Those photos I promised... :)

So, getting back to where I left off in my last post, here are the photos from our trip to Hadrian's Wall...

Here are Nadine and Julia - looking surprisingly awake for 9am on a Sunday morning...

Some Roman sheep near Housesteads fort - they look like giant bunny rabbits when they run

One of the lakes along the way... I think its called Lough Crag

a quick stop for munchies... (the second of three - first there was second breakfast, this was elevensies, and then we had lunch around 1. I think we're all turning into hobbits!)

And of course, the requisite stop at the Milecaste Inn while we waited for the bus back to town!

Last weekend, we headed out to South Shields to see the lighthouse at Souter Point. (this is what you get for living with someone who has both National Trust and and English Heritage membership cards!) :)

Michelle and Nadine, bundled up against the less than pleasant weather

The lighthouse (circa 1900) was the first electric lighthouse in the world... before it was built, ships used to crash into the underwater reef between Sunderland and South Shields - both acidentally, and because the locals would set up false lights to lure the ships into the reef, cause them to crash, and then steal all the goods!

After we viewed the lighthouse, we took a walk along the cliffs towards South Shields. We got as far as Marsden Bay and then decided to take a quick walk on the beach before getting the bus home.

view of the limestone cliffs, looking toward Marsden Bay

On the beach at Marsden Bay


closeup of the limestone pillar

The old Grotto Pub - it was closed sometime this spring because the fire inspectors thought that the steps leading up the cliff were no longer safe, and therefore the pub didn't have a sufficient fire escape... the repairs on the steps should be finished soon, but it doesn't look like the pub is likely to re-open for a while.