DAY FOUR: Hexham

Cute Guy Finding Nest Material

So much happens right outside my window. 
Though we've only been walking 3 days we've been traveling since Friday so it's time to take a break.
A day of tales to tell!
As a segue from historical Corbridge, and OK, I admit - motivated by shopping -  we visited Hexham. Hexham is dominated by its spiritual and ancient Abbey, not a big abbey, very human scaled and even a little pagan. It hangs on to its roots with St Wilfred by incorporating carved images of the Green Man and revering Bishop Acca. Everywhere are hidden icons to the connection between man and nature. 

A little bit about ST WILFRID. Wilfrid , originally Wilfrith, was a Northumbrian nobleman who lived from about 633-709AD. One of his claims to fame was advocating the use of the Roman calendar to set the date of Easter. He went on a trip to the Holy Land and returned to Northumbria newly imbued with the Christian spirit, setting about building two churches. The Abbey was built on the foundation of one such church. Below the Abbey is Wilfred's intact Anglo-Saxon crypt. A steep stone stair descending from the nave takes you back thirteen hundred years, into rooms and passageways left from St Wilfrid’s original building. It is likely that every stone in the crypt came from nearby Corbridge Roman fort, which made for a  very handy quarry. Some still have lewis holes, slots into which Roman engineers once fitted wedges to hoist the stone blocks into position in the abutments of their bridge over the Tyne. Most have diamond broaching, to carry plaster. Several have sharply cut frieze patterns. In the roof of one are two inscribed stones. One was set up at Corbridge, when Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons dedicated a granary. The emperor died soon after at York; it was not long before his elder son, Caracalla, murdered his brother Geta and had his name chiseled out from all such stones.  

The Abbey was magical. Everywhere you turned was something beautiful and magnificent. Next to Christian rituals there were pagan sculptures of animals and men, and everywhere the signs of age and timelessness. There was so much more to see. The highlight was the guide speaking old Anglo Saxon to a group of children in the crypt, his melodic voice reciting the "Our Father" echoed in the shrine. Chilling! Just the dates alone was mind boggling. 

Some of Wilfrid's Saxon Carvings and Pilfered Roman Stones

ACCA Served Under Wilfrid

I would definitely come back to Hexham. It's a comfortable, historic and attractive market town. Northumbria is turning out to be England as it used to be, the pace suits me.

How often do you get to see this sign?

The average Anglo Saxon was 5'4.

Phil wouldn't be able to fit through this door with his helmet on.

The more you chat with people, the more they gladly tell you. People here have been very open and friendly.  An ex-employee Philip ran into in a shop in Hexham told him there's supposed to be a hatch under the managers desk in the hall. Prisoners used to be taken down there where there was a long tunnel that went 11 miles  to Corbridge. Uh huh. The second person we talked to said "Oh sure, there is but only to Haydon's Bridge", which is only 2 miles but still that would mean tunneling under the River Tyne. Uh huh again. We have yet to see Josephine's ghost or find any secret passages. 

Accept This Dance As Our Apology to You Because We're So Loud at All Hours