Northumbria - Final
Hi All
Hope that all is well in your patch and that this finds you happy and healthy. We were a bit surprised that so many of you commented on our lack of updates over the past few weeks. We thought it may have becoming a bit boring so we decided to give it a break. Thanks for your lovely words and support. Also many thanks again to those who have contacted us with your news & etc. We loved hearing all of it!
All is good here as we start to wind up our house sit in Northumbria. Geez - where did that 2 months go? Since we last updated the blog we have been pretty busy, but as it was a fair bit of the same as before we didn’t want to bore you with the micro details of it all. But anyhow, here are a few of the highlights.
Phil returned from her little sojourn in Scotland with sister Ann-Marie & Jean Daniel where she had more family catch up time with her brother and sister in law Brian & Edith, nephews Andrew, Martin, Amy, and the McCormack cousins in Troon. With John, Angie, Jim & Jean we shared great dinners, laughs, golf and family up-dates, all making for loving memories to remember, all helped along with some great swally!! AM & JD stayed for a couple of days on their way down before heading further south for a canal boat trip at Stratford upon Avon before heading back to France. We will catch up with them in Paris after coming back from Spain or where ever the wind blows us in from, before we return back to Australia in late September.
As we are going to be doing a few days walking on the West Highland Way in Scotland before heading to Spain, we thought it prudent to try for a few longer walks before the event. One day we took off up into the Otterburn Ranges which straddles the Scottish / English border to clock up a few kilometres. The walk we picked was supposed to be about 18 kms with a climb up to about 750 metres. As it turned out, the "map monitor" had the map stolen by a thieving English gale which hid it somewhere in a Scottish moor never to be seen again. Well - that’s her story anyhow! To cut a long story short, the map was gone, we got a bit geographically embarrassed in the middle of a dark and scary forest, added another 8-10 kms onto our intended walk and got a bit more training in than was intended. This addition was on a military training ground complete with camo soldiers carrying rather nasty looking ordnance that could cause a lot of grief, which was a bit of a worry.
But - the area we walked in, up on the high moors was one of the most isolated areas in the region and certainly felt it with uninterrupted views over Scotland and England that were absolutely stunning. The border itself is nothing but a sheep fence and little to tell you that it was a national border as you crossed and recrossed it at a number of points. Certainly is a no frills affair, but Phil said she could feel the difference??? Up at the summit of Windy Gyle, the border is marked by a small concrete plinth on top of a cairn built to commemorate one Lord Russell who met a nasty end here in 1585 while the Scots and the English were trying to sort out who owned what. Bet THAT was an interesting exercise seeing as blood was spilt to make a point! And to this day they still argue about it. But the truly fascinating part of the area - apart from the near freezing weather change and the awesome scenery - was that this cairn is built on top of a Bronze Age hill fort dating back about 3-4,000 years and is along an old Roman road. Just love that feeling of the antiquity up on the high moors.
We took a trip over to Carlisle on the west coast to catch up with an ex work colleague of Volker’s who also spent time up on the Kokoda Track as a volunteer when Volker was up in Papua New Guinea. She had been studying up in Glasgow and caught the train down for the day. Phil had some shopping to do just over the Scottish border at Gretna Green, so off we went on a magical mystery tour courtesy of a wayward GPS and ended up at the old Blacksmiths Shop where marriages were performed for run away under-aged English couples in the mid 1700’s to the late 1800’s who wanted to tie the knot. In Scotland boys as young as 14 and girls as young as 12 could get married. In England the age of consent without parents approval was 21. Hmmmm! Make of that what you will!!. These days the legal age in England is 18 and in Scotland is 16, so it still goes on a bit. Phil remembers people she knew running way to Greta Green to get married in the late 1960’s. Anyhow it was great to catch up with Kosette and we reminisce days gone by, who was doing what, where and when. Thanks for coming down Kosette. Lovely to catch up again.
One of Phil’s long time mates Gillie, and her husband Duncan & brother Robbie called in to say hullo on their way down from Scotland and they spent an evening reminiscing the good old days while hubby Duncan and Volker watched Germany totally blitzkrieg Brazil in the world cup semi final. What a let down THAT was after all the Brazilian hype. It was embarrassingly boring with a 7-1 score line.
Our "grande finale" was a walk up into the Cheviot Ranges on the Scottish / English border again, which boasts the highest peak in Northumbria - the Cheviot - that stands at 816 metres (2,676 feet). OK - Mt. Everest it is not, but up here it is still pretty high. It was a great walk, with the heather just starting to come into bloom on the hillsides and high moors which is a pretty stunning sight. In another week or so the hillsides will look absolutely amazing. I can now see what it is that the Scots love about their heather covered hills and moors. WOW - the colour!! Hopefully we will get to see more in Scotland next week. As per above walk in the Otterburn Ranges, walking over the sodden high moors (even though it is mid summer) overlooking Scotland, England as well well as the Northumbrian coastline in the distance was just one of those walks that was truly memorable. The weather was even kind to us on this occasion which was a bonus. Phil - with a dodgy knee and breaking in new boots (which resulted in a speccy blister), did a stirling job. She raised her personal bar considerably, by retaining the map, did the walk with a minimum of squabbling toward errant / non existent sign posts or map directions and by walking to her highest point (so far) in the UK. On ya Phil! Look out Ben Nevis - here she comes!
The one lasting impression we will both take away is the beauty and the isolation of this area we encountered on both walks. For such a densely populated country of 64 million people, this area is such a contrast to that notion. In fact the Fleurieu Peninsula where we live is positively densely populated in comparison. What a way to finish off. Whooo HOOO!! We had a great day out which was a fitting finish to our time in Northumbria. We celebrated this milestone with the Uisge Beatha (Gaelic for Water of Life) or commonly know as whiskey while indulging ourselves in a spa bath to sooth the tired aching legs etc.
While doing that, we looked back over our two OS house sits and philosophically analysed the outcomes to date. Whiskey will do that to you! We never knew what to expect when we got into these house sits. The web page advertisements tells you only so much and your imagination makes up the rest. We chat to the house owners via Skype to get some idea, but until you are actually there in the place, it’s still unknown. You literally step into peoples lives and residences and take up where they left off. Taking care of their beloved pets can be a bit of a worry, especially when they get sick, but so far so good. The whole experience to date, both here in Northumbria and Switzerland is something we could never contemplate without undertaking the sits. The cost of accommodation - especially with the exchange rate here in the UK would just be way out of our reach. The sits have allowed us to immerse ourselves into the places, discover the hidden secrets and the things that make a place tick, which you can’t do with a quick tourist visit.
We have been able to cross off a few personal boxes that would have been difficult if not impossible without the extended sits. For Phil it was having the opportunity to catch up with family and friends both here in the UK and in Switzerland and to discover a part of the UK she had never really been to. For Volker it was the opportunity to clamber around mountain peaks, high moors and getting immersed into some totally different landscapes that literally ooze with mud, antiquity and history.
It has been such a wonderful experience thus far. That’s not to say it hasn’t had it moments, but that is what life is - even at home. However, on balance we have had some awesome adventures, seen some stunning scenery, had great places to stay in and we both agree it’s all about what you make of it. A blinkered approach or comparing everything to home would make it a pretty ordinary experience. We have found that you will only get out of it what you are prepared to put into it. You need to be open to anything and everything and to compromise with each other to make it work. Sometimes bringing all that together at the same time can be a challenge, but to date - well - we haven't killed or maimed each other, which is a bonus and as we have said - it has been a wonderful, wonderful experience thus far.
So - it’s farewell to Northoombria (as the Geordies would say), a final pat for Murphy and Skye - our new found furry friends and off we go to Scotland early next week to "wander aboot the heilands" and for Phil to have a final catch up with family before heading off once again to a new adventure.
We are both so looking forward to our 6 week sit in Spain as neither of us have been there before. We go there knowing very little of where we are going or what we will be doing. Neither of us can speak the language or know anything about the local customs. But this is what makes travelling so much adventurous fun. The unknown, with no expectations (other that it will be hot) and with no pre-conceived ideas is what makes this lifestyle so appealing to both of us. Bring it on we say!
Till next time - stay safe, (and warm if your in South Australia by the sound of it) and make each day count.
Best wishes and lots of love.
Philomena & Volker
