An Unexpected Day Off

Shortly after Andrew and I had arrived at our respective offices this morning (yes - you read that right - I have somewhat of a job; but more on that in another post...) a construction crew cut a power line that supplied power, including internet and server access, to both our offices.  Suddenly without power, and without much to do, pretty much everyone was sent home, and we found ourselves with an unexpected day off.

So what did we do?  Well, first I picked up a few groceries and put some dinner in the slow cooker.  But then, Andrew and I spent the day touring Hadrian's Wall and the Lanercost Priory.

Hadrian's Wall was built in 122 AD on the orders of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.  The Roman Empire was at its peak and they controlled much of island of what is today Great Britain.  Rome was unable to control the entire island, so a wall was built to prevent the advancement of the "barbarians" in the north (which today is Scotland).  Much of the wall no longer stands, but there are a number of Roman forts and sections of wall that are still around nearly 2000 years later.  We spent a good bit of time in the museum as well as exploring one of the forts.  There's one 1/2 mile section of wall that visitors are allowed to walk on.  The rest is protected for its preservation.  We enjoyed our time at the Roman Fort as well as walking on the wall.  Today, we sported our rain coats in much more typical fall weather for this area.

On our way back to Carlisle, we stopped at the Lanercost Priory.  The priory was founded as a monastery in the mid 1100s.  It served many years as a monastery, but its location lent itself to frequent attacks by the Scots.  In the 16th century, it was dissolved by Henry VIII and later made into the home of Sir Thomas Dacre.  Much of the priory is in ruins today, although remarkably well preserved.  Part has been renovated and remains an active church.

It was a treat to have unexpected time together to explore some history so very close to where we're staying these few months.