yes-n-no
Saturday, July 11th, 2009by Rachael
somewhere between Corbridge and Hexham, England
A blog reader (hi Sharon!) writes:
Hubby says “They must be getting sick of castles and ruins”.
I say “NO WAY!!”
So, what’s the answer?
You’re both right! (diplomatic of me, huh?!)
Today was a castle-less day, and we didn’t miss them one little bit (well, we are parked just on the side of some woods with a massive lived-in-looking castle complete with crenellations poking up through the trees – and we still did manage to *marvel* at it from a distance….and Jboy13 was rather keen to follow the signs we saw to an archaeological dig at another nearby castle….so no, can’t really say we’re over them just yet).
The next few days will be castle-less. We’re in Hadrian’s Wall country and plan to do a spot of exploring….I guess we’ll find some ruins….hopefully we’re not over them either.
As parents we find castles-and-ruins to be great places, because the children tend to be so engrossed that they forget to argue. Said children love them as well – the games you can play are endless (the ultimate hide-n-seek places, and you’ll never be found if you are prepared to hide in the dunny chute), and they make for inspirational journalling. Usually there’s a good amount of green grass surrounding them too, so if all else fails (not that it has yet), we could bring out a ball to kick around.
Probably the biggest problem is the Information Overload. The audio tours we have listened to have been fascinating, and packed with more information than my head will ever hold. But I’m not trying to retain it all and don’t expect the children to either. These castle rambles are more about developing one of our “education roots”….INSPIRATION. We hope the children will walk away from these crumbling walls with the knowledge that some things last and some things don’t, that you need to choose what to build, that you can choose to live a “lasting” life. We want them to understand that what they do in their own lives can live on forever…..and that it might live on literally for generations. We want them to be able to dream big dreams and pursue a vision. If they don’t remember who fell over the cliff at Scarborough – or was it Tintagel? – it really doesn’t matter!
Because our goal is to inspire, we will stop the castle visits before we start yawning.
So we are enjoying the stone stories…..but, all that said, I can see we will also be looking forward to something non-castle-ish by the end of England. After a week or two in Provence, you’ll be asking “Aren’t they getting sick of good food?” <wink>
Anyway, today was a driving day. We drove through Scarborough town, along the coast, through forest and on to the North Yorkshire Moors. For the past few days, signs had been telling us we were in the moors and I was disappointed. Too much Thomas Hardy had me believing they were covered with heather and a barren desolate place to wander. All the moors we saw were rolling hills covered with agricultural enterprise. There were purple flowers at the roadside, but not the scrubby heather I was expecting.
Then there was today.
Up a hill we climbed, Jgirl14 pointing out from the front van that there was some plant at the side of the road that sounded like my description of heather, and what’s more it was flowering. Sure enough, there was a little. Not exactly the rolling expanse, but better than nothing. I requested a stop to pull over and inspect more closely. Over the hill we were delighted to see sprawling before us, hectares of rolling scrub- covered purple-flowering heather-covered hills. And there was even a layby to pull into. Not only that, there was a stile with a big signpost invitation stating the ground was private, but that we could wander over it if we liked. The biggest continuous heather covered area in all of England. My disappointment abated completely. And you could imagine it being desolate….today was Saturday and the roads ribboning over the hills were full of zooming cars, but in the absence of the vehicles, with a bit of fog and a light drizzle, you’d think you were in the middle of an English novel.
Later in the day we would take another wander. Right beside our night-time-spot (this time a layby just off a fairly main road, wheat field rising up to wood-covered hill on one side, forest on the other) we discovered a wee trail through the trees and fields. Just right for going on a bear hunt and looking for an elephant tree and catching a heffalump (spot our favourite books).
Time on the road: need to check Jboy13’s record!
Distance covered: 182km
rayres