Hadrian's Wall

We left for Scotland mid-morning on Friday July 17. It's about a 6 hour drive to Glasgow, so we broke it up with a stop at Hadrian's Wall in northern England. It was started in 122 AD to define the northern border of the Roman Empire and to defend it from the Scottish clans. There are several places along the wall to stop, but we visited the section near Housesteads Fort. We grabbed lunch at the visitor's center, then headed along the 1/2 mile hilly trail to get to the remains of the fort. There was a nice mini-museum next to the fort that showed some interesting interpretations of what the fort would have looked like back in the 2nd century.  It was a windy day, but the views were amazing! The further we climbed the hill, the further we could see across the countryside. Charlotte loved running around and seeing the sheep grazing around the fort. We spent a couple of hours there in total, then got back in the car to continue on to Glasgow. Well worth the stop!

Charlotte loved holding hands with Grandmom & Granddad as we went up the hill toward the fort

Posing with the family as we headed toward the fort

The remains of the fort from afar

Sheep grazing around the fort

Finding anything possible to climb on

Struggling up the steps but refusing any assistance, classic Little Miss Independent

Hadrian's Wall from the fort

Panorama view

Climbing through the holes built in the side of the grain storage area of the fort; the holes were in place to allow dogs in to catch the rats.

No rats here.

Granddad helping Charlotte down the steps

In the grain storage area; there was a secondary floor above the stones on which the grain was kept to stay away from moisture and vermin. 

Love these people!

Charlotte wasn't cleared to drive but tried anyway...

The rest of the drive went pretty well despite being somewhat rainy. The rain and clouds over the hills felt very Scottish :) We got to our rental cottage, which was in the town of Bishopton (northwest of Glasgow) and very cute! The best part was that there were lots of toys for Charlotte around; her favorite was immediately a play stroller with a little soft baby doll. When I asked her what the doll's name was, she immediately said "Joe." So it was named Baby Joe for the rest of the trip; luckily we were able to leave the cottage on Monday without any traumatic separation from Baby Joe. 

That night, we went to a wonderful restaurant at a local country club (Ingliston). The dinner was fantastic, but the highlight was that the restaurant overlooked indoor horse rings. Charlotte loved it, and she and Granddad went out walking around the rings a couple of times while we were waiting for dinner, etc. I'd recommend the restaurant for sure!

The view from our table