Long Way Up

It's worth mentioning here that neither of us are really outdoors-y types.  Of course we both {although i suspect me more than him} love beautiful walks in the green, lazy wanders along the coast or blustery adventures weaving in and out of the trees.  But for starters i don't own a pair of trainers.  Or a waterproof coat.  In fact it was only last winter that i bought my very first coat with a hood since….well too many years ago.  But that's a story for another day.  Whilst we both love an ADVENTURE, i think we would both agree that we hold the quality of nearby pubs, tearooms or cafes on an equal par with the actual place we are adventuring.  

For that reason we will never own walking boots, or those sticks that 'proper' walkers/adventurers seem to carry about with them.  Or a rucksack.  Or those trousers-come-shorts hybrid {whoever invented those?!}.  Except that i do own a thermos, albeit a William Morris printed one.  And i do really like walking up hills and the like.  But where we live - which is incidentally {and very luckily!} right on the very edge of The Lakes, there are an awful lot of outdoors-y types.  A few weekends ago we decided to throw caution to the wind and SCAMPER along Hadrian's Wall.  Despite living just a few miles away from it, we had both never visited before and since it turned out to be such a bright and beautiful day, we decided it was the perfect opportunity.  So we donned our normal clothes; i didn't take 'a proper coat' {but i did pack a fairly versatile cardigan} and chose relatively sensible shoes on the Mr's advice that he was sure there wouldn't be proper paths.  And off we went!
We climbed up and up and UP a hill so steep and i spent most of the way not really being able to see very well and having my messy bed hair blown every which way.  The higher we climbed the more blustery it got and the warm wind whipped and whistled around and about us.  We both were so determined to get to the very top that it wasn't until we got all of the way up there that we realised quite how beautiful it was.  

It really felt like you were as high as high can be, and that you could see for thousands of miles around.  It felt like a world AWAY from the city and reading all about each and every little section really was a little bit magical.  We were both left a little bit in awe. 
After exploring the wall ruins and what remained of the settlements and reading all about what each bit used to be; we decided to follow the wall along for a little bit - it was too pretty to leave!  We ADVENTURED through a sweet section of woodland which was so beautiful:  All lined with dry-stone wall along it's length and filled with wildflowers, bumble bees and little glimpses out onto the hills.
Once we'd walked as far as our little legs would carry us, we found a sheltered SPOT and sat on the grass, watching the sunshine and clouds make shadows across the green fields and talked about life.  It was my favourite bit.  We sat there for a good half an hour, putting the world to rights and i imagined how lovely it might be to have a sweet little cottage all the way up here.  It was just what i needed to clear my head and RECHARGE.  Being out in the green has that magical effect on me every time.  Then we rolled all of the way down the hill and back to the car.  We've vowed to go back again and walk in the other direction next time.  And to maybe pack a picnic.  Because that's the one thing that sweet little spot is missing:  A pretty little tearoom.  A little cup of something hot and sweet up there with that view would have been a little bit like heaven...