The Road Home (Part 6)

Last day on the farm. I made the most of a sunny morning by going for a walk around the fields. Here's the farm in sunlight:

Wandered down to find this pretty little meadow - some serious frolicking ensued. After that it was time to head off, this time via a different route and the hope that it would at some point lead to familiar roads. Turns out to have been a bit of a winner, because rounding one of the steep corners of the fells I was confronted with this sight:What the...there's another one!!Further on down the fell I found the source of all this: a section of road either side of which was full to bursting with caravans, hacks, ponies, kids with rat tails and what I assumed were gypsies. Naturally I had to get out and say hello to the ponies.

Especially this one, who was rocking a funky looking 'do.

My Little Punk Rocker.

All this was presided over by police who were, by their own admission, less than speedy.

Get it? GET IT?

Moving on, back to the head of the Kirkstone Pass, stopping at the inn/pub at the top, which must do a heck of a lot of business. Looking out the window I could see people climbing the rocky mountains around us, and this sight.

I still don't know what the heck that is.

Anyway, thus endeth the holiday, and I'm happy to say that I neither received a speeding ticket (far too scared of the narrow roads to even approach the speed limit) nor a scratch (none that the hire car people noticed, anyway), and made it back to London in one piece.

I did, however, stop traffic at one point to grab this photo. Couldn't resist.

Hadrian's Wall, or Yet Another Tumble (Part 5)

Woke up to a promisingly cloudy day:
After a quick visit to the at first startled and then startlingly curious cows:

...it was time to venture out towards Hadrian's Wall. It continued to amaze me that I could find my way to places, but I did make it to the car park at Steel Rigg, which sits just near the wall.Delightfully atmospheric, yes?

It was a wee bit wet, but armed with a newly-purchased jacket and uncharacteristic attention to the weather I soldiered on, making sure, as advised by the official website, not to travel by established paths where possible, so as to preserve the wall a bit more. Passed by the bottom of a cliff, where a group of kids were being taught to rock climb. I wasn't even a little bit jealous.

Up the stone steps - incredibly well-cut but steeper than they looked...

- to my first view from the wall.A Bluebear shot was neccessary at this point.

And, due to popular (unwise) demand, one photo of me:

Some more beauty shots:
Had a great time walking the wall, taking especial care going up and down the dips between the hills, one of which housed this fort, no doubt there for those occasions when this 4-foot high wall wasn't enough to keep out marauding Scots.

And along to Sycamore Gap, slightly famous as being featured in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (also known as That One Where Alan Rickman is Awesome and Kevin Costner Is Not). Spent quite a bit of time in the Gap, frolicking on the wall (ok, yes, the website told me not to walk on the wall, but if Kevin Costner can do it, then I'm bloody well going to have a go) and looking in vain for the rumoured carving of a swastika in one of the stones.

Back up the other side of the Gap, to a gorgeous lookout (get ready for a lot of photos):

Apologies again to Mum, but yes, I did venture out onto some ledges that you might have been quite uncomfortable with (and given what happened later I probably should've avoided), but it was just so lovely.

My most Artistic shot of the day - swans on a cloudy lake:

Around here I decided I had been wet long enough and turned back. Managed quite well, being very careful on the steps, etc., until I planted a foot on a slipperier-than-it-looked rock and went banana-skinning onto my rear. Despite the extra padding of a few cooked breakfasts, this was not enough to save my poor tail bone. Owch.

Oh, and here's a fat little bird and some massive slugs:

Run...don't walk, from...THE SLUG!

After a quick lunch at a nearby inn, at which I added a pin to their map of the world to mark Canberra, and found this, the best business card ever created:

...I thought it was best after that to go back to the farm and warm up a bit. Besieged at one point by the cat, who came into the room to rub its fur all over the floor and myself...

...I snapped this shot, just before going to sleep, of the evening mists.