Ice ages...and confusion on dating

When we talk about pre history up here in Northumberland we always end up confused.What is meant by stone age,bronze age and so on.And when was the last ice age?

Well the 1st thing to say is that the general sequence is stone to copper to bronze to iron.When each civilisation made the jump between these ages varies across the world.

Anyway...between 18000 and 10000 years ago the ice retreated for the last time.The sea rose and there was pressure on the small tribes to find new sources of food. As a reference it is worth noting that the cave paintings at Lascaux in France were drawn between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago.

The Neolithic age started around 7000 bc with the development of agriculture. But it was some time before these changes reached Northumberland.

Eden Valley

At the moment the country to the south of Carlisle is a little bit outside the area where we have our self catering cottages.However we hope soon to be able to offer accommodation in the Eden Valley.

This is really a delightful part of England.The valley runs from Appleby in Westmoreland through to where it opens onto the Solway plains and the medieval border city of Carlisle. The predominant bedrock is Penrith red sandstone with its distinctive colour and easily worked stone.

Cumbria as a whole is a dairy county heavily dependent upon the dairy herds. However the Eden Valley shares it's riches with sheep farmers as well.

So if you are exploring Hadrian's Wall country why not take a day or so to explore a little further south. It is really beautiful down in the Eden Valley.

The Emperor Hadrian

It's funny how as soon as you hear "Hadrian's Wall" ....well everyone thinks of the wall itself but very few people know anything about Hadrian himself. So what was the man like?Well....

1. He lived AD 78 to AD 138.
2. He was a lover of all things Greek and was closely associated with the stoics.He also sported a beard which was both unusual and very Greek.
3. Hadrian was the most travelled of all Roman emperors. Born and brought up in Spain he had a successful military career, mainly as an aide to the Emperor Trajan. His campaigns were mainly in Romania and the middle east ( against the jews and in egypt).
4. The biggest influence in his personal life was a young greek man, Antinous who eventually drowned ,tragically in the Nile. A devasted Hadrian then had Antinous deified.
5. Tremendously ambitious, educated, well travelled but true to the poisonous nature of Roman politics reviled when he died.

Just one other small note we have now launched a small website dedicated to our self catering cottages on Hadrians Wall.

Thatched Cottages

The Thatched Cottage, Code 450

There is something mystical and romantic about staying in a picturesque cottage with a thatched roof. We are now very fortunate to be able to offer our customers the chance of having such a holiday in a chocolate box cottage aptly named The Thatched Cottage, situated at Polwarth near Duns in the Scottish Borders a short drive from Berwick upon Tweed.

Did you know that using thatch as a roofing material can be traced back as far as the Bronze Age. Some thatched cottages with straw roofs have the original thatch as a base coat, which means that it is possible the original roof could have been a medieval cereal crop as a first coat, how amazing is that!

The material most commonly used in England for thatching is straw which could be either longstraw or combed wheat reed. A wide variety of styles have developed over the centuries with different regions of the country adopting their own styles. For example in the west country of England the combed wheat reed roofs are shallow pitched and could be likened to a pudding basin shape, whilst in East Anglia the roofs a steeply pitched. The life expectancy of a new roof is 15 - 35 years depending on the quality of material used.

Normally you would expect thatched cottages to be period properties but nowadays some housebuilders include them on new developments so your new house looks like a period cottage but has the advantage of all mod cons.

Follow the link above to view the details of The Thatched Cottage on our website and see for yourself this beautiful cottage with a fabulous spacious interior just what the doctor ordered for a relaxing romantic holiday in the Scottish Borders.

Snippets on Hadrians Wall

Everyone has heard of Hadrians Wall and how it was built to keep the Scots out of England. But the reality is much more complex. We've been reading Alistair Moffat's book "The Wall" and it has turned out to be a much better read than the usual fairly dry and academic works which cover this amazing monument. So a couple of snippets...

First Vindolanda means the "white fort" as apparently the Romans liked to render their buildings and basically whitewash them. There is also the possibility that the wall was either partially or wholly rendered which in turn conjures up the image of an amazing white wall snaking across the ancient british countryside.It would have been totally unique.

Second, yes the wall kept the Scots out ( they weren't scots back then...celts would be a better name). The Wall also separated the tribes from the pennines and lake district from those in the borders. Basically by dividing them it was easier to rule them.