I wanted to look up a picture of the Castlerigg stone circle, which I visited with my Dad and my brother around Christmas 2009, on my blog, only to find that I had never uploaded the photos. So let me take you back to the very snowy winter of 2009-2010, when I was just a slip of a 27 year-old, in the north of England. (I did briefly blog about it
here, without photos.)
My brother and I opening our Christmas presents at my Granddad's house
As mentioned, we visited the Castlerigg stone circle near Keswick, Cumbria (
home of the famous pencil museum). It was a spectacular sight - the prehistoric stone circle is on a flat piece of land and echoes the form of the circle of mountains which surrounds it. Seeing the stones and the peaks covered in snow really gave you an appreciation of why the ancient Britons would have been drawn to the site.
Paul peeping out from behind a stone - no ropes, unlike Stonehenge
Me at Castlerigg
Another ancient site on the list was Hadrian's Wall.
I had visited Hadrian's Wall before in Northumbria, near Newcastle, but I think this was my first time visiting it in the North-West.
Me at Hadrian's Wall. I presume my brother's not peeing on it, despite appearances. Edit: Actually that's not Hadrian's Wall anyway, Hadrian's Wall's in the foreground where I'm standing
Paul and Dad at Hadrian's Wall
We also visited Liverpool, my mum's home town, and caught a match at Anfield
The Empire Theatre, Liverpool - where I think my mum saw the Beatles back in the day?
Me and a Liverpudlian lion
Paul and a penguin
The Anfield memorial to those who died in the Hillsborough disaster
Stephen Gerrard, captain of Liverpool
Fernando Torres making his second blog appearance in as many posts. He must be proud
Me and my brother at Anfield
Me, Mum and Paul, looking like a hobo
Me at Anfield
And, finally a blast from the, um, present. It's sales time, and I have a new dress! I have lots of dresses, but this is the first ankle-length one (not that you can tell)
