The next morning we had the most amazing breakfast at the B&B (muesli granola cereal with dried banana chips, dried raisins and cranberries, grapefruit, baked beans, bacon, tomato, hard boiled egg or fried eggs, grilled tomato, sausage, orange juice, cranberry juice, dried apricots). As we ate our breakfast we watched the chickens run around outside our window on the front porch. The inn keeper came to chat during breakfast and we learned that she and her husband plan to hike the entire length of Hadrian’s Wall – a total of 73 miles – in just three days! Pretty impressive! After breakfast, we packed up our car, checked out, and met the inn keeper’s dogs Jackson (an 8 month old English Cocker Spaniel who looked just like the dog I had growing up) and Charlie (a 3 year old Black Lab). They were both so cute and friendly and just wanted our attention. They jumped on us and licked our faces and wouldn’t let us go! We bought a couple of sack lunches from the inn keepers on our way out and thanked them for the nice stay before unlatching the wood fence in their drive way and heading off towards the Once Brewed National Park Visitor Center. At the visitor center we found a sign explaining the origin of the unusual name. The quote reads, “How Once Brewed got its name during the Jacobite uprisings, Bonnie Prince Charlie was seeking support for his cause in Carlisle when General Wade tried to give chase. The road from east to west, however, was so bad that Wade’s army couldn’t pass, and Charlie escaped back to Scotland. In 1751, the order came to build a new road along the route of Hadrian’s Wall. The thirsty road-builders were glad to see an inn, about 200 metres west of here, but they found the ale so weak that they demanded it be brewed again. The inn, invariably, became known as the Twice Brewed Inn. In 1934, the Youth Hostel here was opened by a staunch teetotaler, Lady Trevelyan. She said ‘Of course there will be no alcohol served on these premises, and I hope the tea and coffee will be brewed only once.’ Ever since then, the Youth Hostel and the Northumberland National Park Centre have been known as Once Brewed!” We also picked up some post cards and travel information on the Roman ruins in the National Park. Next, we drove to Housesteads Roman Fort where we hiked around Roman ruins, saw lots of sheep and lambs, visited the welcome center, watched a short film, and saw an impressive display of Roman artifacts. Walking around the ruins was amazing! We also found the commanding officer’s house, barracks, granaries and the bath house. Next, we drove to Steel Rigg where we parked the car and found a grassy spot next to Hadrian’s Wall to eat our sack lunch. We each had a ham and cheddar cheese sandwich on a wheat bun, an apple, juice box and cookie. For some reason I just absolutely loved that little sack lunch and picnicking in the sun next to Hadrian’s Wall. After visiting some other Roman sites and a short nap on the grass (first trimester pregnancy fatigue), we hit the road so we could make it to our next destination in time to return our rental car. We had a deadline to drop off the Fiat in Carlisle before the rental car office closed for the day. Once we arrived in Carlisle, we packed up all our belongings, returned the car, and walked with our luggage to the train station. It turned out that many of the trains were cancelled or delayed but luckily Cole was able to get us on an earlier train. I sat and read the Kindle, we shared a small strawberry smoothie, and Cole ate some ice cream as we waited for the train at the platform. Finally, our train arrived and we were on our way to Edinburgh, Scotland! When we walked out of Waverley station in Edinburgh, we were completely impressed by the beautiful Gothic architecture surrounding us. The weather was cold, gray and windy – much different from the hot sunny day we experienced just hours ago in Carlisle. From the station we walked down Princes Street, past the Scott Memorial, local shops and art museum, until we arrived at our hotel. In order to save money, our first night in Edinburgh we stayed at the worst budget hotel. The room was so small with no windows and there was no air circulation whatsoever. It was suffocating (have you ever been in a small cruise ship cabin? This was much, much worse!) We were happy to save money but so glad we had reservations at a hotel next door for the remainder of our stay. Our new room was huge in comparison and, as a nice surprise, even offered a great view of Edinburgh Castle!
