Twitter
LinkedIN
deviantArt
Flickr
Skype
RSS FeedAPR
20
In Scotland again...
Today we head up into Scotland, but first we make a stop at Durham to visit the town and cathedral. Unfortunately they don't allow photos inside the actual cathedral, so I don't have any there, although I did buy a few postcards that show the insides and I'll scan those at a later date. It really annoys me when they don't allow photography inside this historical buildings—I can understand that they don't want people using flash and disturbing the people who are actually worshipping in these churches, but I also believe they have an obligation to share the history that's there. Part of the reason they don't allow photography is that they want to sell their own guidebooks and postcards, etc, and I can't really fault that either as it costs a lot of money too keep these buildings up. Most of the cathedrals do not receive any money from the government, so they rely on donations and the monies from whatever sales they make in their gift shops. I was allowed to photograph outside and in the cloister though, so I have a few shots there.
Durham Cathedral Sanctuary door knocker. Durham, UK
This image seems to be a popular one because they also sell a postcard of it. It's entitled "The Sanctuary Knocker."
From Durham we had a bit of a journey up the motorway into Scotland. Along the way we pass through Gateshead and see the Angel of the North—A metal giant statue of a humanoid figure with outstretched wings. It is some 90 feet high, with a 120 foot "wingspan" and apparently caused quite a stir because of what it cost when the area was looking for money for other programs. I don't have a photo of it this time since we saw it from the motorway as we were driving by at 80 kph in the rain, but I did take a photo on one of my previous UK trips.
Hadrian's Wall. Northumberland, UK
Just before you get to Scotland, you find Hadrian's Wall. A wall built in the 100's AD by the emperor Hadrian to keep the Picts in Scotland and stop them from constantly attacking the Romans who had occupied what is now England. The wall went from coast to coast, and was said to be 30 feet high and 10 feet wide, and had a fortified tower at every mile along it's length. Not much remains of the wall these days as people had been carting the stones away for centuries to build other things after Hadrian died and the Romans withdrew from England, etc. What we saw was just a small section of the wall. While photographing the wall, I had a visit from these two horses, so I took a few shots of them too.
Scottish Border Marker. Along A68 near Northumberland, UK
After our quick photo stop at Hadrian's wall, we finally made it up into Scotland and stopped at the old border for another quick photo stop.
I'm sure that every person that drives into Scotland for the first time has a photo of them standing in front of this rock. There's usually an entrepreneurial Scotsman standing here playing the bagpipes who, for a small donation, will allow the tourists to get their photos taken standing beside him and the rock saying "Scotland." Apparently the weather was too miserable for him or his compatriots to show up today.