14 February - Carlisle to Glasgow

After a restful night in Carlisle we packed up and headed out for a busy day. Our first task was a geocache behind Carlisle Cathedral. While Louise kept watch for muggles (anyone who does not geocache) Jeff found the cache.
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After finding the cache we toured the cathedral. Unfortunately it was a dull day so it was difficult to take any pictures of the interior; the spaces are so large that the light from the flash just gets lost. I was able to photograph the beautiful ceiling and the remains of a possible relative, Bishop Harvey Goodwin. It would be nice to have a Bishop in the family. I was remiss in not taking any photos of the exterior of the cathedral. That is a task I will do on my next trip to Carlisle. The cathedral and many of the surrounding buildings are constructed of a red sandstone stained with black soot. The verger explained that the railway station was quite close to the cathedral for many years and the coal burning steam engines produced this unsightly 'patina'.

After the cathedral we wander downtown for a spot of shopping. While Maeghan and Louise were checking out clothes, Alexander was checking out the local scenery, the two legged kind.



Our first stop on our journey from Carlisle to Glasgow was Bank East Turret, a part of the western end of Hadrian's wall. I included the photo of the sign post at Bank East Turret to give some idea of the construction used. The existing road travels between the wall and a defensive ditch to the north. In many paces only the ditch shows the route of the wall. What a lonely existence for Roman soldiers posted to defend the wall. I am not sure exactly what the topography looked like some 2000 years ago, but they certainly would not have seen the tilled fields and fences we see today. It may have been covered with forests or open grasslands, but whatever it was it would have been lonely.

The hunt for a second geocache brought us to St Michael and All Angels Church. After a short search Jeff and Louise found a an old well behind the church and the geocache.




We finally arrived in Scotland!! It was a small creek that separated the two countries, but I had to take a picture of it. In Canada surveyors laid out most of the boundaries between the Canadian provinces and Canada and the United States, so it was interesting to see a physical boundary rather than an imaginary line.
Jeff and Louise didn't care for the picture Jeff took so asked me to snap one. The kids aren't in the picture because they are in the car watching a movie.