A day dedicated to getting my laundry done and my hair washed.

But first 5/24:

We started the day out across the street from this former church—now restaurant on the Royal Mile at Ensign Ewort Pub.  Now is you are like me you have no idea who this was…seems Ewart was born in Scotland in 1769 and left life at age 77…in between he was a hero at Waterloo and in 1958 when it was discovered that he had been buried in a builder’s lodge his body was reinterred at the castle just up the hill here.

This is our tour company but we were in one of those smaller 16 people buses….met our group outside the pub an were on our way to the Holy Isle

Welcome to Lindsafare Island

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The castle is complete with a castle of the same name and it sets very dramatically on the highest point on the island.  It is small and built in 1550, it has been almost enteriorly rebuilt in 1903 by Sir Edwin Leityen.

and then they turned us loose on the island where Christianity spread from to impact the Anglo-Saxons when in 635 AD the king summoned Aidan from Ionia to convert his subjects.

Aidan made his base here and went forth to spread the Christian message.

King Oswald was slain by pagans in 642 but the kingom remained an St. Cuthbert came here in 665 an preached for 12 years before he became a hermit on another island for 9 more.  He did return to the Holy Isle when he was made a bishop and remained here until he died 2 years later.

Lindisafarme Priory here with its fragmental remains and Saxon tombstones.

in 739 AD there were terrible portents and omens followed closely by a Viking raid which destroyed the priory.

The priory here has been famed as one of the greatest centers of art & learning an their Linesfarme gospels are a legendary work of art.

The monks returned but so did the Vikings in 875 AD causing the Monks to flee taking their riches which include the body of St. Cuthbert and St. Oswald’s head.

We didn’t find any stray bodies, not even a head, but I did buy some of the Island’s famous mead, brewed up by the current Monks on the island who were granted lands here by the Normans a few centuries after the Anglo Saxon ones had fled.

Then it was back on the bus and headed south along the coast to Bamburg ‘Ancient Capital of Northumbia.

Then inland to the amazing Alnwick Castle.  This castle is still home to the Percy family an has been for over 700 years.

A bit of Tudor triva.   Anne Boelyn (who lost her head over Henry VIII) was either betrothed or was planning on being,, to Henry Percy, the heir to this castle when Henry VIII first set his will to have her.

This castle was also used to film some of the Harry Potter films matains it massive medieval fortress look.  But the interiors are 19th c restoration in Italian Renissance style with paintings by Titan, Canaletto, Van Dyke and Turner.

This is the second largest keep after Windsor castle and has been called the Windsor of the north.

The landscaping is by Capability Brown and there is a Regemental museum, a Roman archeological museum, the state coach, dungeons and much more.

We explored the fortress and even took a tour of the Poison Garden

We stopped at Flodden Field scene of the battle which marked the invasion of England by James IV of Scotland due to his perception that Henry VIII had invalidated his treaty with James by invading France,  James miscalculated the smaller English army raised by Catherine of Argon to defend the country from Henry’s brother-in-law (he was married to Margaret Tudor).  It was one of James few mistakes–but his worse as he and 10,000 Scots died here on the fateful day of 9/9/1513.  The English lost less than 2,000.

Back to 6/5:  Cornwall

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Not exactly an exciting day, but on that was needed to keep me clean an comfortable.  After doing my morning blog I gathered my laundry and took off to the laundry mat.  I had company–a lady who only comes to Cornwall on the weekens and who’s husband and her operate some rental cottages.

I did go out once on Sunday to go to the Camelot Hotel and its reportedly dazzling view of the castle…again with a lot of walking up and down….and the view was wonderful

as was the hotel.

Just some apple pie for dinner–was gonna eat just that and go to room to wash hair—in didn”t work that way as I ended up talking and having a few with the Proprietor and a few of his friends and we ended up talking and swapping stories into the wee hours–I finally got to sleep at 1:30 am or so.