Holy Cow. What a Spring Break. What it lacked in underage drinking and jello shots and awkward sunburns, it made up for with milky sunshine, good company, and more historical nerdiness than even I could ever imagine packing into a brief 11 days. You know your parents really love you when they agree to drive to Newcastle because there’s a museum there that may be helpful for your dissertation. I’ll try and be brief, but it really was an awesome trip.
The first few days my parents were here in York, and we walked the city walls, Dad was lost to the train museum, and we took a day trip to Fountains Abbey, which again lived up to all its promise. I got a National Trust membership based on the Abbey’s stunning beauty in the winter, guessing it would be even more spectacular in the summer. And boy was I right. It was a gorgeous day (York had already had a week of nice weather, so it was a bonus that it stayed nice our whole trip), things were blooming, and the ruins were just... so majestic.
After a few short days in York, we headed up to Newcastle/Durham so I could visit Beamish open air museum. This museum is something like 300 acres, with several buildings scattered across the landscape, each forming their own little recreated world, all dedicated to a different era and demographic. Since it was still the last week of the winter season, not all of it was open, which was a shame, and they seemed severely understaffed, which is a huge problem when your museum prides itself on no interpretive sign boards, preferring the human element. So rather than being a educational experience, it was mostly a nice day out. Nothing wrong with that, of course.
We also swung through Durham, which is just a wonderful looking city, and I know I’ll have to go back.
The next day we went into Northumberland, to the Holy Island and the castle Lindisfarne. This island was originally the home of a priory and St Cuthbert (who was buried on the island, until the monks fled to Durham following Viking raids in the 8th century). The priory was also famous for the Lindisfarne Gospel, a wonderfully illuminated manuscript.
The castle was built in the 16th century, and saw a little action in the English Civil War. In the 19th century, it was bought by Edwin Luytens, who added on bits and pieces to turn it into a more habitable (and hospitable) humble abode. Lindisfarne was just breathtaking. Again, the warm weather followed us up north, and even though it was windy, it was still quite warm. The sea shimmered, there was a castle looming on the hazy horizon, and it just inspired calm. I confess, it’s always a little hard to get back in the habits you have with your family, and it always takes me a few days to get fully comfortable, but after a morning at Lindisfarne, and the chance to just breathe, away from York and school and stress, I really felt comfortable again.
That same day, we drove through the Northumberland National Park, and down to Hadrian’s Wall. No big deal. (At last check in, we put in over 1000 miles on the rental. That’s how we roll in the Dierschow clan.) It was windy and cloudy, but still neat just how massive this undertaking was. Mom and I tried to guess when Hadrian’s wall was built-- she said 700CE, I said 70 CE, I talked her down to 300CE (using the logic that there was a Mithraic temple on the map, and Constantine had converted to Christianity in the late 300s...thanks statue of Constantine in York!), and it turns out to be built in 122 CE. Not bad for one semester of Roman History!!
After Northumberland, we went down to Norfolk (the county of Nelson!) to see our friends Juile, Alan, and Sarah. Mom likes to believe that it was Alan and Sarah who put me on the buildings track, and while I think I’ve always liked buildings, I do acknowledge that Alan definitely got me thinking about buildings, rather than just looking. Positive reinforcement, and all that. And now that I’ve finished all the teaching sections of my masters, I have much better questions to ask when Alan and I get together.
We went to so many National Trust properties (eight in the end, I think)! Oh my goodness. (I’m having to look at my map just to recall them all.) On the way down, we stopped at Belton Hall, then in the next four days we hit Sutton Hoo, Felbrigg Hall, Dunwich Heath and Sandringham. Belton, Felbrigg and Sandringham (winter home of the Royal Family) are all grand houses with fancy paintings, pretty wallpaper and a ban on stilettos. But still! It’s fun to see how the other half lives. Sutton Hoo was by far my favorite in terms of interpretation, because the new visitor center is amazing. Even though the original finds are in the British Museum, they’ve recreated the whole boat and burial goods, and did an excellent laying out the social and political context of era.
Sandringham was bloody gorgeous. I know I’ve used that word and its various iterations throughout this post, but really. The grounds were stunning. It was such a lovely day (the last for a while) and it was fairly quiet, and there was a stream walk and I just...just... was so satisfied.
We also went to a little town called Bury St Edmund, which is where the body of King Edmund is now buried. It’s a nice little market town, and there’s a huge, ruinous abbey just in the middle of the town next to the cathedral. Pretty interesting. And I had the most delicious lunch in the Dog and Partridge. Basically, battered and fried smooth feta. My poor heart, I could feel it congesting with every bite, but it was so.worth.it. And the chips! Fluffy and light! Ommnomnomnom.
And Julie made us legit mexican food--the first really good stuff I’ve had since coming here... it was divine! I miss Mexican so much!
(I feel like it’s only fitting to sum up this post with a record of the food--this is the best I’ve eaten since Christmas!)
So I probably didn’t mention about half of what we did, but that’s a taste! We had such a great time together, (even if I couldn’t answer half their questions...is that what children are like?) and I’m so glad they came out to see me! Thanks mom and da! While we didn’t eat ice cream every day (or at all, now that I think about it..) we did manage to drive B roads, coastal roads, winding country roads and didn’t really ever get lost (until 8 in the morning trying to find the Norwich train station, sigh). Impressive! And really, it was the best of Dierschow road trips--diversions to see historical towns, deliberately circuitous routes designed to go through National Parks, and Mark Knopfler on the radio.
All in all, an excellent way to shake of the last term and get me geared up for my dissertation!
(One of the most exciting parts of the trip for me!)
