From trains to chariots

After last night's stargazing ended at 2am, it was unsurprising that we didn't surface until mid morning. Despite contemplating a full English brunch, we settled on bacon sandwiches and planned a sedate day (well, half day as it was nearly midday).

The outcome was a trip to Alston, mainly to get some toothpaste, but also because, well, we'd not been there before. Setting off in the car past Killhope and Nenthead, we arrived at Alston and found some free parking. This by coincidence was beside the South Tynedale Railway; great for Andrew, not so much for Victoria. We decided that we'd get the shopping and then go for a trip on the train. The shopping was slightly harder to come by than we thought seeing as Tuesday appears to be half day closing in Alston. Nonetheless, we got all we needed (as well as some other bits & bobs) and after depositing said items in the car, boarded the train for the 1415 departure.

The trip up the South Tyne valley was spectacular, with clear blue skies and bright sunshine lighting up the river, fields and moorland. Being the only people in the carriage made it a really enjoyable trip - yes, even Victoria enjoyed it!



On returning to Alston, we headed back up to the village for tea & a scone (with gorgeous sour cherry jam) and then hit the road home. This road however lead home via Hadrian's Wall, namely Housesteads roman fort. This was the first time either of us had been here with cloudless skies, let alone with the sun shining! Despite having only an hour to look around, we clambered round the ruins and saw the same hypocausts that we had seen on our previous visit 10years ago. We also saw the other holiday cottage we'd been considering, however I think that we chose the right one in the end!



The drive home was stunning in the early evening sunshine. We came back through Allendale, another valley with lead mining ancestry, and on reaching Cowshill we decided to have a quick peek to see what was there. The answer: not a lot, so we quickly made our way down to Wearhead where we found there was a small shop (in fact, this is the nearest shop to us, but I doubt we'd have found our toothpaste there).



So this evening we've had a lovely tea of bread, cheese & pâté, some blackberry wine (made drinkable through the addition of 7Up) and watched The Incredible Hulk (not the greatest of the Marvel genre, but still ok). No star gazing planned for tonight, but we'll see what happens tomorrow night.


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Location:Alston, Housesteads and Lanehead