the northernmost frontier of the Romand Empire. Taking 6 years to build, with a workforce of about 15,000 men, only about 10% of the original wall can be seen today - over the centuries the stones have been buried, destroyed or removed for other buildings. Although planned by officers, the actual construction was carried out by ordinary soldiers from the legions....not just an effective fighting force, they had many other skills as craftsmen and builders.
The remains of Housesteads includes barracks - where the soldiers and officers lived + granaries and a bakehouse with ovens. The bakehouses were close to the barracks in order for the men to bake their own bread....but far enough away to avoid fires! The amount of food needed for 800 men was enormous, and all foodstuffs had to be kept safe from hazards - not only fire, but from mould and vermin.
The largest and most important building in the fort was the praetorium for the commanding officer (praefectus) and his family. Designed for a Mediterranean climate, it had a central courtyard which provided cool and shade, but in this location it provided protection from wind, rain and snow! We quickly discovered that even in June, due to its high location, it was chilly place - so we kept moving and climbing - up and over these excavated ruins, all the while getting a feel for lives that were lived here 2,000 years ago.
Exiting the Fort we walked down and around its back entrance, following Hadrian’s wall down into a valley where we could get more of an appreciation of the walls length, width and size....it travelled onwards and over the next hill - as far as we could see......we look forward to exploring a little more of it!