~My Final Days in England 2011~

Hello Everyone,
The final days of my trip

to England are just about over. 

Tuesday June 21st our group departed York for Escomb to view a Saxon church.

Escomb Saxon Church

 is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon churches in England, approximately 2.5 km to the west of Bishop Auckland, County Durham.  Founded in 670-675, much of the stone came from the nearby Roman Fort at Binchester. 

We stopped for lunch at "The Saxon Inn" and had a Ploughman's

 ( a cold snack originating in the United Kingdom) Here Wikipedia
After lunch we departed for Durham

Durham Cathedral

Arriving at Durham Cathedral we had a grand tour and attended evensong service in the evening.

Harry Potter's Classroom at Hogwarts School

Real Location

The Charter House, which is on the east side of the cloister, became a classroom, complete with oak benches and desks, a high-backed chair for the teacher and a blackboard with occult doodling on it. 

Minerva Mc Gonagall's Classroom
at Hogwarts School

The Verger is showing us a Finely embroidered cope. 

This ancient closet, containing the copes used in this cathedral church till AD 1759, was repaired in AD 1859 and restored to its original use in AD 1959

This closet sits at the end of the Chapter House.

The shrine of St Cuthbert today.  St. Cuthbert's shrine was covered with a richly-embroidered cloth, which was raised on special occasions to expose the lavishly decorated shrine itself.  The shrine's gilt cover depicted Christ on a rainbow on one side and Christ as a baby being carried by Mary on the other.  At the edges of the cloth were six silver bells, which tingled when the cover was lifted, drawing the attention of the people in the Cathedral.  The current cover of the shrine, not of cloth, is inspired by the description of the 16th century shrine covering .

The beautiful embroidered kneelers surround St Cuthbert's Shrine.

On June 22nd. The last day of our official tour our group visited

 Chesters Roman Fort at Hadrian's Wall.

Hadrian's Wall has a long history in England.  In about A.D. 122, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, The Romans built this great stone wall.  The wall stretches 73 miles coast to coast across the narrowest stretch of northern England it was built and defended by some 20,000 troops.

What a great sight to see.

Standing at the Roman Fort I looked out over the country side and saw the beautiful red poppy field.

The wonderful farm building and sheep in the pasture.  This photo is so precious to me.  It reminds me of the wonderful calmness and serenity of a simple life.

As I looked at the River Tyne I had an image of the amazing history of this country. 

To see more of the beautiful land at Chesters Roman Fort click HERE

Now I must say Good-Bye to my beautiful

heritage. I hope to visit again.

Thank you all for joining me on my journey thru England and Scotland.

I'm joining

Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

and

A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday

A Big Hello to

Susie Lavender

and

Jude Butterfly

new followers of My Cozy Corner

Hugs and Kisses

Betty