Okay, I promised no more abbey ruins, but obviously I can’t do that. Here are ruins with a twist: What does an 18th-century earl do when looking for a way to impress his guests? He builds a grass terrace on a hillside flanked by two “temples” – one Roman and one Greek – in which to entertain them. And no fake medieval ruins in his garden like the neighbors might erect; this park has views of the real Rievaulx Abbey ruins.

York wins the prize for best historical city so far. What an amazing place! A political hot-spot in England for centuries since the Romans made it the capital of Britannia Inferior, a staging post for soldiers going off to defend Hadrian’s Wall. (See Hadrian’s Wall post)

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Later York became a center for the wool trade, the Church of England, the British railway, and chocolate. Note: I didn’t see a single York Peppermint Patty while we were there, but I did see a Nestlé factory.

I just can’t get enough of these hauntingly beautiful ruins. There are so many of them because of the Dissolution. When the Pope refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Henry established the Church of England and had himself declared head of the church in order to get his divorce. Then from 1536-1541 he had all the Catholic monasteries, abbeys, churches, and cathedrals destroyed, if they did not agree to change religions. Well, that’s one way to get things done.

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Our “home from home,” as the Brits say, in the most picturesque village in the Lake District – Ambleside. How Head is the oldest building in Ambleside; it was begun in 1044 and added on to over the centuries. The main building is divided into four homes now. Our landlords live in the Barn section of the eventual structure. Our flat is on the ground floor, under their house.

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There is something so compelling about exploring the most remote reaches of any country. Both Marcus and I knew we wanted to see Hadrian’s Wall while in England – the northern-most border of the mighty Roman Empire. The Romans felt the need to build the wall to keep out the “savage” Picts, the Celtic settlers of what the Romans called Britannia. The Romans pushed them into the northern-most region of the island, but couldn’t conquer them. The best they could do was build the 73-mile-long fortification across the northern border to keep them out of Britannia. It was approximately 15 feet high and 9 feet thick back in the day – before the decline of the Roman Empire and locals started carting off stones to build their homes – and was heavily fortified. Every five miles along the wall were huge forts that housed 1000 soldiers, and at every mile in between the forts were milecastles, which housed 30 soldiers. In between every two milescastles were two turrets where four men kept constant watch… for 250 years! Amazing!

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When I first started researching a trip to England, I thought we would just be visiting the southern part – and then I saw this photo. I think I’d seen it before – Lindisfarne is a very popular tourist spot – but this was the first time I’d seen it with the possibility of going to visit it. That’s when I decided that we’d have to see the whole country, and we might as well throw in Scotland and Wales while we’re at it. There is just so much beauty in Great Britain, and three months is not enough time to see everything.

Lindisfarne is on Holy Island, off the most northeastern coast of England – a heavily fortified coast due to constant threats from the Scots and the Vikings. There is a six-hour window when you can drive the causeway from the mainland to Holy Island; otherwise the road is covered with water. There have been numerous rescues of cars stranded on the causeway. You have to check the tide tables before you go. We made it safely there and back, and while there hiked up to the castle. A dream realized….

The dramatic weather at the border (see post “Goodbye, Scotland!”) was truly an indication of changes to come. At the risk of jinxing things, I will say that the weather has been gorgeous since we’ve been in England. Touring Lindisfarne Castle and Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland and our whole week in the Lake District of Cumbria has been under sunny and warm skies. The Lake District is supposed to be the rainiest spot in England (250 days of rain per year), but we have had fabulous weather for hiking. Posts to come of those great hikes…