“Where they Went” by Diane Daniel
(Published Oct. 26, 2008, in the Boston Globe)

John is like the Energizer Bunny – with a backpack. I know I couldn’t keep up with him.

John Mellecker checks the map after a climb to the ancient track "The High Way" on his hike along Lady Anne`s Way.

WHO: John Mellecker, 74, of Holden, Mass.

WHERE: England.

WHEN: 12 days in May.

WHY: To tackle his 15th long-distance walk in the United Kingdom since he retired from the financial-services industry nine years ago.

FOR THE LOVE OF . . . : “I never planned to make a hobby of this,” said Mellecker, who has logged more than 1,700 miles on foot in the UK. “I did the Coast to Coast Walk after I retired, and I was just smitten.” Mellecker is married but does his walks alone. He stays at bed-and-breakfasts and sometimes uses luggage transport services, as he did for this trip with Contours Walking Holidays.

John at the entrance to Brougham Hall. Lady Anne restored it in 1659.

ANNUAL THEME: “Every walk, I look for a theme,” said Mellecker, who this time traveled along Lady Anne’s Way, a route that follows the footsteps “sometimes in spirit and sometimes on the actual road,” he said, of Lady Anne Clifford. Born at Skipton Castle in 1590, the 15-year-old Anne was denied her inheritance because she was female. She got justice at age 53 and spent the rest of her life restoring her castles, rebuilding churches, and creating almshouses.

FINDING HIS WAY: “The walk is very obscure,” said Mellecker, who walked 103 miles in eight days. “The challenge is it’s not marked in the traditional sense but is cobbled together on country lanes and existing paths and there are no signs.” He used a guidebook, a GPS device, and a compass. “To do these walks, people should have a real comfort with using compasses and maps.” The first half was in the Yorkshire Dales and then into Eden Valley in Cumbria. “I had a pretty good altitude gain and loss, with a tremendous variety of terrain.”

John at Brougham Castle: Lady Anne's favorite castle. She died there in 1676.

ANCIENT TO MODERN: “The weather was beautiful, but there were always thunderstorms lurking around in the afternoon,” he said. “England is so compact that history is compressed. I walked through Iron Age villages, checked out 19th-century mining operations, saw prehistoric forts, and walked on the same roads Roman legions walked on.” A more modern sight, and sound, occurred in Eden Valley, when Royal Air Force fighter jets flew overhead on training missions.

HERE’S TO LADY ANNE: At the end of each day, after checking in to the B&B, Mellecker would visit the local pub for a celebratory pint of beer. Towns he stayed in included Skipton, Grassington, Buckden, Askrigg, Appleby, and Penrith. In Appleby he visited an active almshouse Clifford built. “She kept a diary of everything she did, which was the basis of the walk, and in it she describes laying the cornerstone in that almshouse. There was a resident reading in the courtyard, and I felt like I’d stepped into the 1600s as an intruder and then went back through the arch to the 21st century.”

“Where they Went” by Diane Daniel
(published Dec. 23, 2007, in the Boston Globe)

From Di’s eyes: This is a little catch-up piece, as it ran before I started posting my Globe column on the blog. I wanted to make sure I added it because I think it’s a great example of family travel that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Well, maybe just an arm. It is London, after all.

WHO: Scott Weighart, 44, and Ellie Boynton, 46, and their children Hannah, 11, and Timmy, 8, of Brookline, Mass.

WHERE: London.

WHEN: One week August.

WHY: The family initially planned to visit Edinburgh, as Weighart is of Scottish heritage, but their passport applications were caught in the national backlog, and they had to cancel the trip. “They came two days after we were supposed to leave,” Weighart said. “I’d worked in London for three months after college, and we thought there would be a lot to do there for the kids. It was their first international trip.”

LOSING POUNDS: “It was a challenge trying to do a fun family vacation in a city where it’s easy to hemorrhage money,” he said. “Maybe we’d pay $8 for hamburgers here that would be 8 pounds there, which was $16.” They rented a flat in the South Kensington neighborhood. “It was near two kid-friendly museums, which were free, and near three tube lines.”

GAINING POUNDS: “We’d have breakfast at home, and take snacks for the night,” he said. “One of the fun things is going to grocery stores. We’d go to Sainsbury’s every morning for fresh and relatively cheap croissants and have fun trying new things, like rhubarb yogurt. Also, the English do unhealthy food really well. The kids loved Cadbury bars and the funny flavors for crisps, like prawn. We ate dinner at pubs a lot. There’s no smoking now, but you can smell the residue of decades of smoke.”

WEIGHING OPTIONS: Weighart packed a kid-friendly London guide, and with his laptop he also would check out activities beforehand on TripAdvisor. One day they went to the Camden Lock Market and took a canal boat ride to the London Zoo, but skipped the zoo because it would have cost the family $100. They also passed over the Tower of London for the same reason. Also deemed too pricey was a black-taxi Harry Potter tour. “It would have been $400 with a tip. We couldn’t stomach it,” Weighart said. “We went on our own to the rail station at King’s Cross, where they have Platform 9 3/4,” the fictional embarkation point for the train to Hogwarts (there is now a sign at the station but not a true platform).

DOUBLE FUN: The kids loved the double-decker bus rides,” he said, and they saved on public transport by purchasing a discount booklet. “We had to have seats at the top front, of course. The kids started counting all the double-decker buses they saw; my son got to 1,000. Our book recommended taking bus No. 15, which goes all through downtown.” The kids enjoyed watching traffic on the left, and found the accents interesting, as well as names for things, like “toastie” for toasted sandwich.

MANY MUSEUMS: They visited the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, which they reached by boat, as well as the Science Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood. “It’s in East End London and has games, toys, and dolls from the last 300 years.”

AN EYEFUL: The family splurged on the London Eye, about $80 total. “It looks like a Ferris wheel but is these huge glass pods that hold about 20 people. You book time in advance. You wait about a half hour and ride a half hour. From there I could even see the office I used to work in.”

This was first published in the Boston Globe on Jan. 27, 2008, but you’ll find links and a lot more photos in this version. Surprises in England: It really is as expensive (for Americans) as everyone says it is. Beware that most lodging prices are listed *per person.* I loved being in a foreign country where I spoke the language. I hated cycling on the “wrong” side of the road, especially in roundabouts! But I was impressed with the cycling infrastructure, both on roads and dedicated paths.

By Diane Daniel

GREENHEAD, England – “OK, you can stop staring now,” I called out between labored breaths. The sheep kept their eyes on me as I pushed a bike weighted with a week’s worth of gear up the steep path next to their pasture.
Sometimes, when you’re on a bicycle and the hill is vertical, you just have to get off and push. My husband and friends were too far ahead to witness my surrender. Instead, I had an audience of 50 or so sheep following my every move.
The reward for tackling one of the few punishing grades along the 175-mile Hadrian’s Cycleway was Walltown Crags, which gave us our most impressive view of the week of “the great wall of Britain.”
Begun in 122 AD by the Emperor Hadrian and his Roman soldiers, Hadrian’s Wall marked the army’s northern frontier in Britain for nearly 300 years. An engineering marvel of stone and turf that ran 73 1/2 miles from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, the wall Hadrian envisioned was to be 10 feet wide and 15 feet high, though those dimensions varied because of materials and manpower as the wall extended westward.
The wall was completed in about eight years and bustling civilian communities sprang up around it and its milecastles (fortlets) and garrisons to do business with the soldiers. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While only small parts of the wall are visible, ongoing excavation turns up new finds yearly.
We, however, assumed we would be cycling along the wall for days. Instead, we didn’t spot it until our fifth day, after 100 miles of riding. But the route is filled with archeological stops – forts, churches, museums, and ruins. Best of all, we were treated to an eclectic sampling of northern England, from its haunting coasts and sheep-speckled countryside to thriving cities.
The national cycleway, which opened in 2006, was routed using mostly country roads and bike paths. Save for a few spots, it is well signed. For walkers, there is the 84-mile Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail, opened in 2003.
It was early October when we met our friends in Newcastle, then paid for private transportation across the island to the Cumbrian coast. (Because of prevailing winds, most cyclists ride west to east.) My husband and I rented bikes, while our friends brought their tandem. We carried all our gear and winged it with lodging, but shuttle providers are available for those wanting baggage transfer and nightly reservations.

We were braced for bad weather, but got only a couple of cloudy days and a mere hour of rain. What I hadn’t mentally prepared for was cycling on the opposite side of the road, a challenge, particularly through roundabouts.
The route begins without fanfare (some of the signage in the route’s first stretch is not yet up) in Ravenglass, a tiny coastal community and former Roman port on the western edge of the Lake District. The start is at the well-preserved ruins of the Glannaventa Roman bath house.
We left Ravenglass by a northern coastal trail during a tide so low that boats sat mud-locked on their keels. Bird-watchers were out in force. We cycled along one-lane roads in the country, where the air was filled with the smell of coal-burning stoves.
Lunch at a nuclear power plant brought us back to the present. The Sellafield Visitors Centre, a couple of miles off course, is an impressive public relations effort by owner British Nuclear Fuels Limited, which in 2003 hired the Science Museum in London to revamp the center’s exhibits. The cafe sold delicious meals at discount prices.
We zipped through adorable St. Bees, where England’s famed Coast to Coast walking trail begins, to reach our hotel in Whitehaven. This working-class city recently transformed its waterfront area, adding a wide promenade, sculptures, and benches, all with artistic nautical details. During the first of what were to become daily pub stops, I learned not to block the telly after four agitated soccer fans screamed at me to sit down. Or maybe Americans have been unwelcome in Whitehaven since John Paul Jones led a naval raid on the city in 1778, marking the last recorded invasion of England.
We hugged the coast for another day, stopping in Maryport for a bite and a look in the Senhouse Roman Museum, which sits dramatically atop a cliff overlooking the Solway Firth, an arm of the Irish Sea. The private museum houses 17 Roman altars found in almost perfect condition in a nearby pit in 1870.
Shortly before reaching Silloth, our final seaside stay, we stopped at a tearoom called the Gincase for a pot of tea and scones, jam, and clotted cream. To mark our final night on the west coast, we toasted a vibrant sunset over the hills of Scotland.
Away from the coast and headed easterly into the countryside, we were surrounded by farms, sheep, horses, cows, and fields of corn. That’s when we discovered thrips, or corn flies. They are little black pests that travel in packs, plaster your clothing, and stick in your eyes. They drove us crazy.
We hit our first big city, Carlisle, during rush hour, which didn’t make for pleasant cycling. In the morning we toured Carlisle Cathedral (built in 1122), skipped the castle, and pedaled back to the buggy countryside. We labored uphill to the 13th-century market town of Brampton and sped downhill into a tranquil valley to reach Lanercost Priory, a well-tended 12th-century church and ruins built with materials pillaged from Hadrian’s Wall.
Finally we saw the wall in all its glory, casting long shadows in the late afternoon sun. We arrived too late to visit the Birdoswald Fort atop the hill, but we got our fill of all things Roman the next day.
Our penultimate day of cycling was all about the wall. In hindsight, we should have spent more time in this region around Northumberland National Park, a land of green hills and valleys stretching to the Scottish border. We spent hours at forts and museums, the Roman Army Museum at Carvoran, Vindolanda Roman Fort, and Corbridge Fort. But we ran out of time for Housesteads, the wall’s most intact fort, famous for its Roman-era communal toilets.
Walltown Crags was our favorite stop. We carefully crossed a dung-filled meadow, again eyed by dozens of sheep, and climbed to the top of the rock face where a ribbon of wall stretched as far as the eye could see. The only other people there were two Historic Building Services workers refortifying parts of the wall.
“We don’t add stones, only point them,” one of them said. “If we didn’t repair it, it wouldn’t be here, would it? You’d be selling pieces in America on eBay.”
A parting gift of a brisk tailwind pushed us east on our final day. Riding along the Tyne River in busy downtown Newcastle returned us to the 21st century. It was tempting to end our ride here, but we felt compelled to reach the official finish, 11 miles east at the Arbeia Roman Fort in South Shields. By the time we reached the replicated fort, it was closed for the day and the street was empty. I would have welcomed at least a few curious sheep.

IF YOU GO (A compilation of all the information you’ll need to plan your own trip.)  

Hadrian’s Wall information

There are many ways to wander the wall: by bicycle, vehicle, and on foot. The most substantial parts of the wall to see are in the central section. These run for about 1 mile between Banks Turret and Birdoswald and another mile between Steel Rigg and Housesteads and Steel Rigg. These are not complete sections, but they give the visitor the longest stretches of wall to walk alongside and view.

Hadrian’s Wall Heritage
011 44 1434 322 002
www.hadrians-wall.org

Cycling information and downloadable brochures
www.cycle-routes.org/hadrianscycleway
Order Cycleway map at www.sustransshop.co.uk

Walking trail information
www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrianswall

Outfitters

Saddle Skedaddle
Ouseburn Building,
East Quayside,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
011 44 191 265 11 10
www.skedaddle.co.uk
Full-service bike touring company offers tours, and arranges bike rentals, accommodations, and luggage transportation. Prices vary depending on the package. We paid $220 each for weeklong bike rental and $450 to transfer four people and bicycles from the east to west coast.

Tyne Bridge Bike Hire
Newcastle Guildhall Visitor Information Center
Under Tyne Bridge
011 44 191 277 2441
www.tynebridgebikehire.co.uk
Budget-friendly Tyne Bridge rents bicycles (from a half-day on) and provides transfers, but does not lead tours, arrange accommodations or shuttle luggage. A bargain for the do-it-yourselfer. Weeklong bike rental $120 each (had we only known), transport fees vary

Sights along the way

Muncaster Castle
Ravenglass
011 44 1229 717614
http://www.muncaster.co.uk/
Adults $14, children $10, families $44
Self-guided tours of castle, gardens and amazing World Owl Center (www.owls.org)

Senhouse Roman Museum
The Battery
Maryport
011 44 1900 816168
www.senhousemuseum.co.uk
Adults $5, children $1.50
Houses 17 Roman altars found in almost perfect condition

Lanercost Priory
Lanercost
011 44 16977 3030
www.english-heritage.org.uk/lanercost
Adults $6, children $3, families $15
Closed mid-December through March
Ruins of 12th-century priory and adjacent 13th-century Church of St. Mary Magdalene

Birdoswald Roman Fort
Gilsland
011 44 16977 47602
www.english-heritage.org.uk/birdoswald
Adults $8.50, children $4.50, families, $19
Closed October through March
Along an excellent stretch of wall you can see remains of Roman fort, turret and milecastle

The Roman Army Museum
Greenhead
011 44 16977 47485
http://www.vindolanda.com/roman_army_museum.html
Adults $8.50, children $5, families $23
Closed mid-November to Mid-February
Artifacts give insight into the garrisons of Hadrian’s Wall. From here it’s a short walk to Walltown Crags

Vindolanda Roman Fort and Museum
Bardon Mill
011 44 1434 344277
www.vindolanda.com
Adults $10.50, children $6, families $29
Excavations are ongoing at the remains of this 3rd- and 4th-century Roman fort and civilian settlement. Museum display includes famed writing tablets.

Housesteads Roman Fort and Museum
Just west of Once Brewed
011 44 1434 344363
www.english-heritage.org.uk/housesteads
Adults $8.50, children $4.40
The most complete example of a Roman fort in Brain, with spectacular views of Hadrian’s Wall

Corbridge Roman Town and Museum
Corbridge
011 44 1434 632349
www.english-heritage.org.uk/corbridge
Adults $8.50, children $4.40
Walk along original “main street” in extensively excavated town from AD 80

Where to stay

Lodging options along the cycleway can be found at www.hadrians-wall.org. Our favorites were:

Nith View Guest House
1 Pine Terrace
Silloth on Solway
001 44 16973 32860
www.nithview-guesthouse.co.uk
Doubles from $110
Victorian home overlooks the sea and the Scottish hills

Greenhead Hotel and Hostel
Greenhead
001 44 16977 47411
www.greenhead-hotel.co.uk
Doubles $130
Dorm rooms in nearby hostel $27
Situated in tiny village, hotel and hostel share nice bar and restaurant and are near Hadrian’s Wall

Twice Brewed Inn
Military Road
Bardon Mill
001 44 1434 344534
www.twicebrewedinn.co.uk
Doubles $42 to $78
Situated in Northumbrian National Park, the inn is an ideal place from which to explore nearby stretches of Hadrian’s Wall

Where to eat

Dining options along the cycleway can be found at at www.hadrians-wall.org. Our favorites were:

The Ratty Arms
Ravenglass
011 191 1229 717676
rattyarms@aol.com
The best pub and eatery in town features such specialties as beef and Guinness ($13) and roasted lamb ($17)

The Gincase Farmhouse Tearoom, Craft Barn, and Farm Park
Mawbray Hayrigg (on the B5301)
011 191 16973 32020
www.gincase.co.uk
This country tearoom and petting farm is the place to stop for a ploughman’s lunch ($12), and cream tea ($8) — tea served with two just-baked scones, jam, and fresh Cumberland clotted cream

Twice Brewed Inn
Bardon Mill
Information above
If you don’t stay here, at least stop for a pint and a meal. Try the Northumbrian farmhouse sausages ($13) or the lentil pie ($12).

Oldfields Restaurant
9 Osborne Road
Jesmond, Newcastle
001 44 191 212 1210
www.oldfieldsrestaurants.com
Entrees $24 to $40
Award-winning urban restaurant specializes in organic and locally grown food.

One of the reasons I was excited about traveling to England last month was because it was the first time in years I’d be in a foreign country where I could actually speak the language. How relaxing! On Day One, I was reminded how being fluent didn’t mean being attentive. I could blame jet lag, but my friends would know better.The trip went like this: By plane from Durham, NC, to Atlanta to Munich to Manchester, England. By train: Manchester to Newcastle, a three-hour ride. About halfway through the trip I got up to use the loo. It was an automated tubular contraption, much like the one pictured here, but in this case tucked inside the hallway area between the conductor and the first car. I pushed the “open” button and the door slid open on its track, much like an elevator. Inside, I pushed the “close” and it closed.

As I was doing my business, I was shocked to hear the whir of the door as it slowly slid opened. While quickly but only partly pulling up my pants, I instinctively stood and reached to close the door, which was as ineffective as reaching for an automated car window on its way down.

I looked up to find an elderly woman watching me, while the male ticket taker had been polite enough to turn away.

“I’m so sorry, love, I guess you didn’t lock it, did you?” she said.

I guess I didn’t, did I?

I mumbled something while I found and stabbed at the “close” button, which, it turned out, was right next to the “lock” button.

“Leave it to the Yank,” I said with a red-faced smile as I exited.

Most of the newspapers I write for don’t allow journalists to take any sort of press trips, press rates, or any sort of subsidies. The ethics of subsidized travel is a huge topic in the press and travel industry. I do think it is impossible to take “freebies” and not feel somewhat beholden to the giver. But my top argument for traveling as a traveler and not as a “travel writer” is that I want to get the full experience, as any “regular bloke” would, thereby providing, I think, a much better service to my readers.

I did go to tourism officials for non-financial assistance when I planned an early-October cycling trip with Wessel and two Dutch friends, Victor and Marlene Benard (who co-own Free Spirits, a smashing travel/outdoor store in Amsterdam). I wanted information on the route, lodging, and bike hire (“rental” for you Yanks). I said I wanted no discounts whatsoever. Because I was writing an article on the Hadrian’s Cycleway, tourism officials would have been happy to set me up with heavily discounted or perhaps free bikes, lodging, and probably even meals.

I used the bike-rental company recommended by the tourism folks. The company,  it turned out, subcontracted to another company, therefore increasing the price. Annoying!  They did know I was a writer, so in that way I realize I’m not completely “regular.” But I did ask for services and prices that “any regular bloke” would receive. Wessel and I rented bikes, while Victor and Marlene brought their tandem over on the ferry from the Netherlands.  The bikes cost $220 each for the week. I made sure they’d be equipped with water bottle cages and front and back panniers, as we would be carrying our own gear.  I also arranged transportation for us all from Newcastle, on England’s east coast, to Ravenglass on the west, and the official start of the Cycleway — that cost $550!! 

When we met our driver and got our bikes, we discovered that Wessel’s bike had no front panniers or water bottle cage. Had everything been free or discounted, would I have expressed my annoyance? Maybe a little, but maybe not. But because I was a regular bloke, I felt free to raise a little hell. It didn’t get me far. Wessel went without front panniers, and Victor and Marlene loaned us one of the water bottle cages from their bike.

What I found ironic was that the bike company, which had been willing to give me a steep press discount, didn’t do for free what would have impressed me most — provide  great service.

In the end, after our marvelous trip was finished, I contacted the company and ended up getting a refund for one of the bike rentals — $220. They offered to refund both, but I felt that was excessive, and likely special treatment based on my being a travel writer. I will say that the bike company has a very good reputation and I think my experience was unusual.

Despite my pleas to be treated like a regular bloke, here’s the final irony. Although the bike company owner said he wasn’t making excuses for the service issues, he did say this: “We don’t normally do just transfers [as opposed to shuttle service *and* accommodation arrangement] because by the time we have paid for the driver, fuel, vehicle costs there is no margin to cover any of our costs. Given you are a journalist and the fact we are keen to promote our region, we were keen to help despite the fact we knew we weren’t going to make money on your tour. “

The moral of the story: when someone knows you’re a travel writer, they’re probably not going to treat you like a regular bloke, even if you ask them to.

Crikey! I’m home after 16 days in northern England. Today, whilst driving at home in Durham, NC, not to be confused with Durham, England, I got in the left lane when I should have been in the right. I didn’t drive in England, but I did bicycle and it took many days to remember to “stay left!” I guess I remembered a little too well. Mostly while cycling there I felt like an owl, turning my head almost 360 before making any move in traffic. When it came to the roundabouts, however, I couldn’t wrap my American brain around the logistics and simply followed just behind my husband, Wessel, who is better at figuring out traffic things. (Though I think I’m a better driver, but we haven’t held an official contest.) He’s Dutch and lived in the UK at one point, plus he’s just better with directional things, although I did get him good one day in Durham, England, not to be confused with Durham, NC, when he was turned around and I wasn’t. I love when that  happens! (Once a year or so.)

From left: Marlene, Diane, Wessel and Victor at the start of Hadrian’s Cycleway in Ravenglass, England.