Silverstone Classic 2022
I flew into Heathrow in late August for an overseas holiday. First stop was the Silverstone Classic, Britain’s biggest historic motor racing event. Over the Bank Holiday weekend (26 – 28 August 2022) it featured three days of on-track action for classic racing cars from the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s (with a race for pre-war cars as a bonus). As you can see, the weather was gorgeous — and so were the cars.
(Click on any image for a full size view, than arrow or click left and right through the gallery.)
Hadrian’s Wall
After the Classic I met up with a buddy in London. He’s interested in Roman archeology and I’m keen on long walks, so we’d decided to combine our interests by walking Hadrian’s Wall Path together. This 135km long trail follows the course of the eponymous wall — which, in Roman times, protected the settled lands of England from the savage Scots to the north.
Day One: Bowness to Carlisle (23km)
We started by taking a train to Carlisle, near the western, or Cumbrian, trailhead. Next morning we caught the (very) early morning bus to the actual start of the trail on the coast at Bowness on Solway. From there it was a 23 km walk back along the Solway Flats, and through some very pretty villages, to Carlisle. Along the way we visited St Michael’s Church where King Edward I (the “Hammer of the Scots”) lay in state after perishing of dysentery on the Solway sands in 1307. A statue at nearby Burgh (“Broff”) by Sands commemorates his reign.
Day Two: Carlisle to Brampton (20km)
The second day featured some nice walking through pretty farm country, but still no visible remnant of the wall. After the Romans left Britain, generations of local farmers used it as a source of dressed stone for their own fences and houses. By the time some 19th century landowners decided there was history here worth saving, only some decapitated stretches in the centre highlands remained.
Day Three: Brampton to Haltwhistle (25km)
From Brampton we left the environs of Carlisle and started climbing into hill country — only stopping for tea and scones at the Birdoswold Roman fort and museum. The first stretches of wall appeared today, along with occasional foundation stones of the mile forts that the Romans built every Roman mile (1,481 metres) along the wall. We left the trail at Greenhead, taking a taxi to Haltwhistle, where we were booked for the night at the marvellous Old Schoolhouse B&B (Ian, the very friendly host, met us at the door with the question, “would you like a beer?”).
Day Four: Haltwhistle to Bardon Mill (20km)
Ian today continued to demonstrate how well The Old Schoolhouse looks after walkers by driving us back to the path at the Roman Army Museum near Greenhead. This small museum (and dig site) was well worth a short visit before we started walking up a series of remote, wind-swept crags that define the central stretch of the path. These are an extension of the Pennines, the mountain spine separating Great Britain into right and left halves, and the best bits of the wall are here, along with the most spectacular views. Even on the crags, though, so much stone has been looted that the wall seldom reaches more than a metre or so high. We ended the day at the “Bowes Hotel”, a few rooms above the pub in the tiny village of Bardon Mill. That evening I visited the bar to find the village’s annual Leek Auction in full flow.
Day Five: Vindolanda (4km)
A rest day today as we visited the excellent Roman museum and dig sit at Vindolanda, only covering a few kilometres in the afternoon when we relocated from Bardon Mill to the pub hotel at Twice Brewed.
Day Six: Twice Brewed to Chollerford (23km)
From Twice Brewed it was a short walk back up on the crags for more spectacular views following the wall. We stopped for lunch at Housesteads, where there’s a small museum and you can see the foundations of a large Roman fort. By afternoon we were dropping back down to lower, flatter farm county. An hour out from Chollerford, and the George Hotel, we got the first real rain of the whole walk and arrived thoroughly wet. This was a good chance to appreciate the difference between European style pub-to-pub walking as opposed to North American style backpacking with a tent!
Day Seven: Chollerford to Heddon (31km)
I anticipated a dull day today as we were back in farm country, with the path frequently paralleling a nearby motorway. Instead, it was a nice day of easy walking, with good views and the cars usually out of sight. But what defined the day was the stopping, not the walking. First up was Errington Coffee House, right on the path, in time for an early lunch of scones and raspberry jam. In the afternoon, we paused for a beer at the Robin Hood pub, a popular pick up point, and also right on the path. In consequence we were a little late reaching our night’s stay at the Heddon Lodge B&B.
Day Eight: Heddon to Newcastle (20km)
An early start and a misty, wet morning made for an atmospheric walk down to the banks of the Tyne River. But the nice river walk soon gave way to the scruffy outer suburbs of Newcastle and a rather anti-climactic end to the walk. Still, it was a great experience to spend eight days in The North, perhaps the prettiest and (almost certainly) the friendliest region of all England. (Note: You may have noticed my daily mileages add up to more than the official 135km length of the path; these were recorded by my Apple Watch and include the extra distance incurred for detours, site-wanders, trekking to accommodation off the trail, and getting lost.)
Germany / Bavaria
From Newcastle, Gene and I took a train back to Heathrow, flying to Düsseldorf the next day to meet friends for a week in southern Germany. Together we visited medieval villages and historic sites and enjoyed Oktoberfest (including lots of the South German staples of beer, bread, potatoes, and sausage!). Didn’t take many photos, but Nördlingen (battlefield and city), the Bavarian Army museum, and the incredible arms and armour collection at Castle Vespe-Coburg were high points. We even managed a side trip to check out the pilsener in Pilsen, Czechia for a couple of days.
London / HMS Belfast
From Düsseldorf it was back to London, where I had two free days before flying home. The highlight was visiting HMS Belfast, a WWII era light cruiser now moored next to Tower Bridge in the Thames as a floating museum. The analogue systems used to drive this pre-computer, 600 foot long, 11,500 ton ship through the sea at 32 knots, hit targets fifteen miles away with its dozen six-inch guns, and support a crew of 800 souls were incredible — in both their complexity and their sturdy, mechanical beauty.
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