Just sitting on a wall

AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY

( This is a backblip as I was too tired yesterday to post a blip )

Neil had the day off so he went back to his place and his intention was to go out drinking with his pals.

Becky and Mike and me had an early breakfast at home and then went out for the day.  Becky and Mike fancied going to somewhere in Northumberland which was near the Roman Wall so we checked the map and they decided on Haltwhistle.  So off we went.

I had never been there before but Haltwhisle proved to be a lovely little place.  The weather was warm and sunny so we went to a cafe for coffee and sat outside.  We had a walk around the village and found the spot which claims to the " The Geographic Centre of Britain" - equidistant from the sea as measured along the principal points of the compass.  The claim is rather tenuous apparently  as it requires that the northern extremity is taken to be Orkney rather than Shetland. Depending on how the centre of the island is calculated however the centre can be said to be Dunsop Bridge in Lancashire.  However I am quite happy to say I stood in the centre of Britain - you can see me in one of my extra shots.

After a while we drove to Gilsland - another little village which is just over the border in Cumbria -  and we had lunch in The House of Meg Tearooms.  I had a very nice chicken salad.  We then had a little walk around and found part of Hadrian's Wall. Becky and Mike obliged by taking a seat so I could get my blip shot. 

The name of Gilsland brought back some distant memories for me as I vaguely remembered that once a year my little Grandma,  who lived next door to us when I was a child,  used to go to somewhere called Gilsland to a convalescent home for a week during the summer.  ( No idea why or what she was convalescing from )  And during that week me, my Dad, Mam and brother would pile in the car and drive to Gilsland to visit her for a day.  We used to go and sample the water from a stream or well or something as it was supposed to have healing properties.  This was about all I could remember.  So as we were driving around we saw a sign for " Gilsland Hotel and Spa " so we headed in that direction.

As soon as I saw the building I remembered it.  You can see it in my Extra shots.  I have since found out that Gilsland Spa Convalescent Home was opened by the Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1901.  Co-operative members used the hotel for convalescence in the early 20th Century until the outbreak of the First World War during which the hotel was used by Military Authorities as a hospital and convalescence home for soldiers before they were sent back to the front line. During the Second World War the hotel was used as maternity hospital and was known locally as "The Home". The Co-operative Wholesale Society continued to own the home until 1972  and since then the property has been established as the Gilsland Spa Hotel.

After that little trip down memory lane we continued driving around looking for other bits of the Roman Wall.  Suddenly the weather changed.  It started getting dark and raining heavily.  We saw lots of walkers who were soaked through so we guessed that we had driven into rainy weather and it looked like it had been raining for ages.  We had raincoats and brollies so we braved the elements and made our way to Carawburgh Fort - AD 134 - 383.  In one of my extra shot you can see me standing in the ruins of a temple built by the soldiers of the fort and dedicated to the worship of the sun-god Mithras.

We then made our way to Hexham where the weather was dry and sunny again. Had a bit of a mooch around and I bought a lovely Cath Kidston bed throw for £30 in an antigues and bric a brac shop.  Becky bought a little watercolour painting in the same shop.

Then we headed back to Whickham and went straight to the Church Hall so I could quickly weigh in a my slimming club meeting.  I put on 1½ pounds which wasn't suprising as I hadn't really sticking to the healthy eating plan.  Didn't stay for the meeting as Becky and Neil were waiting outside,

Back home to change and freshen up and then we were off out again.  Walked down to the village and had a drink in the Gibside Hotel.  We were in The  Sphinx Bar which hasn't changed a bit since the last time I was in there which was many years ago. You can see the Sphinx in one of my extra shots.

Then we had a short walk to  Deano's Italian Restaurant.  Never been there before even though its been open for years.  We all had 3 courses.  I chose prawn cocktail ( very retro ). chicken risotto and sticky toffeel pavlova.  It was all delicious. And really good value too.  Lovely meal but only as an occasional treat as I don't even want to think about how many syns I ate.  Becky and Mike were very impressed by the place and I think there will be future visits.

The last port of call for the evening was The Bridle Path pub - just a short walk from Deano's.  There was live music which was very enjoyable.

We finally got home around 11.30pm.  And I was too exhausted to blip.

Steps today - 16,605.