June 29 : Second Day in Carlisle

Janet and Keith’s daughter owns and operates a coffee shop in downtown Carlise. It is called “I Love Café” and has wonderful assortment of baked goodies. We started our day enjoying their pastries. Janet will sometimes do baking for the café and today Marg is lending her a helping hand.

Carlisle is located 8 miles south of the Scottish border, and it is often referred to as a "border city." The early history of Carlisle is marked by its status as a Roman settlement, established to serve the forts on Hadrian's Wall. During the Middle Ages, because of its proximity to the Kingdom of Scotland, Carlisle became an important military stronghold.

We started our tour of historical Carlisle with a visit to Carlisle Cathedral. There has been a church on this site since 1133. Recent excavations have discovered both Viking and Roman burial sites on the site of the cathedral. Carlisle is the second smallest of England's ancient cathedrals. Its notable features include a set of medieval choir stalls, a huge pipe organ and blue gothic ceiling.

As we were walking among the old buildings close to the cathedral, one of the slate tablets on a roof slipped and fell to the ground. We were glad we were on the other side of wall.

Then we went to the Carlisle Castle. The castle was built in 1092 and once served as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots. Until recently, this was the headquarters of the British Border Guards. They are a highly decorated army corps with a long history. The castle itself has been a dominate feature of the Carlisle skyline. Unfortunately, the main tower is under repair, and we were unable to see the entire fortress. We were able to walk around the castle walls, which gave us a good feel for the military importance of the castle in the defense of Carlisle .

 

This evening Keith took us on a tour of the local villages and hamlets, where Ron and himself had grown up.  He pointed out the building that was his one room school house. It housed 11 students and one teacher.  He took me to an ancient church where the graveyard contained many of his relatives. We saw many of the small homes, where members of Keith's extended family grew up. It is inconceivable, by today's standards, that large families could live in such small homes. We then travelled along a road that was bordered by Hadrian's Wall.  This was the western most point along the famous Roman defensive barrier.