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The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 3) – Haydon Bridge, Chesters Fort & Museum, Brunton Turret and Corbridge Roman Town

Sunday 23 April 2017 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 6 minutes

My friend Simon and I went back up to Hadrian’s Wall to continue our adventure following the Wall from one side of the country to the other, stopping at various sites of interest along the way.

We started this adventure last year in Cumbria. You can read about and see photos from last year in the The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure Part 1 and Part 2.

The day was dry and sunny, but it did get colder in the late afternoon. So here’s where we went, along with photos:

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-0 — Haydon Bridge.

Haydon Bridge

Haydon Bridge is a village with an old bridge (photoed left) across River South Tyne. The village is very quaint and worth a short visit. Haydon Bridge is now a walk way, but would have been used as a crossing for people, horsemen and carts.

Essential Info:

Free parking is available on roads in the village.
Public Toilets are free to use and on both sides of the bridge.
The village has several pubs, a chemist, a chippy, a Tandoori restaurant and some guest houses.
Recommended for a short visit. The bridge is the only thing of note that we saw.

We decided to stop at Hexham next. Hexham is a bigger village than Haydon Bridge, with an Abbey. However as we drove around the town centre looking for parking, all signage said Parking Disc Required, but no signage gave instructions or directions on how to get a parking disc. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, with some event on at the Abbey, so we decided to give Hexham a miss.

Chesters Fort & Museum

Chesters Fort & Museum is magnificent and is a site maintained by English Heritage. It has loads to see and do including: the remains of a Fort and Bath House, a picnic area, spy holes that show where Hadrian’s Wall would have been (including across the North Tyne river), a brilliant museum full of stone works (statues, altars, depiction of Gods & Goddesses) and tools, weapons and jewellery, a gift shop, a tea room and toilets. The only downside to this fantastic attraction is that the cost of parking along with its reasonable admission price makes it an overall an expensive experience.

The signs dotted throughout the attraction are really informative and is probably the best example of signage throughout my entire Hadrian’s Wall Adventure adventure. For example, one sign read that about 500 horses and men would have been stationed at this Fort. The next sign read that a horse urinates and defecates 12KGS of waste a day. This was my Fact of the Day. Just think of all that waste, along with that of the humans.

Essential Info:

Remains of a Fort and Bath House.
Also includes a Museum, Picnic Area, Tea Room and Gift Shop.
Toilets available.
Highly Recommended.
Admission Price: £7.30 for an adult with gift aid (£6.60 without).
Opening Times: Vary throughout the year. View here.
Parking: Pay and Display at £3.00.

Here are photos from Chesters Fort & Museum:

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-1 — Chesters Fort (1) – 500 Horsemen would have lived in this Fort.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-2 — Chesters Fort (2) – Remains of Stables.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-3 — Chesters Fort (3) – Entrance Gatehouse.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-4 — Chesters Fort (4) – Hadrian’s Wall will have run across the North Tyne river at this point. You can see the continuation of the Wall on the other side of the bank.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-5 — Chesters Fort (5) – The Roman Baths.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-6 — Chesters Fort (6) – The Roman Baths Porch.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-7 — Chesters Fort (7) – The Roman Baths.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-8 — Chesters Fort (8) – Presumably a trough for the horses to eat/drink from.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-9 — Chesters Fort (8) – The Roman Baths, a cold bath.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-10 — Chesters Fort (9) – The Roman Baths.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-11 — Chesters Fort (10) – The Roman Baths Steam Room.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-12 — Chesters Fort (11) – South East Angle Tower.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-13 — Chesters Fort (12) – Possibly a storage room or stronghold.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-14 — Chesters Fort (13) – A well in the main villa, which still had water in,

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-15 — Chesters Fort (14) – Flooring.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-16 — Chesters Fort (15) – More flooring.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-17 — Chesters Museum (1) – The Clayton Museum was a brilliant museum full of stone works (statues, altars, depiction of Gods & Goddesses), as well as tools, weapons and jewellery.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-18 — Chesters Museum (2) – Entrance. Inside stone works lined each of the walls.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-19 — Chesters Museum (3) – A headless statue of Juno Regina (Queen Juno). Apparently Queen Juno was one of the most important deities in Roman Religion, known as the protector and special counsellor of the state.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-20 — Chesters Museum (4) – Various altars.

Then we drove through a village called Wall. After passing through Wall we saw signs for Brunton Turret.

Brunton Turret

Brunton Turret is remains of a Turret that would have been one of many along Hadrian’s Wall. It’s in a famers field and there is a designated Parking place at the side of the road. It is a quick site to visit that will take you all of 5 minutes to walk to and see. Photos are below.

Essential Info:

Remains of a Turret and some of Hadrian’s Wall, in a farmers field.
Free parking is in designated space at the side of the road.
Well signposted.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-21 — Brunton Turret (1) – Hadrian’s Wall.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-22 — Brunton Turret (2) – Where the soldiers would have been stationed.

hadrians-wall-adventure-2017-23 — Corbridge Roman Town – We chose not to go in, as it looked very similar to Chesters Fort & Museum which we had visited earlier in the day.

Corbridge Roman Town

Corbridge Roman Town is another Roman Town, maintained by English Heritage. We opted not to visit this site, as it looked very similar to Chesters Fort & Museum.

Essential Info:

Remains of a Roman Town.
Also includes a Museum, Picnic Area and Gift Shop.
Toilets available.
Admission Price: £7.20 for an adult with gift aid (£6.50 without).
Opening Times: Vary throughout the year. View here.
Free Parking on site.

Next year Simon and I plan to visit Newcastle to complete our tour across Hadrian’s Wall from one side of the country to the other.

Blog soon,

Antony

What’s Going On In My Head

Saturday 8 April 2017 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 5 minutes

I’ve had a lot going on in my head recently, so much so that I decided to write my thoughts out as a mind map. The idea was to offload my thoughts on to the paper. I’ve written this blog post for the same reason. So this blog post is about me and mainly written for me.

Here is the mind map:

whats-going-on-in-my-head-April-2017 — A mind map of thoughts to show what’s going on in my head.

As you can see I quickly ran out of room on the paper. So here’s the list of just some of the thoughts going on in my head:

My Brother after his recent spinal surgery – He is now in recovery. I am relieved that his surgery went well. But I worry that he’ll push himself too hard, as sometimes he thinks he’s indestructible.

My friend whose mum recently passed away – It was an expected death. His mum was 87 years old and had been in ill health for the last few months. She’d had a long and happy life and been in good health for most of her life. But it was still his mum. I have thought about my friend and his family often since I heard the news earlier this week.

How good my new Dorothy Morrison candles & oils smell – For several months I’ve been putting in small orders with The Angry Cauldron, ordering a few Dorothy Morrison candles and oils each month. A few weeks ago, I paid combined shipping and my orders arrived earlier on in the week:

Dorothy-Morrison-Candles-Big-Order-April-17 — Photo above is of my candle collection.

Dorothy-Morrison-Big-Order-Oils-and-Others-April-17 — Photo above is of my oils chest. Included are Dorothy Morrison limited edition oils and other essential oils.

Need eyes testing – I’ve not had an eye test by an Optician for a while. The Optician has sent two letters. Need to sort this out.

Vodafone letters wrongly stating I owe money – Vodafone have apparently sold a £100 debt of mine to another company. The problem is that I don’t owe Vodafone any money. I left Vodafone two years ago (in May) and everything was paid in full by Direct Debit. I have the bank statements to prove it.

The good time had at Grandma’s 57th Birthday meal – The family met up for my Grandma’s 75th birthday. We went for a meal in one of my favourite restaurants. I had a great time and have found myself frequently thinking of the family and the meal.

Week Off Work – I’ve got a week of annual leave coming up. I can’t wait. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to spend my time during that week off.

My friend’s Wedding in May – I’ve been thinking about what to wear, what to buy as gifts and what to take with me to the hotel (I’ve booked a 2 night stay in the hotel where the wedding is taking place).

What I’d do if I won the euromillions jackpot – The euromillions jackpot has been won quite a few times by UK winners this year. At the moment it keeps rolling over, making the jackpot prize bigger and bigger. So for the last few weeks I’ve been buying tickets and fantasising about what I’d do if I won the euromillions jackpot.

Electricity Final Bill – I misread my final electricity bill from SSE. I saw a credit on my account and not the debt balance that was in green. Easily done. But has meant that I have to find over £200 to pay the final bill.

I’ve left SSE via uSwitch for two reasons. Firstly because they didn’t take enough money by Direct Debt, so I was always in debt with them. I had repeatedly asked them to increase the Direct Debit, but they never did. The second reason was to save £50 per year.

Need to get rid of old sofa – My mum is kindly giving me her old sofa when she gets a new one. This is great because my sofa is on its last legs.

Man with a Van for new sofa – See above.

My Depressive Episode (December 2016 to now) – In December I started having some difficulties with my mood. I put it down to Christmas and being busy. My mood problems continued in January, with me noticing more symptoms. Again I put it down to busyness. In February I started talking to my GP about it. Fast forward to this week and my GP has referred me to my local Community Mental Health Team to review my medication.

The result of this depressive episode is that I’ve been working, eating, bathing, sleeping (terribly) and doing nothing else. Very little reading. Practically no creative output including no writing, no blog posts and even no thinking about them. Depression makes you feel empty, no ideas, no inspiration, no motivation, no energy and no drive.

I have been mediating more often, taking more time to relax and tried to do more of the things that I like.

My car needs a clean – The inside of my car looks like a shanty town. This is one my signs and symptoms of depression.

Candle Making: Pumpkin Spice orange candles – I really want to make a batch of Pumpkin Spice scented orange candles for Samhain (Halloween). I have the perfect jars to put the candles in. But I need supplies and that means I need money. Despite not having the money or energy/motivation to make them now, I like to think about them. How good they would look. How good they would smell.

John Smith from The Dead Zone by Stephen King – I’ve been slowly reading The Dead Zone by Stephen King. It’s about a guy called John Smith who recovers from a coma and can see the future by touching people or things. What I can’t get over is the main character’s name. John Smith. The story makes clear from the outset that he is an average guy. So using such a common place name to represent that he’s an average guy is not required. It strikes me as lazy on King’s behalf. It’s a great story, but is let down by John Smith’s name.

new-hoover-April-17 — My New Hoover bought on Amazon: VYTRONIX VTBC01 1400w Compact Cyclonic Bagless Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner HEPA Hoover

Microwave needs replacing – At home things generally break in threes.

First the hoover started making noises like it was about to explode and take out half of the apartment block with it, so I bought a new one (pictured left) for a bargain price on Amazon. If you’re looking for a new hoover, then this is the one. It’s compact and the suction is powerful. I’ve been really impressed with it and didn’t realise how bad the old hoover actually was.

Since then the mop has snapped and the microwave has stopped heating up food properly and is rusting. So I now need to buy a new mop and microwave.

Take care and blog soon,

Antony

Some Plans for 2017

Sunday 12 February 2017 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: < 1 minute

I was ill for the first few weeks of January. At one point, I took to my bed for three days. As a result, I haven’t finished deciding on or writing up my goals and new experiences for 2017.

But I have started making plans. So far my plans include:

A Big Birthday Bash for Chrys. Still do most of the planning and organising for. Still to source of suitable present.
Finish my tour along Hadrian’s Wall (along with ancient sites of interest) with Simon. Date set. Still to plan in more detail.
My Birthday. Still to sort. My birthday is on a Sunday this year.
Kay & Alex’s Wedding. Hotel booked. Still to buy a new suit and source of suitable present.
An adventure to see Stonehenge, Glastonbury and Amesbury over two days with Simon. Dates set and hotel booked. Further planning needed.
A visit to Sheffield Botanical Gardens with Simon. Date set.
To see Despicable Me 3 with Steve or Neil, Rhianne & Ethan.
To see Sister Act with mum. I got tickets off mum for Christmas.
To Celebrate Samhain. Still to arrange.

Take care,

Antony

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A Review of Goals & New Experiences for 2016

Tuesday 27 December 2016 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Goals for Throughout the Year

Read & Review at least 20 books.
I have read 19 books this year and reviewed 17 of them. The two books that I have not reviewed yet, will be reviewed in January 2017. See my Book List 2016 for a list books that I’ve read this year, along with links to reviews I’ve written for each book.

Watch & Review 6 films.
I can remember watching at least 5 films this year, they include: The Giver, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Good Dinosaur, Star Trek Beyond and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. However I’ve not done a review of a single film this year.

To create more time for creative projects.
I am more than happy with my creative output this year. I’ve reduced my working hours, so that I can still afford to live, but so that I have more time for creative projects. I have also been careful about how I use the limited time and energy I have to get the most out of it. This combination of working less and using my time and energy better has significantly increased my creative output.

To complete 2 creative projects.
I’ve completed 12 creative projects this year. This is a massive achievement when compared with my creative output in previous years. For more details of my creative projects see: 11 Creative Projects That I Never Intended To Do… This Year and The Finished Project (candle making project).

To get up-to-date with my financial obligations and continue to reduce the balance on my debts.
I am up-to-date on my mortgage and other household bills. I have continued to reduce the balance on my debts. I have paid monies back to family that I owed monies to.

Save up for and buy a new rug and corner sofa for the living room.
I still need to do this. The sofa is getting in desperate need of replacement. Both of these will be goals for 2017.

To give up smoking.
I’m still working on this on a semi regular basis.

Monthly Goals

January

Start a new creative project.
I published my latest short story Soulmates, here is an excerpt:

I also wrote two blog posts that I’d been thinking about and planning to write for at least the last few years: 5 Wise Quotes from Albus Dumbledore and A Tale Of Overcoming Adversity.

Take it easy.
This didn’t really happen. This year has was exceptionally busy. Most of time due to circumstances beyond my control.

February

See Mary Poppins with Mum, etc.
Done. I blogged about it here: Mary Poppins Live at The Palace Theatre, Manchester: Marvellous, Magical and Magnificent.

March

Treat yourself to a reiki treatment.
I haven’t had a single reiki treatment this year. At the start of the year it was due to lack of money. Towards the end of the year it has been due to my Reiki Practitioner changing where she works.

April

See a sunrise.
This has been a goal for the last few years. I think I need to take a day of annual leave off work to experience this next year. So this will be a goal/new experience for 2017.

May

Celebrate your 30th in style, including a night out in Newcastle and a family meal.
I didn’t manage the night out in Newcastle, but did do the family meal which was wonderful. I blogged about the family meal here: My Thirtieth Birthday.

June

Visit Chester Zoo Islands Exhibit.
I actually did this in May, as part of my birthday celebrations. See A Day Trip to Chester Zoo.
Start a new creative project.
One weekend in June I wrote, edited and then published an article on The History of the National Health Service (NHS). It was a creative project that I have been thinking about for sometime and I was proud of myself because I had finally done it.

July

Spend time in nature. Go for walks in places of natural beauty.
I visited Astley Hall Park with my friend Simon. I would have liked to spend more time in nature during July, but the variable weather influenced what I was able to do.
Visit a botanical gardens.
I visited Southport Botanic Gardens (Churchtown) with Simon in August.

August

Visit a castle, one that you haven’t been to before.
Okay, technically I didn’t visit a new castle this year. But I did do a tour of acient sites along Hadrian’s Wall with Simon. See The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 1) and The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 2). A goal/new experience for 2017 will be the finishing off of The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure, meaning that Simon and I will have followed the wall from one end of the country to the other.

September

Read in the horror genre. Maybe some Stephen King.
I read Under The Dome by Stephen King, which I reviewed here. I also read The Stand by Stephen King, which I reviewed here. Although I’m not sure that either of them was in the horror genre, I’ve ticked it off as completed.

October

Celebrate Samhain.
Celebrated Samhain in style with my friends Simon & Chrys. Great food, drink, fire, music and company.

November

Take it easy.
I tried to do the bare-minimum in November. This was probably why there were only a few blog posts in November.

December

Bring people together to celebrate Yule.
Yule fell on a Wednesday, which made it difficult to arrange a get together. Perhaps I will put this on future goals when it lands on a weekend.

This year I’ve completed 14 of 22 goals/new experiences for 2016. That’s over half and not at all bad when you consider the 12 creative projects I’ve completed this year, along with how busy the year has been otherwise.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Simon

The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 3) – Haydon Bridge, Chesters Fort & Museum, Brunton Turret and Corbridge Roman Town

Haydon Bridge

Chesters Fort & Museum

Brunton Turret

Corbridge Roman Town

More Content From Antony

What’s Going On In My Head

More Content From Antony

Some Plans for 2017

A Review of Goals & New Experiences for 2016

Goals for Throughout the Year

Monthly Goals

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December