For me, there's nothing better than getting out and having a walk around the city. In Edinburgh, there were so many places that I loved to explore, so now that I'm in a new city, its time for me to explore all the places that Durham has to offer. After a long week stuck in the library, there's nothing I love more than having a walk in the fresh air. This time of year calls for a few more layers each time I step out - hats and scarves are now staples in my wardrobe - but there's nothing I love more than seeing the changing colours of the trees. 

It's no secret that I do love a dog walk each morning when I'm at home, and this past weekend my sister and I took Alfie to Aberdeen Beach for a run around. As horrible as the beach can be on a cold day, when you catch it just right in the morning before the sun is up, it CAN be rather pretty. And although dog walks are predominantly taken up with throwing stones so that Alf can chase them along the sand, we were able to spare a few moments and capture these snippets.

Our holiday to England was mostly a walking holiday, we had our dog Alfie with us, so we couldn't leave him for more than a couple of hours "forcing" us to explore the great outdoors.


One walk we went on brought us past a Church, with a fascinating graveyard. The majority of the grave stones were in very bad condition, falling over; crumbling; and inscriptions that were barely readable. One side of the graveyard was very over grown, and presumably the original graveyard to go with the church. Only myself and my dad were brave enough to walk waist high in the long grasses. The others stuck to the opposite side of the path, where the graves were only a couple of hundred years old.



What was slightly unusual was that there was one recent grave; dedicated to the death of a one year old child. This grave stuck out because it had balloons attached to it, and when we went to look at it, we discovered it was a year since this baby's death. In a overgrown, seemingly forgotten about graveyard, this place obviously meant something to those parents who chose to bury their child here. A place that isn't on recent maps and that locals whom we asked for directions didn't even know existed.



Furthermore, what resonated with me was that this church and graveyard was built and used a few hundred years after the graveyard I was working on in my dig. Both were in stark contrast to one another, for a start my graveyard had no head stones or grave markers, whereas some graves were marked with large table stones. This graveyard was obviously Christian, with large crosses scattered about the place to emphasis their faith. Poulton's older graves possibly weren't Christian, and their was no portrayal of their faith found in their graves. It was really interesting to explore this graveyard, only days after I had been working in a completely different burial ground.


Thanks for reading, I think that's the last of the holiday posts- unless I find more photos, or think of more places to share!

Love,
Emily
xxx

I thought that I'd compose a little post showing off the beautiful city that is Chester. If you have read my most recent post then you will have seen that I spent three weeks in Chester for my archaeology dig- if you haven't given it a read then you can do so here to read about that aspect of the three weeks. This post, however, is a gallery in order to showcase the city. I never even knew Chester was a city as it is rather on the small scale, but the history that surrounds it is just mind blowing.

It was a very important and strategic point for the Romans during their invasion of Britain, it lies on the border of Wales giving it noteworthy position to help the Romans conquer Southern Britain. After the fall of the Roman establishment in Britain, the site became significant throughout the medieval times with links to King Arthur fighting his ninth battle here, as well as Anglo-Saxon ties.

The stunning black and white buildings dating from medieval times line the streets of Chester, and are a beautiful display of the history. These buildings house shops and pubs and- well- everything, the whole town centre is made up of streets of these black and white buildings one after another. When walking through them, I didn't feel like I was in England- I could have been in a different country or a different time period because these buildings are not what I have in mind when I think of an English city.





My wander through the town centre took me to the River Dee, which I had previously only seen from the car on our rides to and from the dig. On a sunny late afternoon the river sparkled, it was so lovely to see families, couples and solo people like myself, walking along the banks with ice creams and in shorts and t-shirts.



After having a gander along the river side, I took a street back up to the heart of Chester where stood the Roman Amphitheatre, which I had been very keen to see. I'm not going to lie, I was imagining a structure like those I see in text books of a grand theatre which has been preserved, so was somewhat disappointed to see that only the steps had survived and the main stage was a painting on the wall. All in all though, it was good to see the site and imagine people watching shows and gladiator fights on the ground that I stood on.


I finished off my stroll with a walk through Grosvenor gardens and decided to eat my dinner on the grass by the duck pond. The huge gardens were amazing, with a little train going through it, play parks, ponds, an outside theatre venue, and beautiful views of the River Dee.



Over the three weeks I was there, I was also able to go to the Cathedral, whose height was unimaginable. The carvings on the walls were so detailed and striking and the gardens felt peaceful and safe. Unfortunately my photos of it are no more, as my phone broke before I could back it up- something which saddens me greatly.

I hope that this post has inspired some of you to see Chester, and what it has to offer- it was a truly amazing experience, and the city is- I say it yet again- beautiful.

Thanks for reading,
Emily
xxx

Back in April, I wrote a post titled "River Side Walk", after I was snapping all the different plants that I saw on one of the regular routes for a dog walk. Over the past few weeks, we've been going elsewhere for our walks, such as the beach and forests and so haven't seen the river in a while. With my parents away this weekend, dog walking responsibilities were passed onto myself and my sisters... or more like me. An unexpectedly boozy Saturday night meant that driving was out of the question- I am pretty responsible when it comes to these types of things- and so, I donned my wellies and made my way with a very excited dog to the river.

Today I went on a walk along the river bank, with my sister and my dog. This is my favourite walk to go on, I love the river and the nature surrounding it. Although its in the centre of the city, it feels like you are secluded, almost like a nature reserve. The river was so still, and the plants have all come into bloom. In a couple of weeks, we reckon the plants will be so over grown that we won't be able to walk it, so I brought my camera along with me and I thought that I'd post the snaps that I took. I love to follow the river along, there are so many different plants and trees that grow along this way, and usually we don't bump into anyone at this side of the bridge. Its so peaceful that it makes a great place to think about things and talk about what's going on.
















I never realised that there were that many photos that I wanted to share! But I loved looking at everything that was surrounding us as we walked. Also, if anyone has any idea what those yellow flowers are, I'd be really interested to know- they've just appeared out of nowhere, and are only around the marshy areas, not the actual river.

Love,
Emily
xxx