Last days in Britain

After a fantastic week up north in Northumberland, we have come back down south to Cheltenham (near Gloucester) to be near friends. Our time up north was another wonderful jaunt back in history. We explored the furthest Roman settlements on Hadrian's Wall. And we saw some of the earliest and most important sites for early Christianity in England, including Lindisfarne (Holy Isle) where St. Aidan established a monastery at the invitation of King (and St.) Oswald. Aidan brought the Irish tradition of Christianity from the island of Iona. We also visited Whitby Abbey where St. Hilda was abbess and hosted the important synod that brought harmony between Irish and Roman Christianity. And as Emily mentioned, we visited Jarrow (now part of greater Newcastle) where the Venerable Bede lived and wrote his famous history of the English people, and from whom we have most of our knowledge about that early period of Christianity.

We were also amazed at the beauty of the Pennines (very wild still and mostly uninhabited) and the Lake District where we visited my friend Adrian Barlow. He is in the midst of restoring a fabulous (and from our perspective) opulent country home back to its former glory. The property goes back to the 1500's under the name of Keen Ground and was formerly part of the grand estates of Furness Abbey. After the dissolution the property was separated and the house dates from the early 1700's. It was renovated several times, most recently in 1922 and a formal garden added by Thomas Mawson. The house has a view of the valley and sits above the charming village of Hawkshead. We toured the grammar school there which was established by the Archbishop of York and granted a royal charter by Elizabeth I in 1585. William Wordsworth was educated there and we have a photo of his name scratched into a desk.

Now we are visiting with Graham Donaldson and family in Cheltenham. The girls have really enjoyed playing with his four children. And tomorrow we will catch up with another friend, James Luckhurst and his family.

Despite all the wonderful places we have seen and the history we have learned, for me the best part of our trip has been the people. Meeting the parishioners in Brymbo and Southsea, catching up with Welsh relatives and seeing friends from high school, college and Jamestown. It has made the visit more personal, I guess. Sightseeing is fun, but it is entirely different to be with people you know and love and to establish or reestablish relationships.